PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jean Cristopher La Vellei (ranked 3380 p4p, 354 weight class) and Dan Monroe (ranked 4984 p4p, 464 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Cristopher La Vellei
vs
Monroe

196 cm
18
185 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

180 cm
20
180 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jean Cristopher La Vellei!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dan Monroe!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Ivan Kurochkin and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Monroe misses with a straight left.
Monroe takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Monroe throws a shot from downtown. La Vellei moves away and avoids it.
Monroe listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

Monroe gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Monroe has La Vellei pressed against the cage.
Monroe goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
La Vellei digs a right hand into Monroe's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Monroe's gas tank.
Monroe throws an elbow that misses.
La Vellei avoids the elbow strike from Monroe, against the cage.
Monroe tried to land a shot to the body but connects with La Vellei's elbow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Monroe working aggressively here.

La Vellei is trying to trip Monroe. He has hold of a leg but Monroe is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. La Vellei persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Monroe is trying to control the position but La Vellei postures up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Monroe is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
La Vellei slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Monroe has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but La Vellei has passed into side control.
La Vellei working away.
Monroe is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Monroe gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

La Vellei is working for a submission of some sort.

That's two 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.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. La Vellei lands a nice short elbow.
Monroe moves into full guard.
Monroe controls La Vellei momentarily but La Vellei frees himself.
La Vellei prevents Monroe from getting back to his feet.
Monroe is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Monroe thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed La Vellei's head.
Monroe missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Monroe winds up and cracks La Vellei with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Monroe looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Monroe throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Monroe seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but La Vellei does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Monroe sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. La Vellei defending well though.
La Vellei controlling the position well.
La Vellei is not content to let Monroe control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Monroe tries to stand but his hand is stuck under La Vellei.
Monroe looks to land a strike but La Vellei avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Monroe throws a big right hand that misses.
La Vellei looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
La Vellei keeping moving, preventing Monroe from controlling successfully.
La Vellei looking to hit a scissor sweep but Monroe is one step ahead there.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Monroe wants to clinch up but La Vellei keeps it at a distance.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Monroe listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Monroe tries to close the distance and clinch but La Vellei swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Monroe doesn't manage to clinch there - La Vellei circles away.
La Vellei defending well as Monroe loads up on a big left hand.
La Vellei misses with a jab, cross combination.
Monroe gets cracked with a nice right hand there by La Vellei.
La Vellei really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
La Vellei throws a low kick but Monroe avoids it.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Monroe enables La Vellei to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Monroe manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Monroe has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Monroe 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.
La Vellei working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Monroe looking for a guillotine here but La Vellei defends easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
La Vellei postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Monroe working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from La Vellei.
La Vellei trying to control the position from guard on top but Monroe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Monroe manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. La Vellei manages to get himself to full guard.

Monroe trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Monroe preventing the sweep.
La Vellei controlling the position.
Monroe wants to control from the top but La Vellei keeps moving.
Monroe looking to sit in guard and control but La Vellei gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Monroe is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Monroe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
La Vellei throws a strike but Monroe rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Monroe looking to sit in guard and control but La Vellei gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Monroe controls La Vellei momentarily but La Vellei frees himself.
Monroe throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Monroe is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Monroe is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst La Vellei is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Monroe trying to keep a closed guard but La Vellei is proving a slippery customer.
Monroe is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
La Vellei postures up.
Monroe is looking to sweep but instead, La Vellei has passed into half guard.
La Vellei will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
La Vellei is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
La Vellei throwing strikes here but Monroe is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Monroe tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
La Vellei takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Monroe is working to get back to half guard.
La Vellei avoids the attempt from Monroe to control.
La Vellei fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Monroe is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Monroe gets back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jean Cristopher La Vellei dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

La Vellei throws a nice outside leg kick.
Jean Cristopher La Vellei is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
La Vellei fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Monroe misses with an uppercut. La Vellei saw that one coming.
Monroe thows a left - swing and a miss!
La Vellei fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Monroe manages to avoid it.
La Vellei lands with a right hand.
Good exchange - La Vellei coming out on top.
A jab from Monroe misses.
A swing and a miss from Monroe.
A decent looking body kick lands there for La Vellei.
Monroe defends well against a solid takedown attempt from La Vellei.
Monroe throws out a counter right but La Vellei avoids it with no problem.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Excellent takedown into side control there by La Vellei.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Monroe is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on La Vellei's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Monroe trying to control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Monroe tries to kick La Vellei off but La Vellei keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
La Vellei is thwarting Monroe's attempts to control the position.

Monroe has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but La Vellei is on him like a limpet, forcing Monroe back against the cage.
Monroe working aggressively here.
Monroe tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Monroe swings wildly with an uppercut but La Vellei uses good head movement to avoid it.

La Vellei has Monroe pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. La Vellei pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Monroe tumbling to the mat - La Vellei dives into Monroe's guard.

Monroe looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
La Vellei distracts Monroe with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Monroe looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
La Vellei 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.
Jean Cristopher La Vellei overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Monroe bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in La Vellei's guard.

La Vellei is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Monroe trying to control but La Vellei is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Monroe wants to get up but he can't break La Vellei's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Monroe stopping the sweep attempt from La Vellei.
La Vellei wants to get back to his feet but Monroe is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
La Vellei controlling the position.

Monroe drops back, looking for a kneebar! La Vellei looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. La Vellei looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from La Vellei!

La Vellei misses with the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

La Vellei tries for a kimura but Monroe is defending well.
Monroe is looking for a sweep.
La Vellei is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Monroe is looking to regain half guard here but La Vellei keeps moving and retains side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Monroe is still trying to improve position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jean Cristopher La Vellei.
I think La Vellei 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Jean Cristopher La Vellei!
Our winner, Jean Cristopher La Vellei, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.