PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eloy Love (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raphael Mendoza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Love
vs
Mendoza

197 cm
24
178 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
24
167 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Eloy Love!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Raphael Mendoza!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Skip Squint and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mendoza fails to land the takedown.
Mendoza throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
An attempted straight right counter from Love misses the target.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Love is defended easily by Mendoza.

Love moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Love manages to break the clinch.
Mendoza fails with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Love gets a clinch.
Mendoza is looking to take this one to the mat.
Eloy Love has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Raphael Mendoza.

Love pulls guard successfully.
Love seems keen to control Mendoza's posture.

Love kicks Mendoza off and gets to his feet.

Love darts in and clinches Mendoza up against the cage.
Mendoza is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Love jumps into guard, dragging Mendoza to the mat.
Love will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendoza trying to control the position from guard on top but Love is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Love wants to stand up but Mendoza is controlling him.
Love pulls Mendoza in close to prevent any damage.
Mendoza missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Mendoza is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Love seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Love has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendoza trying to control the position from guard on top but Love is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Love moves in looking to clinch but Mendoza pushes him off.
Love is looking to land body kicks.
Love fails with the takedown

and Mendoza counters by clinching up.
Love is looking for a takedown.

Love has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Mendoza uses from the top position.
Mendoza wants to pass the guard but Love is keeping the position.
Love trying to keep a closed guard but Mendoza is proving a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Love throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

Love is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Love trying to control the position here.
Love trying to control the position.
Mendoza stands up over Love, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Love being controlled here, momentarily.
Mendoza wants to stand but Love is controlling his posture from full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Love fails in his attempt to clinch.

Love drives through and clinches with Mendoza against the cage.
Love tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Mendoza smiles and moves away.

Love gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Love tries to pull guard but Mendoza won't allow it.
Mendoza is looking to take this one to the mat.
Love gets underhooks to prevent Mendoza's takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendoza keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Love's efforts to push away.
Mendoza is looking to take this one to the mat.
Eloy Love has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Raphael Mendoza.
Love wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Mendoza has him pressed against the cage.

Mendoza pulls Love into guard.
Love stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mendoza swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendoza is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Love is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Love'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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Mendoza looking to hit a scissor sweep but Love is one step ahead there.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Eloy Love seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Love has taken the fight to the clinch.

Love pulls guard successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Love has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Mendoza lands a couple of digs.
Love trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Love wants to stand but Mendoza is controlling the position.
Mendoza is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Love keeping moving, preventing Mendoza from controlling successfully.
Love wants to stand up but Mendoza is controlling him.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

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.
Mendoza being controlled here momentarily.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Love looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mendoza is fending him off so far but Love persists. Nope, Mendoza circles away and we're back to standing.
Mendoza drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Love defends it well.
Mendoza shoots for a double leg takedown but Love sprawls well. He's pushed Mendoza's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Love tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Love doesn't manage to clinch there - Mendoza circles away.

Mendoza tries to keep at a distance but Love has taken the fight into the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendoza looking for a takedown.
Mendoza keeps control of Love as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eloy Love dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Mendoza decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Love is trying to control but Mendoza manages to pass to mount!
Love holds on for dear life.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Love holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Mendoza tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Love is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendoza wants to take Love's back but he can't do it this time.
Love is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mendoza can do to turn this around?
Mendoza lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Love hang on?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendoza pushing the pace here, looking to move to his opponents back and work for a finish.
Love is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Mendoza controlling his opponent.
Love has given up his back here.
Love really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Mendoza has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Love looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Love is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Mendoza working for the choke.
Mendoza is not going to allow Love to sit and survive in this position.
Mendoza is riding his opponent, not letting Love buck him off.
Love wants to control his opponent's hands but Mendoza gets his hands free.
Mendoza trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Love doesn't escape.
Love trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mendoza has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Love has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Love rolls, trying to escape but Mendoza keeps control of the position.
Love manages to reverse the position and now he's in Mendoza's guard. Nice work there by Love.
Mendoza wants to control the position but Love says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.

Love is looking for a kimura but Mendoza is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Love to get the leverage.
Mendoza is controlling Love's trapped leg to prevent Love from advancing to side control.
Mendoza is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Love's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Love's back!
Mendoza takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Love just trying to survive but Mendoza is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Love trying to get back to his feet but Mendoza is in full control for now.

Mendoza is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Love has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Love trying to control the action but Mendoza just sinks the hooks in.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Mendoza is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Love is defending well though. Mendoza let's go of the attempt for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raphael Mendoza comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Love 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 Donatello Bradman scores the fight 29:28
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eloy Love!