PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Martim Dias (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Barbosa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Dias
vs
Barbosa

177 cm
23
186 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

211 cm
21
187 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Martim Dias!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jose Barbosa!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Seu Braga and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dias gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Barbosa counters with a left and a right that stings Dias.

Dias has taken the fight to the clinch.
Dias jumps guard but Barbosa stands there with Dias around his waist. Dias gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Dias pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Barbosa keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Martim Dias. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dias with a lazy takedown attempt
and Barbosa counters with a two punch combo.
Dias tries to clinch there but Barbosa circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dias shoots for a double leg takedown but Barbosa sprawls well. He's pushed Dias's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Despite the aggression on Barbosa's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Dias shoots in for a double leg but Barbosa sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Barbosa slaps away a takedown attempt from Dias, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Barbosa tries to keep at a distance but Dias has taken the fight into the clinch.
Dias has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Barbosa after a bit of a struggle.
Barbosa is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Barbosa breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Dias moves to clinch but Barbosa breaks away
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combo that has Dias backing up. Dias nods at Barbosa to acknowledge the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dias looks to clinch
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Dias closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Barbosa to the mat! Barbosa manages to get full guard.
Barbosa wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Dias manages to pass to side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Dias not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Dias is thwarting Barbosa's attempts to control the position.
Barbosa is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa is trying to stand back up but Dias is controlling him
Barbosa is looking for a sweep. Dias is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Barbosa keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Barbosa wants to get back to his feet.
Barbosa is refusing to be controlled, as Dias sits in half guard.
Barbosa wants to get back to full guard.

That's four 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.
Barbosa slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Barbosa looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Dias passes into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Dias is looking for a kimura here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barbosa tries to get to full guard but Dias has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jose Barbosa dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Dias misses with a jab to the body
and Barbosa counters with a left and a right that stings Dias.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Dias is defended easily by Barbosa.
Barbosa is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Martim Dias seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dias looks to clinch
and Barbosa counters with a series of strikes. Dias will be more careful next time no doubt.
Barbosa has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Dias shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Barbosa as he jumps to the side.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dias darts in trying to clinch
and Barbosa counters with a left and a right that stings Dias.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dias looks to clinch
and Barbosa counters with a series of strikes. Dias will be more careful next time no doubt.
Jose Barbosa seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Dias looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Martim Dias. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dias thows a leg kick but Barbosa checks it
and Barbosa counters with a two punch combo.

Barbosa gets tackled into the cage by Dias. Dias maintains the clinch.
Barbosa working hard to break the clinch.
Dias tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Barbosa pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dias throws a lazy uppercut
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Dias feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Barbosa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Barbosa is trying to keep Dias in close.

Dias stands and steps away. Barbosa gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Dias throws a combination that misses
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Dias tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Barbosa swivels and escapes.
As Dias backs off Barbosa throws a huge counter combo but Dias manages to avoid it all.
Dias doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combo that has Dias backing up. Dias nods at Barbosa to acknowledge the strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dias gets the takedown into side control.
Dias working away.
Barbosa tries to improve position but can't.
Barbosa struggling a bit here.
Barbosa wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Barbosa is trying to control Dias's posture but Dias avoids it.
Dias fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Barbosa tries to escape but Dias is in control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Barbosa is working the combinations to good effect here.
Dias tries for a takedown but Barbosa circles away easily
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combo that has Dias backing up. Dias nods at Barbosa to acknowledge the strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jose Barbosa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Dias shoots in and bounces Barbosa off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Barbosa throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

Barbosa is looking for a triangle but Dias pushes his legs off easily.
Barbosa trying to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Barbosa looking for a sweep. Not yet Barbosa, not yet.
Barbosa pulls Dias in close to prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dias loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Barbosa can do anything to dispel that myth.
Barbosa working a defensive guard here.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Dias trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Dias has taken the fight to the clinch.
Barbosa wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Dias has him pressed against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Dias working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Dias stalling the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dias is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

Barbosa breaks from the clinch.
Dias tries to clinch
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Jose Barbosa is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dias tries to clinch up.
Dias wants to clinch
and Barbosa counters with a left and a right that stings Dias.
Dias tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Barbosa swivels and escapes.
Barbosa is looking for the big counter here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dias shoots and misses
and Barbosa counters with a left and a right that stings Dias.
Barbosa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Barbosa is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Barbosa avoids the head kick by Dias.
Despite the aggression on Barbosa's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Dias misses with a double jab
and Barbosa counters with a series of strikes. Dias will be more careful next time no doubt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dias doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Barbosa counters with a two punch combo.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Martim Dias. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dias doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Barbosa counters with a left and a right that stings Dias.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Barbosa wants it to stay on the feet.
Dias goes for a double leg but Barbosa avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Barbosa continues to drive forward.
Barbosa is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Dias has his takedown stuffed
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Dias with a lazy takedown attempt
and Barbosa counters with a three punch combo that has Dias backing up. Dias nods at Barbosa to acknowledge the strikes.
Dias moves to clinch but Barbosa breaks away
and Barbosa counters with a one-two to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jose Barbosa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Barbosa winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 27:30
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jose Barbosa!