PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Denis Prager (ranked 3322 p4p, 381 weight class) and Armando Gracie (ranked 4255 p4p, 463 weight class). Gracie has chosen America Fuck Yeah as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Prager
vs
Gracie

176 cm
27
193 lbs
8 - 9 - 0

170 cm
28
190 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very strong

Good takedowns
Brawler
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 8 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Denis Prager!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Armando Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, Daniel Bishop and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gracie drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Gracie tries for a kimura but Prager is defending well.
Prager tries to bench press Gracie off him but Gracie keeps the position.
Prager prevents Gracie from moving into mount.
Prager wants to control but Gracie postures up.

Gracie is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Prager is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Prager can't do much from the bottom here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gracie tries for a kimura but Prager is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gracie working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Prager defending against the ground and pound.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Gracie working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Prager is trying to control Gracie's posture but Gracie avoids it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie wants to control but Prager is keeping him busy.
Prager is looking for a sweep.
Gracie postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Prager on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Prager tries to get out of the position.
Gracie trying to control the position but Prager is working away.
Prager tries to buck Gracie off but Gracie is having none of it.

Gracie tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Gracie has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Gracie has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Prager is not content to let Gracie control the position.
Prager defending against the ground and pound.
Prager tries to bench press Gracie off him but Gracie keeps the position.

Gracie is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Prager is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Prager has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Gracie tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Prager can't do much from the bottom here.

Gracie thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Gracie scores with a couple of short elbows.
Prager is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Prager manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Gracie prevents Prager from improving his position.

Gracie seems to be working for a kimura but Prager defends the submission attempt.
Gracie prevents Prager from improving his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gracie is looking for a kimura here.
Gracie passes the guard and advances to mount!
Gracie breaks from Prager's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Gracie thowing shots but they're missing.

Prager defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Gracie.
Prager tries to lock up and control but Gracie gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
The referee warns Prager that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Gracie trying to control but Prager is having none of it.
Gracie unloads with some shots from mount but Prager bucks and avoids them well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Prager reaches up and holds on to Gracie to control the position.
Prager is trying desperately to improve position.

Gracie is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Prager has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Prager is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Gracie is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Prager has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Prager!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gracie trying to keep a closed guard but Prager is proving a slippery customer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Armando Gracie dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Prager throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Denis Prager is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Prager decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Gracie is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Prager pulls his head out easily.
Still in half guard, Prager seems content to control.
Gracie slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Gracie pulls Prager in close to prevent any damage.
Prager pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gracie is keeping the position for now.

Gracie has an active guard here but Prager has managed to pass into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Prager drops an elbow to the side of Gracie's head.
Ground and pound from Prager.
Gracie is trying to maintain the position but Prager is very close to passing his half guard.
Gracie gets back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie wants to sweep but no luck.
Gracie has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gracie working a defensive guard here.
Prager working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Gracie's head.
Prager is in close to Gracie's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Prager trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

Gracie is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Prager from controlling successfully.
Gracie is trying to keep Prager in close.
Prager is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Prager with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Prager lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Armando Gracie has got the better of the ground game so far.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gracie is on top in guard.

Gracie throwing strikes from guard but Prager blocks nicely.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Prager keeps moving.

Gracie 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.
Prager trying to keep a closed guard but Gracie is proving a slippery customer.
Prager is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Gracie is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Prager wants to sweep here but Gracie controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie throwing strikes from guard but Prager blocks nicely.
Gracie looking to sit in guard and control but Prager gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Gracie is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Prager has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Prager working some strikes from top position.
Prager landing with the ground and pound.
Prager is working Gracie over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Prager preventing the sweep.

Prager got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gracie has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Prager has managed to get both his arms back between Gracie's legs - danger averted.
Prager keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gracie's head.
Gracie looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Gracie looking to control.
Prager scoring with some ground and pound.

Gracie looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie trying to keep a closed guard but Prager is proving a slippery customer.
Prager slips nicely into half guard.
Prager is nestled in close to Gracie, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Prager trying to control the pace.
Prager lands with a punch from half guard.
Gracie on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Prager takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Prager lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Gracie is looking to control Prager's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Gracie avoid being mounted?
Gracie taking some punishment here, with Prager in his half guard.
Gracie makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Gracie.
Gracie wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Denis Prager dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Gracie manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Prager on his heels. He'll look to pass Prager's guard now, I'm sure.

Prager working for a triangle but Gracie defends it easily.
Prager pulls Gracie in close to his closed guard and prevents Gracie from doing any damage or advancing position.
Gracie throws a big elbow that misses.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Prager keeps moving.
Prager pulls Gracie in close to prevent any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Prager trying to control the position.
Gracie scoring with punches to the head and body.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Prager keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gracie 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.
Gracie throwing strikes from guard but Prager blocks nicely.
Gracie throws a big elbow that misses.
Gracie is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Gracie postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Gracie throwing strikes from guard but Prager blocks nicely.
Gracie with a flurry of punches that miss.
Gracie lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Gracie being controlled here momentarily.
Prager'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.
Prager looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Prager avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gracie is fighting to break Prager's control of his arms but Prager is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Gracie loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Gracie preventing the sweep.

Gracie thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Prager is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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

Prager shoots in and bounces Gracie off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Prager wants to pass the guard but Gracie is keeping the position.

Gracie has his foot on Prager's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Prager works his way back into a safe position though.
Prager landing with the ground and pound.

Gracie looking for a guillotine here but Prager defends easily.
Gracie looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Prager landing some decent shots from guard.
Prager wants to pass the guard but Gracie is keeping the position.
Prager trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Prager is in close to Gracie's body, working some short punches and elbows.

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

Gracie had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Prager defends it easily.

Gracie is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Prager defends well.
Gracie takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Prager scoring with some ground and pound.
Prager working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Gracie's head.

Gracie working for a triangle but Prager defends it easily.
Prager sitting in guard here, content to control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Gracie had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Prager defends it easily.
Prager with a nice head shot there.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Armando Gracie.
I think Gracie has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Armando Gracie!
Armando Gracie made sure to give a little speech post fight, saying 'Edgy Brah I am coming for you, you better be ready for a fight or I will plant you on the mat. Armando walks down the cage and out of the arena.'.