PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Garcia (ranked 1719 p4p, 216 weight class) and Marcus Yonic (ranked 2411 p4p, 0 weight class). Rafael Garcia had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Garcia
vs
Yonic

170 cm
26
192 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

177 cm
26
185 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
Very quick

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Good gas tank

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 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Rafael Garcia!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Marcus Yonic!
The judges for this bout are Peter Branson, Winston Alpacca and Dirk Anderson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Garcia pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Yonic shoots in and drives through. Garcia sprawls well.
Yonic shoots in looking for a takedown. Garcia tries to sprawl out of it but Yonic keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Garcia manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Garcia.
Yonic looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Garcia shoots in for a takedown but Yonic shows good takedown defense.

Yonic drives through with a takedown into Garcia's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yonic won't allow Garcia to sweep him here.

Garcia has his foot on Yonic's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Yonic works his way back into a safe position though.
Garcia preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yonic lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Garcia is looking for a triangle but Yonic pushes his legs off easily.
Garcia keeping moving, preventing Yonic from controlling successfully.

Garcia has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Yonic is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Garcia.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Garcia manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
We've been hearing good reports from Garcia's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Yonic is pressing down on Garcia's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Yonic keeping moving, preventing Garcia from controlling successfully.
Yonic trying to control the position here.

Yonic working for a triangle but Garcia defends it easily.
Garcia trying to control the position from guard on top but Yonic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garcia looking to pass the guard.
Garcia being controlled here momentarily.
Garcia trying to control but Yonic is working from the bottom.
Garcia sitting in guard here, content to control.
Garcia preventing the sweep.
Yonic keeping moving, preventing Garcia from controlling successfully.
Garcia pushes down on Yonic's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Garcia lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia tries to pass to full mount but Yonic defends it.

Yonic is defending against the submission attempts here by Garcia.
Garcia looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Garcia works his way into full mount!
Yonic is looking to improve his position but Garcia isn't that keen on the idea.
Garcia wants to control the pace but Yonic is squirming around nicely.
Yonic has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Garcia tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Yonic defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Garcia.
Yonic is trying to escape the mount.
Garcia trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Garcia is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Yonic is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Yonic keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Garcia lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Yonic hang on?
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yonic wants to control but Garcia is having none of it.
Garcia looking to control but Yonic is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Yonic slaps away a takedown attempt from Garcia, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Garcia tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Yonic swivels and escapes.
Garcia displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Yonic.
Garcia changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Garcia lands a body shot.
Garcia stuffs the takedown.
Yonic throws a hook to the side of Garcia's head but Garcia sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Garcia swings for the body but Yonic moves out of range.
Marcus Yonic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yonic fails with a takedown attempt.
Rafael Garcia has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marcus Yonic.
Garcia slips under a jab.
Garcia is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yonic can do to turn this around?
Yonic moves out of range of the strikes.
Garcia throws out a loose jab but Yonic uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Yonic ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A jab from Garcia misses.

Garcia tries to sprawl but Yonic drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Yonic is thwarting Garcia's attempts to control the position.
Yonic scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Yonic looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Yonic lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Garcia moves into full guard.
Marcus Yonic has got the better of the ground game so far.
Yonic landing with the ground and pound.
Yonic is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Garcia working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Yonic doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Yonic manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yonic lands a couple of decent looking shots.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Garcia is trying to control the position but Yonic postures up.
Yonic with a nice head shot there.
Yonic keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Garcia's head.

Garcia looking for a guillotine here but Yonic defends easily.
Garcia looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Yonic puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Garcia wants to get back to full guard.
Yonic lands with a punch from half guard.
Ground and pound from Yonic.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Yonic connects with a nice short shot to Garcia's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Garcia looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Garcia is looking to improve his position.
Yonic is keen to just control but Garcia is a slippery customer.
Garcia is trying to maintain the position but Yonic is very close to passing his half guard.
Garcia is trying to get back to full guard.
Yonic working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Yonic prevents Garcia from improving his position.
Yonic takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Garcia wants to control but Yonic is keeping busy.
Garcia has hold of Yonic's hands but Yonic slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yonic looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Garcia with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Yonic seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Garcia does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Garcia tries to roll over but Yonic keeps him under control.
Garcia is not content to let Yonic control the position.

Garcia looking for submissions off his back.
Yonic is thwarting Garcia's attempts to control the position.
Yonic lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Yonic drops an elbow to the side of Garcia's head.

Garcia looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Yonic working Garcia over with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Yonic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

A jab from Yonic misses.
Yonic dives in for a single leg takedown but Garcia sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Yonic fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Yonic misses the shot to the body.
Yonic closes the distance and clinches up with Garcia, looking for a takedown. Yonic pushes Garcia against the cage but Garcia circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rafael Garcia has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marcus Yonic.
A looping hook to the body misses from Garcia. Yonic does a little dance to reset his feet.
Yonic shoots for a double leg takedown but Garcia sprawls well. He's pushed Yonic's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Garcia half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Garcia tries for a takedown but Yonic circles away easily

and Yonic counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garcia is trying to control but can't.
Yonic moves nicely into side control.
Garcia is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia can't do much from the bottom here.

Yonic is trying to get an arm triangle but Garcia is defending well.
Garcia tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Yonic lands a decent elbow from side control.
Garcia tries to improve position but can't.
Garcia is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Yonic off and has taken his back!

Garcia looking for the choke from the back.
Garcia doesn't have the hooks in and Yonic manages to turn into his guard.

Garcia is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Yonic landing some decent shots from guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garcia keeping moving, preventing Yonic from controlling successfully.
Yonic forces his way into half guard.
Yonic working Garcia over with strikes.
Garcia is looking to improve his position.
Yonic performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Garcia is trying to get back to full guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Garcia wants to get back to full guard but Yonic has passed into side control.
Garcia can't do much from the bottom here.
Yonic wants to lay and pray for a moment but Garcia keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yonic lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Garcia is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Yonic's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Yonic is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Garcia is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Yonic scores with a couple of nice shots.
Yonic prevents Garcia from improving his position.
Marcus Yonic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Garcia regains full guard. Nicely done.
Rafael Garcia has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Garcia is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Yonic is aware though and is defending well.
Yonic controlling from the top position.
Yonic distracts Garcia with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yonic distracts Garcia with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Garcia escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Yonic gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Yonic is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Yonic's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Garcia looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Garcia looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Yonic distracts Garcia with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Yonic with a nice head shot there.

Garcia has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Yonic can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Yonic's corner is telling him to maintain position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcus Yonic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Yonic 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 Peter Branson scores the fight for Marcus Yonic!
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight for Marcus Yonic!
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight for Marcus Yonic!

Marcus Yonic wins by unanimous decision!
A victorious Marcus Yonic thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.