PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Under (ranked 3264 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joao Paulo Guelra (ranked 8449 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Under
vs
Paulo Guelra

182 cm
25
184 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

187 cm
25
187 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Michael Under!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Joao Paulo Guelra!
The judges for this bout are Santiago Holmes, Dirk Anderson and Michael Johnstone.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Under throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Guelra tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Under is in Guelra's guard.
Under stopping the sweep attempt from Guelra.
Guelra not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Under throwing strikes from guard but Guelra blocks nicely.
Under trying to control the position from guard on top but Guelra is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Under 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.
Under stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Guelra swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Under postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Guelra is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Under, into his guard.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Guelra stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Under swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Under has his hands on Guelra's head, controlling the position.
Guelra wants to pass the guard but Under is keeping the position.
Under pulls Guelra in close to prevent any damage.
Under continues to stall.
Guelra wants to control from the top but Under keeps moving.
Guelra looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's two 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.
Under wants to sweep here but Guelra controlling him for the moment.
Under trying to control the position here.
Guelra looking to sit in guard and control but Under gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Guelra 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.
Under connects with a couple of short punches.
Under stopping the sweep attempt from Guelra.
Under trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Under wants to control from the top but Guelra keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Under drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Guelra manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Under has Guelra in his guard.

Guelra wants to pass the guard but Under is keeping the position.
Under has control of Guelra's left arm, preventing Guelra from doing any damage.
Guelra trying to control the position from guard on top but Under is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Under tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Under keeping moving, preventing Guelra from controlling successfully.
Under controlling Guelra's posture.
Under looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Guelra looking to sit in guard and control but Under gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Under keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Guelra's head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Guelra wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Under preventing the sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Under dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Guelra thumps Under with a low kick.
Guelra lands a nice leg kick that just misses Under's sensitive parts.
Guelra lands with a slapping head kick.
Guelra connects with a leg kick. Under looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Guelra misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Under feinted with a counter takedown.
Guelra throws a quick inside leg kick.
Guelra fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Under.

Under decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Under is working for a kimura here but Guelra manages to reverse the position and he's now in Under's guard.
Under seems keen to control Guelra's posture.
Guelra wants to control from the top but Under keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guelra is looking to stand up but Under won't let him.
Guelra looking to pass the guard.
Under is controlling Guelra's posture.
Guelra stands and throws Under's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Under is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Guelra tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Guelra decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Under moves out of range as Guelra throws a body kick.
Under avoids the head kick by Guelra.
Joao Paulo Guelra is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Guelra lands a nice looking body kick.
Under moves out of range of the body kick.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A head kick misses from Guelra.
Guelra lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

Under drives through with a takedown into Guelra's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Under drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Guelra manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Under has Guelra in his guard.

Under looking for a sweep. Not yet Under, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guelra wants to control from the top but Under keeps moving.
Under looking for a sweep. Not yet Under, not yet.
Guelra looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Under keeping moving, preventing Guelra from controlling successfully.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Under holds on and takes a little breather.
More hug and hope from Under.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao Paulo Guelra showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Guelra throws a hook but Under avoids it easily.
Under fires out a quick counter leg kick but Guelra just manages to avoid it.
Guelra throws a hook to the side of Under's head but Under sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Michael Under is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Under rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Guelra moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Under throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Guelra was covering up waiting for the punch and Under finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Under's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Guelra trying to control the position.
Guelra has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Under trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Under lands a couple of digs.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Under is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Guelra is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Guelra has escaped and now he's on top!

Guelra tries to free his leg and advance position but Under is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guelra wants to control from the top but Under keeps moving.
Under keeping full guard, as Guelra tries to pass.
Under trying to control the position here.
Guelra trying to control the position from guard on top but Under is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Guelra decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Under, up you get!
Under steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Guelra. That one must have hurt.
Guelra throws a body kick that misses

so Under counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Guelra trying to keep a closed guard but Under is proving a slippery customer.
Guelra is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Under trying to control the position from guard on top but Guelra is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Under passes Guelra's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Guelra tries to get to full guard but Under has control of the leg.

Under seems to be working for a kimura but Guelra defends the submission attempt.
Under winds up and cracks Guelra with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Guelra is trying to maintain the position but Under is very close to passing his half guard.

Under is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Guelra defends it well.
Guelra wants to control but Under is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Guelra regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Under.
Guelra keeping full guard, as Under tries to pass.
Under trying to control but Guelra is working from the bottom.
Under throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Under with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Michael Under overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Under postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Guelra keeping moving, preventing Under from controlling successfully.
Under postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Under showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Under 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 Santiago Holmes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Under!