PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ante Gotovina (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Maicol Raul (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ante Gotovina has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Gotovina
vs
Raul

185 cm
22
197 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

185 cm
23
192 lbs
7 - 8 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good takedowns
Decent boxing
Knockout power

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 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ante Gotovina!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Maicol Raul!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Alexandre Firmino and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gotovina looks to land a left hand but Raul moved out of range nicely.
Raul slips under a jab.
Gotovina fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Raul has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
A nice leg kick lands there from Gotovina.
Raul throws a body shot but no joy.
Gotovina throws a head kick that misses.
Raul lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Gotovina circles away quickly and effectively.
A left lands for Gotovina.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gotovina goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Raul avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Raul drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Gotovina defends it well.
Raul falls off balance throwing a combination
and Gotovina cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotovina throws a nice outside leg kick.
Gotovina is looking to slow Raul down with leg kicks.
Gotovina connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Raul's hands.

Raul is rocked!
Raul throws a hook but Gotovina blocks it.
Gotovina half committed to a counter leg kick.
Nice defenses there by Raul.
Raul misses with the combination.
Gotovina throwing a counter right hand but Raul manages to avoid it.

Gotovina knocks Raul to the floor with a head kick! Can he finish him!?
Raul is still in real trouble! Can Gotovina finish him?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gotovina is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Raul has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Raul manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Raul seems to have recovered his senses.
Nice strikes from Gotovina there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Raul looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Gotovina prevents Raul from improving his position.
Raul punching from the bottom.
Raul has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Gotovina lands with a punch from half guard.
Raul taking some punishment here, with Gotovina in his half guard.
Raul throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Raul tries to roll over but Gotovina keeps him under control.
Raul is not content to let Gotovina control the position.
Gotovina 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.

Raul actively working from the bottom here.
Well, if Gotovina is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raul tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Gotovina content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Raul is looking for a sweep. Gotovina is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Raul is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Gotovina pulls his head out easily.
Gotovina is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Gotovina performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Raul is trying to get back to full guard.
Gotovina wants to free his trapped foot but Raul is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Raul is looking for a sweep. Gotovina is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gotovina trying to control the action but Raul is working from the bottom.
Raul throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Gotovina is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Raul slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ante Gotovina dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Gotovina scores with a decent looking hook.
A head kick from Gotovina lands but Raul takes it in his stride.
Raul tries to work over Gotovina's front leg with a kick but Gotovina checks it.
Ante Gotovina is winning the standup battle so far.
Gotovina cracks Raul with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Gotovina walks forward and throws a big overhand right! Raul drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes! Gotovina swarms on him with more punches until the referee wrestles him away from Raul's unconscious body! Wow, that was brutal!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:33 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ante Gotovina!
Our winner, Ante Gotovina, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.