PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John West (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Rodrigues (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for John West has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

West
vs
Rodrigues

197 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

175 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, John West!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, James Rodrigues!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Damien Edna and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
West fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rodrigues looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
West tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rodrigues swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rodrigues looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

West closes the distance and pushes Rodrigues back into the cage.
Rodrigues tries to pull guard but West won't allow it.
Rodrigues has West pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. West manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
West misses with the head strike.
West is trying to break the clinch but Rodrigues is controlling him.
Rodrigues is struggling to control the position.
West is trying to stall.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
West lands a nice elbow.
West scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West is trying to drag Rodrigues to the mat but Rodrigues just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
West prevents the takedown attempt.
John West has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Rodrigues.
West swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rodrigues blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rodrigues swings away with an uppercut that misses.
West tries to pull guard but Rodrigues won't allow it.
Rodrigues tries to pull guard but West won't allow it.
West can't find room to land a body shot as Rodrigues controls the action.

West escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - West looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rodrigues is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Rodrigues takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
West throws a sloppy head kick and Rodrigues moves out of range easily.
West shoots in for a double leg but Rodrigues sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
West fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Rodrigues has closed the distance and engaged West in a clinch.
West is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rodrigues is defending well for now.
Rodrigues goes for a takedown in the clinch but West prevents it.
West throws a head punch that misses.
West tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

West breaks the clinch.
West lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Rodrigues throws a head kick that misses.
An attempted straight right counter from West misses the target.
West connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Rodrigues's hands.
Rodrigues takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
West goes for a double leg but Rodrigues avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Rodrigues continues to drive forward.
Rodrigues is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
West scores with a punch to the head.
A head kick from West lands but Rodrigues takes it in his stride.
West lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
West misses with a series of wild punches.
West is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
West doesn't manage to clinch there - Rodrigues circles away.
West moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
West shoots in for a double leg but Rodrigues sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
West throws a series of strikes that have Rodrigues backpedaling.
Rodrigues shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
West tries to clinch up but Rodrigues circles away and keeps his distance.
West lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
A head kick from West lands but Rodrigues takes it in his stride.
Rodrigues tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but West defends well and Rodrigues ends up having to push West into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
West goes for a double leg but Rodrigues avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Rodrigues continues to drive forward.
Rodrigues tries to land a leg kick but West saw it coming and moves away.
West feints a jab promting Rodrigues to slip. West then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Rodrigues slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
West getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John West dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

West tries to clinch but Rodrigues moves out of range.
The crowd cheers as West lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rodrigues doesn't seem phased though.
Rodrigues avoids a punch combination nicely.
West leaves Rodrigues with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
West drops down looking for a counter takedown but Rodrigues sprawls and moves away.
Rodrigues has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
West is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
West goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
West shoots for a double leg takedown but Rodrigues sprawls well. He's pushed West's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
West throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from West. Rodrigues shrugs it off though.
West lands with a kick to the temple. Rodrigues shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
West misses with a takedown attempt - Rodrigues sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Rodrigues steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from West.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
West keeps the fight on the outside.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by West.
West tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rodrigues defends well and West ends up having to push Rodrigues into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John West. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rodrigues clinches with his opponent.
West looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Rodrigues managing to block the knees to the body from West.
Rodrigues trying to land knees to the body.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

West escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues throws a right and a left that West avoids nicely.
West drops down looking for a counter takedown but Rodrigues sprawls and moves away.
West fails in his attempt to clinch.
West lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
West's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and West duly obliges.
West tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rodrigues swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Despite the aggression on Rodrigues's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Rodrigues displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from West.
West fails to land with a series of punches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rodrigues dodges the punch combination from West.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Rodrigues has West up against the cage in a clinch.
Rodrigues is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables West to keep the fight standing.
Rodrigues wants to break the clinch but can't.
West lands with a right to the head.
West lands a left hand that snaps the head of Rodrigues backwards.
A frustrated look appears on West's face as he tries to break the clinch.
West has Rodrigues pressed against the cage, preventing Rodrigues from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
West tries to break the clinch but Rodrigues is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
West is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
West misses with a punch on the inside.
West misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rodrigues.

Rodrigues drags the fight down to the ground.
West wants to control from the top but Rodrigues keeps moving.
West pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rodrigues is keeping the position for now.
West working some strikes from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John West dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Rodrigues slips a jab and a cross from West.
West fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Rodrigues tries to counter with a clinch but West shakes him off and moves away.
West throws a right hand that Rodrigues ducks under and follows up with a left that Rodrigues also avoids with ease.
West tries to close the distance and clinch but Rodrigues swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
West shoots for a double leg takedown but Rodrigues sprawls well. He's pushed West's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
John West seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
West stuffs the takedown attempt from Rodrigues. Rodrigues gets slowly back to his feet.
West is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rodrigues can do to turn this around?

West closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Rodrigues did well to prevent West getting side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodrigues has hold of West's hands but West slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
West throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Rodrigues is not content to let West control the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigues keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
West looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

West is trying to work for a kimura but Rodrigues is defending well.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
West throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Rodrigues wants to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Rodrigues keeping control of the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
West misses with a few strikes there.
West throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rodrigues takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Rodrigues fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
West looks to land a combination. Rodrigues sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Rodrigues feints a jab promting West to slip. Rodrigues then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. West slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
West shoots in for a takedown but Rodrigues shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John West. That's going to take a lot out of him.
West shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rodrigues pinned against the cage. Rodrigues gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Rodrigues unleashes a big counter combination but West bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
West shoots in for a takedown but Rodrigues shows good takedown defense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rodrigues! But no joy.
West shoots in looking for a takedown. Rodrigues tries to sprawl out of it but West keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rodrigues manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
West looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
West lands a lovely overhand right.
Rodrigues pulls out of a head kick attempt.
West misses with the combination.
Rodrigues needs to keep his hands up - West had a free shot at his head there.
West is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues throws a body punch but West moves out of range.
West throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
West throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Rodrigues avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Rodrigues drives through and clinches with West against the cage.
Rodrigues tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Rodrigues as West tries to tie him up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rodrigues is leaning against West and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
James Rodrigues has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John West is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
A body shot lands from Rodrigues.

And that's the end of the fight!
John West showed his dominance in that final round.
Well West has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John West!
John West decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.