PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Baako The African (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Lopez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

The African
vs
Lopez

160 cm
23
199 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

182 cm
22
185 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Knockout power

Knock Out Fight Gear

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Baako The African!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jose Lopez!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Igor Prikhodko and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lopez misses with a hook. The African ducked under it nicely.
Jose Lopez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A chopping leg kick lands by Lopez.
The African fails to land the takedown.
The African fails with a takedown attempt.

The African gets caught flat footed, as Lopez shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Lopez wants to stand but The African has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Lopez pushes down on The African's leg and manages to get into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Lopez working the head and body with strikes.

Lopez is looking for a kimura but The African is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Lopez to get the leverage.
Lopez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks The African with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Lopez wants to stand up but The African has a hold of him and won't allow it.

Lopez is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. The African doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Lopez.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lopez is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Lopez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Lopez is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
The African wants to improve his position but Lopez is controlling well.

The African is defending against the submission attempts here by Lopez.
Lopez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Lopez trying to work for an americana but The African has managed to regain full guard.
Lopez looks gassed!
The African wants to sweep here but Lopez controlling him for the moment.
Lopez slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from The African.
The African might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The African throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

Lopez is working for a kimura but The African is defending it quite comfortably.
The African is looking to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
It looks like Lopez is going to stand back up.

The African is defending against the submission attempts here by Lopez.
The African gets back to full guard.

Lopez stands up from The African's guard - Lopez perhaps looking for a knockout.
Lopez looks to land a combination but The African avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Lopez misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Lopez gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Lopez wants to stand but The African is controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The African slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Lopez.
Lopez scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but The African manages to mount him!
A nice elbow there by The African.

Lopez tries to improve his position but The African has taken his back! The African has a choke - it's sunk in pretty tight... Will Lopez tap? No... maybe... yes! He's tapped! The African pushes Lopez away and gets up to celebrate with his corner!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Baako The African!