PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Leonardo Washington (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Leonard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Leonardo Washington has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Washington
vs
Leonard

210 cm
23
177 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
18
180 lbs
2 - 0 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Leonardo Washington!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Steve Leonard!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Emerson Jorge and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Washington goes for a double leg but Leonard avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Leonard continues to drive forward.

Washington darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Leonard is looking for a sweep. Washington is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Leonard slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Leonard throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leonard looking to control.
Washington chips away with some ground and pound.
Leonard bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Washington's guard.
Washington utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Leonard distracts Washington with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Washington will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Leonard drops back looking for a leg! Washington is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Washington manages to kick Leonard off! Leonard jumps back into Washington's guard.
Leonard stopping the sweep attempt from Washington.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Washington wants to stand up but Leonard is controlling him.
Washington really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Leonard is working Washington over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Leonard content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Leonard has gone for a leg lock! Washington slips out almost immediately though and dives into Leonard's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Washington accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Leonard is looking for a triangle but Washington pushes his legs off easily.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Leonard is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonard working some strikes from top position.

Washington has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Leonard off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Washington fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Washington clinches with his opponent.

Leonard has Washington pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Leonard pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Washington tumbling to the mat - Leonard dives into Washington's guard.

Washington manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Leonard lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Leonard is looking for a kimura here.
Washington is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Leonard scores with a couple of nice shots.

Leonard is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Washington missing with punches from the bottom.

Leonard seems to be looking for submissions.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Washington is defending against the submission attempts here by Leonard.
Washington keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steve Leonard dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Washington gets caught flat footed, as Leonard shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Leonard drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Washington manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Leonard has Washington in his guard.
Leonard not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Washington working some strikes from top position.
Steve Leonard has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Washington trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Washington lands a couple of elbows.
Leonard has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Leonard working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Washington.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leonard is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Washington trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Washington avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Washington is in close to Leonard's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Washington throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Leonard works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Leonard is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Leonard looking to hit a scissor sweep but Washington is one step ahead there.

Leonard working for a triangle but Washington defends it easily.
Leonard bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Washington's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Washington manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

Leonard has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Washington clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!

Leonard is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Washington has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Washington wants to get back to his feet.

Washington is trying to defend against the choke here but Leonard has an arm under his chin. This one might not last much longer. Leonard Tightens the hold and Washington taps out furiously! Leonard displays superior BJJ to win the fight.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Steve Leonard!