PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ringo Starr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brotha Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gracie has chosen Tupac - Last Muthafucka Breathin' as his entrance music. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Starr
vs
Gracie

200 cm
21
210 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

189 cm
25
200 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Vikai Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ringo Starr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Brotha Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Chris Downing and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Gracie fails to land with a series of punches.

Starr scores with a takedown into Gracie's guard.
Starr trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Starr is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie looking to control.
Gracie bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Starr's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Starr wants to control but Gracie passes easily into half guard.
Gracie takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Starr gets back to full guard.
Gracie throws a big elbow that misses.
Starr is trying to hold Gracie in close to prevent damage but Gracie has managed to pass into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Gracie in particular looking to stall.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Starr wants to control but Gracie is keeping busy.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Gracie working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Gracie is trying to control. Starr wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Starr is trying to get back to full guard.
Gracie content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Starr is looking for a sweep. Gracie is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gracie scores with a nice right hand.
Gracie misses with the combination.

Gracie has Starr up against the cage in a clinch.

Gracie jumps into guard, dragging Starr to the mat.
Starr sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Gracie's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is looking for a sweep. Starr is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gracie is trying to control but can't.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Gracie looking for submissions off his back.
Gracie trying to control here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gracie keeping control of the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Starr wants to control but Gracie is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brotha Gracie dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Gracie moves into the clinch.
Gracie slows down the pace here.
Gracie has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gracie working Starr over with knees to the body.

Gracie breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Gracie has taken the fight to the clinch.

Gracie breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Gracie instigates a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie digs a right hand into Starr's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Starr's gas tank.

Gracie breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Brotha Gracie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Starr shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Starr showed some decent athleticism there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Starr wants to control but Gracie is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Starr trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Starr content to stall in guard here.
Gracie is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

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.
Gracie seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Starr wants to get back to full guard but Gracie has mounted him!
Gracie controlling from mount.
Gracie with the ground and pound from mount.
Gracie wants to control the pace but Starr is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Starr keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Gracie looking to control but Starr is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Starr is trying to escape the mount.
Starr wants to control but Gracie is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Gracie throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Starr because Gracie loaded up on that one.
Gracie content just to control the position here.
Gracie with shots to the head and body - Starr looks very uncomfortable down there.
Gracie misses with a head shot.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gracie throws some wild stikes that Starr manages to avoid easily.
Gracie trying to control but he's not successful this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brotha Gracie showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Gracie throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Starr.
Starr attempts a counter takedown but Gracie avoids it well and moves away.

Gracie gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Starr drags the fight down to the ground.
Gracie controls from within his opponent's guard.
Starr keeping full guard, as Gracie tries to pass.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Starr is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Starr will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie sitting in guard here, content to control.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Starr is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Starr trying to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Gracie rushes Starr and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Gracie stalling the fight.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Gracie.

Starr ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Starr no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Gracie postures up.

Starr working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Gracie doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Gracie manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gracie pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Starr is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Starr is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Brotha Gracie is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Starr trying to keep a closed guard but Gracie is proving a slippery customer.
Starr utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Starr is controlling Gracie's posture.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Gracie. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Gracie looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Starr feinted with a counter takedown.

That's four 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.
Gracie fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Starr on the side of the head.

Gracie closes the distance and pushes Starr back into the cage.

Gracie jumps guard.
Gracie working a defensive guard here.
Starr preventing the sweep.

Gracie looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Starr stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gracie swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ringo Starr has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gracie pulls Starr in close to his closed guard and prevents Starr from doing any damage or advancing position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Brotha Gracie comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Gracie has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight for Brotha Gracie!
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight for Brotha Gracie!
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight for Brotha Gracie!

Brotha Gracie wins by unanimous decision!
Brotha Gracie thanked the fans post fight for their support.