PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Bravo (ranked 1302 p4p, 137 weight class) and Bruce Banner (ranked 2561 p4p, 245 weight class). John Bravo has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Bravo
vs
Banner

193 cm
27
240 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

198 cm
25
265 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very quick

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, John Bravo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bruce Banner!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Lou da Vinci and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Banner is looking to clinch.
Bravo slips under a jab.
Bravo throws a lazy right hand but Banner sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Banner bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A looping hook to the body misses from Banner. Bravo does a little dance to reset his feet.
Banner getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

It looks like John Bravo has been cut.
A shot to the liver by Banner. Beautiful body shot.

Banner shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Banner was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Bravo is trying to get back to half guard.
Banner tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Bravo is looking to regain half guard here but Banner keeps moving and retains side control.
The ground and pound from Banner seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bravo tries to buck Banner off but Banner is having none of it.
Banner in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Bravo can't do much from the bottom here.
Bravo on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Bravo tries to get out of the position.
The strikes coming from Banner are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Banner throwing strikes but Bravo manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Banner manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Banner keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Banner is looking to control Bravo's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Banner avoid being mounted?
Banner tries to roll over but Bravo keeps him under control.
Bravo is pressing down on Banner's thigh, looking to free his foot. Banner is holding on for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Banner is looking to improve his position.
Bravo looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banner trying to hold on to Bravo's head to control him but Bravo postures up.
Banner gets back to full guard.
Bravo postures up and lands a big shot to Banner's brow.
Bravo throwing strikes but missing.
Bravo postures up.
Bravo stopping the sweep attempt from Banner.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bravo's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Banner is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Banner missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Banner is looking to take a break and control but Bravo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bravo controlling the position well.
Bravo regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Banner.
Banner looking to pass the guard.
Banner not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Bravo seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Banner throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bravo works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bravo has Banner pulled in close to control his posture.
Banner throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

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.
Banner wants to control from the top but Bravo keeps moving.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Bravo is on top in guard.

Banner bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Bravo's guard.

Banner working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Banner trying to control the position from guard on top but Bravo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Banner missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bravo controlling the position.
Banner trying to control the position from guard on top but Bravo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Banner working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Bravo has control of Banner's left arm, preventing Banner from doing any damage.
Banner landing some decent shots from guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bruce Banner dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Bravo's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Banner misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bravo.
Banner defending well as Bravo loads up on a big left hand.
Banner scores with a jab to the body.
Banner ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Bravo moves away.
Banner throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Banner scores with a jab to the body.
Banner cracks Bravo with a good jab.
Banner misses with a wild body shot.
Bravo throws a body shot but no joy.
Bruce Banner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Decent striking displayed by Banner there.
Banner throws a right and a left that Bravo avoids nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bravo tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Banner defends well and Bravo ends up having to push Banner into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Bravo darts in looking for a takedown but Banner gets double underhooks and turns Bravo into the cage.
Banner scores with a shot to the body.
Banner scores with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banner steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bravo.
Bravo keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Bravo throws a big shot that misses.
Bruce Banner seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Banner misses the shot to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bravo. Banner does a little dance to reset his feet.
Banner throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Banner has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Banner closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Banner avoids the body shot from Bravo.
Bravo takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Banner scores with a jab to the jaw.
Banner lands with a nice body punch.
Banner scores with a body shot.
Bravo throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A nice side step and Banner releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bravo defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Banner.
A shot to the liver by Banner. Beautiful body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Bravo.
Bravo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A telegraphed right hand from Bravo misses the target.
Banner throws a body shot but no joy.
Banner misses with a series of wild punches.
Bravo slips under a jab from Banner.
Banner keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Bravo.
Banner lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

John Bravo's cut is getting worse.
Banner misses with a straight left.
Bravo attempts a counter takedown but Banner avoids it well and moves away.
Banner lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Banner swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Banner throws a low kick but Bravo moves out of range easily.
Banner slips under a jab from Bravo.
Banner is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Bravo rather than just go for the knockout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bravo takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Bravo waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Banner.
Banner throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Bravo throws a hook but Banner blocks it.
Banner throws a counter combo.
Banner looks to score with a jab to the body but Bravo is just out of range.
Good standup being displayed there by Banner as he connects with a hook.
Banner stuffs the takedown.
A countering left hand to the body from Banner misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Bravo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Bravo gets a takedown into half guard.
Banner is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Bravo is looking to take a break and control but Banner is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Bravo is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banner is looking for a sweep. Bravo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Bravo is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Banner has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Bravo drops an elbow to the side of Banner's head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bravo looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Bravo lands a nice short elbow.

Banner is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Bravo pulls his head out easily.
Bravo lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Banner is rocked!
Bravo lands a big elbow - Banner is out of it! He's waving his arms around but his eyes are closed and he's not intelligently defending himself - the ref has no choice but to jump in and stop the fight! This one is in the books! A TKO win for Bravo!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). John Bravo!
John Bravo seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.