PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between JJ Lakes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joseph Cantoni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Joseph Cantoni was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Lakes
vs
Cantoni

182 cm
24
192 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

181 cm
25
185 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, JJ Lakes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Joseph Cantoni!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Damien Edna and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lakes takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

It looks like JJ Lakes has been cut.
Cantoni dives in and grabs Lakes's left leg, looking for a takedown. Lakes pushes down on Cantoni's head and hops out.
Cantoni cracks Lakes with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Lakes shoots in for a double leg but Cantoni sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Lakes keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Nice sprawl there from Cantoni as Lakes shoots in.
Cantoni looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Cantoni's coach down at The Iron Works $500 Elite Coaches was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Cantoni's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Nice sprawl there from Cantoni as Lakes shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for JJ Lakes. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lakes looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cantoni is fending him off so far but Lakes persists. Nope, Cantoni circles away and we're back to standing.
Cantoni shoots in for a takedown but Lakes shows good takedown defense.
Cantoni has a takedown stuffed.
Cantoni smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Lakes darts in looking for a takedown but Cantoni gets double underhooks and turns Lakes into the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cantoni scores with a punch to the head.
Cantoni lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Cantoni fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Cantoni gets the takedown into side control.
Lakes is trying to get back to half guard.
Lakes is working hard here to advance position.
Cantoni grinds an elbow into Lakes's temple.
Cantoni tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Lakes is trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cantoni tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Cantoni lands a nice forearm strike.
Lakes wants to control but Cantoni postures up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cantoni working the ground and pound.
Cantoni tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Cantoni looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Cantoni in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Cantoni lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lakes gets back to half guard.
Cantoni throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Cantoni works his foot free and advances to mount.
We've been hearing good reports from Lakes's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Cantoni scoring with strikes but Lakes is staying in there.

Lakes is rocked!
Lakes sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Lakes gets back to full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Cantoni accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Cantoni with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Lakes is looking to cinch up a triangle. Cantoni throws the leg off to one side though and gets in tight to Lakes's body to avoid the submission. Lakes has instead reached around Cantoni's neck and now has a guillotine! Oh, this is biiiig trouble! Lakes arches his back and squeezes and forces the tap from his hapless opponent.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). JJ Lakes!