PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Delmer Lawson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Dos Anjos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Lawson
vs
Dos Anjos

187 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

185 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Delmer Lawson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Dos Anjos!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Leandro Rodrigues and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Dos Anjos rushes Lawson and presses him up against the cage.
Lawson tries to break the clinch but Dos Anjos is controlling the position.
Lawson is trying to break the clinch but Dos Anjos has him pressed against the cage.
Dos Anjos taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Lawson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Dos Anjos pulls Lawson into guard.

Lawson stands and steps away. Dos Anjos gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Dos Anjos avoids the head kick by Lawson.

Dos Anjos drives through with a takedown into Lawson's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Lawson seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Lawson's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Further stalling from Lawson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dos Anjos tries to stand but Lawson is controlling from the bottom.
Dos Anjos looking to sit in guard and control but Lawson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Lawson lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Lawson prevents Dos Anjos from getting back to his feet.
Dos Anjos is trying to keep Lawson in close.
Dos Anjos wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Lawson is now in half guard.
Lawson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dos Anjos's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lawson misses with a head shot. Dos Anjos uses the momentum to regain guard.
Lawson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lawson postures up and lands a big shot to Dos Anjos's brow.
Lawson stopping the sweep attempt from Dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos has a closed guard, preventing Lawson from standing up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Lawson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Lawson lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Dos Anjos preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lawson is fighting to break Dos Anjos's control of his arms but Dos Anjos is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Dos Anjos looking to control.
Lawson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Lawson connects with a couple of short punches.
Lawson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lawson working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Lawson stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Dos Anjos displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Lawson.

Lawson tries to keep at a distance but Dos Anjos has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dos Anjos on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Dos Anjos managing to block the knees to the body from Lawson.

Dos Anjos decides to pull guard.
Dos Anjos trying to control the position.
Dos Anjos working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Lawson.
Dos Anjos really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Lawson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Dos Anjos is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Dos Anjos is keen to just control but Lawson is a slippery customer.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lawson tries to get to full guard but Dos Anjos has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rafael Dos Anjos will probably get the nod.
That's time! Lawson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Dos Anjos gets caught flat footed, as Lawson shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Lawson throws a big right hand that misses.
Lawson wants to stand and escape but instead Dos Anjos has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Dos Anjos being controlled here momentarily.
Lawson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dos Anjos is one step ahead there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lawson controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Dos Anjos trying to control but Lawson is working from the bottom.
Dos Anjos is fighting to break Lawson's control of his arms but Lawson is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Dos Anjos trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Lawson manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

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.
Lawson working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Lawson has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Lawson landing some decent shots from guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dos Anjos trying to control the position.
Dos Anjos utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Lawson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Lawson decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Lawson doesn't manage to clinch there - Dos Anjos circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dos Anjos misses with a head kick.
Lawson looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.

Dos Anjos has Lawson up against the cage in a clinch.
Lawson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Dos Anjos's face.
The referee is keeping an eye on Dos Anjos - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Lawson tries to pull guard but Dos Anjos won't allow it.
Lawson is trying to pull guard but Dos Anjos has him pressed against the cage.

Dos Anjos works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Lawson has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Dos Anjos off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Lawson doesn't manage to clinch there - Dos Anjos circles away.
Rafael Dos Anjos is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Lawson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dos Anjos throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Lawson throws a quick counter head kick but Dos Anjos was just out of range.

Dos Anjos moves into the clinch successfully.

Lawson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Lawson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Dos Anjos shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Dos Anjos showed some decent athleticism there.
Lawson makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Lawson.
Dos Anjos sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Lawson's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Delmer Lawson dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Lawson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Dos Anjos!
Dos Anjos is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Lawson has just dragged him back down to the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lawson throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Dos Anjos is trying to work for a sweep but Lawson has mounted him!

Lawson is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Dos Anjos has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Lawson breaks from Dos Anjos's wrist control and lands an elbow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dos Anjos wants to hold on but Lawson pushes him away.
Lawson lands a couple of good shots and Dos Anjos has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dos Anjos rolls, trying to escape but Lawson keeps control of the position.
Lawson lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Lawson is landing with strikes. Dos Anjos can't take much more of this.
Lawson lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Dos Anjos hold on?!

Lawson patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Lawson.
Lawson throwing sloppy strikes.
Lawson is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Lawson gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Lawson gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Lawson apologises and we restart here on the feet.

Dos Anjos closes the distance and clinches.

Dos Anjos jumps guard and drags Lawson to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Dos Anjos takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dos Anjos is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Lawson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Dos Anjos bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lawson's guard.

Dos Anjos must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lawson controlling the position.
Lawson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Dos Anjos pushes Lawson off but Lawson dives into side control.
Lawson working the ground and pound.
Dos Anjos parries the strikes from Lawson easily there. Lawson is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Dos Anjos to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lawson scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Dos Anjos to see if he's OK.
Sloppy strikes there by Lawson.

Lawson working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Lawson looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Dos Anjos is avoiding damage well.
Dos Anjos is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Lawson working the head with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lawson stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Lawson gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

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

Lawson breaks from the clinch.

Dos Anjos gets a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lawson wants to break free but Dos Anjos has control.

Dos Anjos manages to pull guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Delmer Lawson showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Lawson has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 29:28
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Delmer Lawson!