PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Robert Whittaker (ranked 5543 p4p, 590 weight class) and John Franco (ranked 21781 p4p, 759 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Whittaker
vs
Franco

183 cm
28
190 lbs
4 - 8 - 0

182 cm
29
180 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Good wrestler
Brawler
Knockout power

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 4 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Robert Whittaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Franco!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Seu Braga and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Excellent takedown into side control there by Franco.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Franco is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Whittaker is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Franco lands a decent elbow from side control.
Franco has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Whittaker is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Franco controls the position from side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
It looks like Franco might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Franco in side control, throwing shots but Whittaker defends.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco trying to control the position but Whittaker is working away.
Franco misses with the ground and pound.
Whittaker can't do much from the bottom here.
Franco lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Franco working the ground and pound from side control.
Whittaker is looking to regain half guard here but Franco keeps moving and retains side control.
Franco working away.
Franco controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franco is continuing to stall.

Franco stands up and beckons Whittaker to his feet.
Whittaker lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

Franco 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.
Franco is stalling in the full guard.
Let's hope that Franco has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Whittaker knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Franco on the ground.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Franco accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Franco drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Franco jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Whittaker is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Franco gets to his feet - Whittaker follows without any prompting.
Franco takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Franco has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Whittaker regains guard immediately.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Whittaker looking for a sweep. Not yet Whittaker, not yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franco tries to stand but Whittaker is controlling from the bottom.
Franco is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Franco is standing up over Whittaker. Whittaker looks to escape but Franco dives into side control.
Franco is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Whittaker will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Franco.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Whittaker is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Franco is controlling him well.
My spies in All Star Performance Institute inform me that Franco has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!

Franco looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Franco dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Franco drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Franco taking a breather here.
Franco is looking to take a break and control but Whittaker is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whittaker can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Franco stalls from top position.
Whittaker struggling a bit here.
Check out the look on Franco's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Franco controlling from side mount.
Whittaker wants to get back to his feet but Franco is dominant here and he's now got Whittaker's back!
Franco slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Can Whittaker hold on?! Franco is landing more strikes to his hapless foe.
Franco is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Whittaker up.
Franco trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Whittaker doesn't escape.

Whittaker fending off the submission attempt from Franco.

Franco looking for the choke from the back.
Franco is riding his opponent, not letting Whittaker buck him off.

Franco is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Whittaker defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Franco is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Franco lands with a hammerfist to the side of Whittaker's head.
Franco lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.

Franco is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Whittaker knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Whittaker for a finish.
Whittaker trying to control the hands but Franco won't let him.
Franco biding his time, looking for the opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker tries to escape but Franco has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Franco has good solid back control here.
Franco controlling well, preventing Whittaker from escaping the position.

Franco looking for the choke but no joy.
John Franco has got the better of the ground game so far.
Franco throwing wild punches that miss their target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Franco showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Whittaker checks a low kick from Franco.

Franco closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Whittaker quickly recovers to half guard.

Franco decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.

Franco moves into the clinch.
Franco has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Whittaker breaks the clinch.

Franco gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Franco tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Franco holding his opponent close, against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whittaker trying to stall but Franco improves his position.
A bit of stalling here from Franco.

Franco has picked Whittaker up - he's going for a ride! Franco dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco slows the pace down in half guard.

Franco stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Whittaker pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Franco throws a low kick but Whittaker moves out of range easily.
Whittaker swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Whittaker tries to land a front kick but Franco steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

Franco fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Whittaker sprawls well initially but Franco persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Whittaker wants to get back to full guard.
Franco missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Franco controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker tries to kick Franco off but Franco keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Whittaker is looking for a sweep. Franco is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Whittaker gets back to full guard.
Franco tries to free his leg and advance position but Whittaker is retaining full guard.

Whittaker is working an open guard so Franco takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Franco throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Whittaker's waist but Whittaker gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Franco off to one side.

Franco scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Franco throws an elbow but Whittaker slips to the side and avoids it well.
Franco in side control, just content to control the action for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker has one of Franco's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.
Franco creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Whittaker sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Whittaker trying to remain calm as Franco controls from the top position.
Whittaker is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Franco is controlling him well.
Whittaker is trying to control Franco's posture but Franco avoids it.
Franco wants to control but Whittaker is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Franco thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
You can see the frustration on Whittaker's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Franco wants to lay and pray for a moment but Whittaker keeps working.
Franco controls the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Robert Whittaker has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John Franco is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
A punch lands to the side of Franco 's head but he takes it in his stride.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Franco comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Franco 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 Felipe Paraventi 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... John Franco!