PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sydney Faulkner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sheilton Pinto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sheilton Pinto is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Faulkner
vs
Pinto

197 cm
24
178 lbs
3 - 0 - 1

181 cm
25
182 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

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 3 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sydney Faulkner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sheilton Pinto!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Alexandre Firmino and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Pinto as Faulkner shoots in.
Faulkner changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Pinto tries to avoid it but Faulkner manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Pinto to the ground. Pinto escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Pinto closes the distance and pushes Faulkner back into the cage.
Faulkner is looking to break free of the clinch but Pinto has double underhooks.
Faulkner wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Pinto pulls Faulkner into guard.
Pinto has Faulkner pulled in close to control his posture.
Pinto trying to keep a closed guard but Faulkner is proving a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pinto throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Faulkner is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pinto is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Faulkner got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pinto has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Faulkner has managed to get both his arms back between Pinto's legs - danger averted.
Faulkner is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Faulkner wants to stand and escape but instead Pinto has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Faulkner really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Pinto trying to control but Faulkner is working from the bottom.
Pinto is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Pinto must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Faulkner is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Faulkner keeping moving, preventing Pinto from controlling successfully.
Pinto throws a strike but Faulkner rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Faulkner slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Faulkner seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Pinto for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pinto looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Faulkner working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Faulkner trying to control but Pinto is working from the bottom.
Faulkner is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Pinto throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Pinto goes for a double leg but Faulkner avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Faulkner continues to drive forward.
Faulkner swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Pinto fails in his attempt to clinch.
Pinto pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Faulkner back to the cage. Pinto follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

It looks like Sydney Faulkner has been cut.
Pinto fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Pinto fails with a takedown attempt.
Sydney Faulkner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sheilton Pinto.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Faulkner fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Faulkner doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Pinto moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sheilton Pinto dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sydney Faulkner's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Pinto feints and then cracks Faulkner's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Faulkner down.

Faulkner shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Pinto is trying to defend but Faulkner finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Pinto wants to get back to full guard.
Pinto is staying active underneath Faulkner, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pinto controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Pinto is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Faulkner decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Pinto shoots in looking for a takedown but Faulkner manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pinto's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Sheilton Pinto seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No luck for Pinto with that takedown attempt.

Faulkner fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Pinto sprawls well initially but Faulkner persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Faulkner working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Faulkner prevents Pinto from improving his position.

Faulkner is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pinto is trying to control but can't.
Faulkner drops an elbow to the side of Pinto's head.
Faulkner is controlling the pace.
Pinto is looking for a sweep. Faulkner is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faulkner passes the guard and advances to mount!
Pinto is looking to get to half guard.
Faulkner will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Pinto tries to hold on but Faulkner postures up.
Pinto is trying desperately to improve position.
Pinto slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Faulkner seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Faulkner wants to work for an arm triangle but Pinto is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Nice strikes from Faulkner there.
Pinto tries to roll over but Faulkner keeps him under control.
Faulkner slows the pace down in half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sydney Faulkner dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Sydney Faulkner's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Pinto is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Pinto displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Faulkner.

Faulkner tries to keep at a distance but Pinto has taken the fight into the clinch.
Pinto jumps guard but Faulkner stands there with Pinto around his waist. Pinto gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Pinto breaks from the clinch.
Pinto tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
The fight stays on the outside here - Pinto looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faulkner stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Faulkner wants it to stay on the feet.
Horrible takedown attempt by Pinto or perhaps it was just good defense by Faulkner, which made it look bad.
Sydney Faulkner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sheilton Pinto.
Pinto changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Faulkner tries to avoid it but Pinto manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Faulkner to the ground. Faulkner escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Faulkner keeps the fight on the outside.
Faulkner keeps the fight on the outside.
Pinto is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Faulkner scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Pinto throws Faulkner to one side and escapes!
Pinto takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faulkner is trying hard to land a takedown here. Pinto sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Pinto tries to clinch but Faulkner moves out of range.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pinto shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Faulkner defends it nicely.
Faulkner misses with an uppercut. Pinto saw that one coming.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Pinto, right into the meat.

Faulkner closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Pinto's guard.
Faulkner has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Pinto is proving hard to escape from.
Faulkner throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pinto working a defensive guard here.
Faulkner chips away with some ground and pound.
Faulkner trying to stand up but can't free himself from Pinto's guard.
Faulkner content to stall in guard here.
Sydney Faulkner overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Faulkner wants to control from the top but Pinto keeps moving.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Pinto darts in looking for a takedown but Faulkner gets double underhooks and turns Pinto into the cage.
Pinto is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Faulkner throwing a counter right hand but Pinto manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Faulkner shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Pinto is trying to defend but Faulkner finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Faulkner prevents Pinto from standing back up.
Faulkner controlling the action here.
Pinto is trying to control but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Sydney Faulkner.
I think Faulkner 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Sydney Faulkner!