PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Cruz Blake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bruno Helio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cruz Blake has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Blake
vs
Helio

218 cm
23
194 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
24
185 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Cruz Blake!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bruno Helio!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Emerson Jorge and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Blake shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Blake really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Helio looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Blake winds up and cracks Helio with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Blake missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Blake is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Helio doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Blake.
Blake content to control rather than advance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blake working over Helio with some ground and pound. Helio looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blake seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Blake is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Blake takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Blake controlling the action here.

Blake is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Helio is just riding it out for now. Blake eventually gives up the hold.
Blake takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two 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.

Blake is looking for a kimura but Helio is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Blake to get the leverage.
Blake is thwarting Helio's attempts to control the position.
Blake lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Blake scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Blake is thwarting Helio's attempts to control the position.
Blake is taking a breather. Helio says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Blake working Helio over with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blake is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Helio has managed to free his arm - good work.
Blake perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Helio felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.

Blake is working for a submission of some sort.

Blake seems to be working for a kimura but Helio defends the submission attempt.

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.
Blake trying to control the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Blake scores with a takedown into Helio's guard.
Blake works over Helio with some ground and pound from guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Blake is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Blake working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Blake.

Blake closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Blake lands in his opponent's guard.
Helio is wriggling around but Blake manages to pass to half guard.
Blake will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Blake lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Helio is breathing heavily.
Ground and pound from Blake.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Helio is staying active underneath Blake, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blake landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Blake content to control rather than advance.

Blake is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Blake is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Helio can do to turn this around?
Blake is controlling the pace.

Helio is defending against the submission attempts here by Blake.

That's two 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.
Blake is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Blake scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Blake is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Blake slips a nice elbow through Helio's hands, connecting with Helio's forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake slows the pace down in half guard.
Blake looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Helio with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Helio taking some punishment here, with Blake in his half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Blake winds up and cracks Helio with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Blake is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Helio defends it well.

Blake is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Blake looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Helio with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Blake looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Helio throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Blake manages to pass to side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cruz Blake dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Helio misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Blake closes the distance and pushes Helio back into the cage.

Blake decides to pull guard.
Blake is pulling down on Helio's head. It's preventing any offense from Helio, at least for the moment.
Blake'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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blake has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Helio in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Helio takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blake controlling Helio's posture.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Blake throws a sloppy head kick and Helio moves out of range easily.

Blake looking to score a takedown here. Helio is defending well but Blake drives through and ends up in Helio's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blake sitting in guard here, content to control.
Helio utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Blake connects with a couple of short punches.
Blake distracts Helio with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Blake stands up over Helio, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Blake postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Helio is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Blake lands a couple of digs.
Blake landing with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Blake is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Cruz Blake overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Blake postures up and lands a big shot to Helio's brow.
Blake landing with the ground and pound.
Blake lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Blake postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Blake accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Blake postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Blake thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blake scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Blake engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Helio is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Blake is keeping busy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Blake is looking for a takedown.
Bruno Helio has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cruz Blake is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Blake lands a takedown into guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cruz Blake showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Blake, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 30:27
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:27
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cruz Blake!