PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Gruff Dragon (ranked 5707 p4p, 246 weight class) and Crisostomo Ibarra (ranked 5504 p4p, 226 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Dragon
vs
Ibarra

150 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

169 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Gruff Dragon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Crisostomo Ibarra!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Don Winkell and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ibarra thuds a left hand into Dragon's body.
Dragon slips a jab and a cross from Ibarra.
Jab, jab by Ibarra - just one landing.
Ibarra slips under a jab.
Ibarra catches Dragon with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Ibarra scores with the left hand. Dragon knows he should have avoided that one.
Ibarra lands a jab.
Ibarra checks a leg kick.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Ibarra!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ibarra swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ibarra wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Dragon moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Ibarra tests Dragon's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Dragon fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Ibarra sprawls well initially but Dragon persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Dragon stalling.

Dragon is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Ibarra is just riding it out for now. Dragon eventually gives up the hold.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragon not doing much here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ibarra is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Dragon trying to control the pace.

Ibarra is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Dragon pulls his head out easily.

Ibarra looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Dragon is looking for a kimura here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dragon is looking to advance position but Ibarra won't allow it.
Dragon trying to control the pace.
Ibarra wants to control but Dragon is keeping busy.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Dragon ducks right into an uppercut from Ibarra.
Dragon could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Ibarra cracks Dragon with a good jab.
Crisostomo Ibarra is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dragon is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Ibarra moves out of range as Dragon throws a body kick.

Dragon closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Ibarra struggling a bit here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ibarra is being controlled here.
Ibarra manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Dragon looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Dragon is looking to control Ibarra's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Dragon avoid being mounted?

Dragon actively working from the bottom here.

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Ibarra 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.

Ibarra is working for a kimura but Dragon is defending it quite comfortably.
Dragon is doing well to control the position and prevent Ibarra from advancing to side control.

That's six 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.

Dragon looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Ibarra is looking for a kimura here.

Ibarra is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Dragon looking for submissions off his back.

Dragon looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Dragon desperately trying to maintain half guard.

Ibarra wants to work for an arm triangle but Dragon is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Dragon is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ibarra pulls his head out easily.
Ibarra trying to pass the guard but Dragon defending well.

That's eight 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.

Dragon looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Ibarra is working for a kimura but Dragon is defending it quite comfortably.

Dragon actively working from the bottom here.
Dragon is looking to improve his position.
Dragon knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Ibarra on the ground.

Dragon looking for submissions off his back.
Ibarra moves into full mount! Dragon won't be happy about that!

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra wants to control the pace but Dragon is squirming around nicely.

Ibarra looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Ibarra avoids the attempt from Dragon to control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dragon can't escape the position.
Dragon on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Dragon tries to get out of the position.
Dragon tries to lock up and control but Ibarra gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Dragon holds of for dear life.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Crisostomo Ibarra 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. This is the final round!

Dragon shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Dragon working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Ibarra's thigh. Ibarra counters though and makes it back to full guard.

Ibarra working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Dragon doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Dragon manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dragon 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.
Gruff Dragon overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragon preventing the sweep.

Ibarra is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Dragon is aware though and is defending well.
Dragon pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ibarra is keeping the position for now.
Dragon has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Dragon slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Ibarra keeping full guard, as Dragon tries to pass.
Ibarra has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ibarra looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

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

Ibarra thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Dragon might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Ibarra has control of an arm but Dragon manages to advance to Ibarra's back!
Dragon not allowing Ibarra to control his hands.

Dragon patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra takes a big shot to the side of the head.

Ibarra defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Dragon throws strikes from the back but Ibarra rolls nicely and manages to end up in full guard. Nice work by Ibarra.

Ibarra working for a triangle but Dragon defends it easily.
Dragon stays in close to Ibarra's body and controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dragon preventing the sweep.

Ibarra looking for a guillotine here but Dragon defends easily.
Dragon advances position into side control!

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Dragon thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Ibarra tries to improve position but can't.
Ibarra is trying to control Dragon's posture but Dragon avoids it.
Ibarra is letting Dragon control him for a moment.
Dragon passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Ibarra!

That's six 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.
Dragon landing punches.
Dragon cracks Ibarra with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Dragon sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Dragon'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 seven minutes gone in the round.
Dragon has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Dragon landing strikes from the mount.
Ibarra really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Dragon takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Ibarra is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Dragon looking to control and managing it successfully.
The referee warns Ibarra that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Dragon controlling the position easily from mount.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra tries to lock up and control but Dragon gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Dragon content just to control the position here.
Dragon wants to take his opponent's back but Ibarra doesn't allow it.
Dragon avoids the attempt from Ibarra to control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ibarra is desperately trying to improve his position but Dragon has a good base and remains in mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gruff Dragon showed his dominance in that final round.
I have no idea who won that fight. Let's wait and see whether the judges are as confused as me! Time for a split decision perhaps?!. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight as a draw!
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight for Crisostomo Ibarra!
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight as a draw!

The fight ends as a draw!