PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Clifton Hale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joao Costa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Hale
vs
Costa

213 cm
20
214 lbs
0 - 4 - 1

205 cm
25
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

Good takedowns
Brawler
Inexperienced

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 0 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Clifton Hale!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joao Costa!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Luis Engracia and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Costa fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Hale to the ground. Costa is now in Hale's guard.

Hale manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

Costa lands a takedown into guard.
Costa working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hale's head.
Hale really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Costa wants to pass the guard but Hale is keeping the position.
Costa content to stall in guard here.
Costa wants to get up but he can't break Hale's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Costa is stalling in the full guard.
Costa wanted to stand there but Hale had control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa stays in close to Hale's body and controls the position.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Hale wants to sweep here but Costa controlling him for the moment.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Costa shoots in looking for a takedown but Hale manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Costa's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Costa scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Costa takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Hale is trying to get back to full guard.
Costa wants to pass the guard but Hale is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hale is refusing to be controlled, as Costa sits in half guard.

Costa is looking for a kimura here.
Costa perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Costa is keen to just control but Hale is a slippery customer.
Hale manages to get to full guard.
Costa wants to pass the guard but Hale is keeping the position.
Costa stands and throws Hale's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Costa tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Costa working the ground and pound from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hale tries to bench press Costa off him but Costa keeps the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hale tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Costa presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Costa misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Costa takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Costa tries to control but Hale wriggling away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hale can't escape the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao Costa dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hale closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Costa quickly recovers to half guard.
Hale throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Hale prevents Costa from standing back up.
Joao Costa has got the better of the ground game so far.
Hale wants to lay and pray for a moment but Costa keeps working.
Costa is controlling Hale's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Hale not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Costa is positioning himself well to prevent Hale advancing to mount.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Costa trying to control from the bottom.
Costa is looking to escape.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale misses with a takedown attempt - Costa sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Costa shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hale sprawls well. Hale wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Costa gets slowly back to his feet.
Hale throws a big counter combination but Costa scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Sloppy strikes from Hale. Those never looked like landing.
Costa dives in for a single leg takedown but Hale sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Costa shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Hale as he jumps to the side.
Clifton Hale has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joao Costa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Costa scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Hale is looking for a sweep. Costa is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Costa is looking to take a break and control but Hale is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Costa is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Hale defends it well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Costa slows the pace down in half guard.
Costa passes to side control.
Hale misses with a strike from the bottom.

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.
Costa wants to stand but Hale is controlling his arm.
Hale is not content to let Costa control the position.
Costa controls the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Costa connects with a crisp jab.

It looks like Clifton Hale has been cut.
Joao Costa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Costa shoots in for a double leg but Hale sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Costa shoots in for a double leg but Hale sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Costa is breathing heavily.
Hale tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Costa paws at him with a jab and circles away.
And Costa tries to counter it with a takedown but Hale pushes his down on his head and steps out.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Joao Costa will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Clifton Hale's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Costa throws a head kick that misses.

Costa moves into the clinch.
Costa tries to throw a body punch but Hale avoids it by throwing Costa back against the cage.
Costa has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Costa pulls guard effortlessly.
Costa trying to control the position.
Hale working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Hale has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Hale wants to stand but Costa has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Costa pulls Hale in close to his closed guard and prevents Hale from doing any damage or advancing position.
Hale throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Costa works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Hale working a defensive guard here.
Hale looking for a sweep. Not yet Hale, not yet.

Hale is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Costa drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Hale dives on top into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hale connects with a couple of short punches.

Costa is looking to cinch up a triangle. Hale throws the leg off to one side though and gets in tight to Costa's body to avoid the submission. Costa has instead reached around Hale's neck and now has a guillotine! Oh, this is biiiig trouble! Costa arches his back and squeezes and forces the tap from his hapless opponent.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:34 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Joao Costa!