PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Maximus Furioto (ranked 4642 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Grestch (ranked 4758 p4p, 0 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.

Furioto
vs
Grestch

170 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight 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, Maximus Furioto!
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, James Grestch!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Stewart Dunkirk and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Furioto looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Grestch!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Furioto wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Grestch, who protects the arm well.
Furioto working away.
Furioto tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Grestch is trying to improve his position.
Furioto wants to control but Grestch is keeping him busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Furioto tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Furioto has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Furioto tries to move to mount but Grestch blocks the move with his legs.

Furioto working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Furioto thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Furioto trying to control the position but Grestch is working away.

Furioto looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's two 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.

Furioto tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Furioto has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Grestch tries to improve position but can't.

Furioto tries for a kimura but Grestch is defending well.
Grestch is looking for a sweep.
Grestch struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Furioto is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Grestch has escaped the position, nice work there.
Grestch can't do much from the bottom here.

Furioto is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Grestch is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The strikes coming from Furioto are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Furioto tries to move to mount but Grestch blocks the move with his legs.

Furioto is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Grestch is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Furioto tries for a kimura but Grestch is defending well.
Grestch tries to improve position but can't.
Grestch manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Furioto trying to control from the bottom.
Furioto is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Furioto preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Furioto blocking the ground and pound attempt from Grestch.
Furioto works his way to full guard. Good work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maximus Furioto 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.

Furioto misses with a hook.
Grestch wants to counter with a clinch but Furioto pushes him away.
Furioto is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Grestch can do to turn this around?

Furioto shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Grestch napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Grestch is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Grestch is trying to control Furioto's posture but Furioto avoids it.

Furioto thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
You can see the frustration on Grestch's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Grestch is not content to let Furioto control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grestch is looking for a sweep.
Furioto moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Furioto working away.

Furioto is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Grestch is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Furioto trying to control the action but Grestch is working from the bottom.
Grestch is looking to regain half guard here but Furioto keeps moving and retains side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Furioto trying to control the action but Grestch is working from the bottom.
The referee asks Furioto politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Furioto prefers to stall for the moment though.

Furioto tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Furioto has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Furioto trying to control the position but Grestch is working away.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grestch is looking to regain half guard here but Furioto keeps moving and retains side control.
Grestch struggling a bit here.

Furioto is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Grestch knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Grestch is not content to let Furioto control the position.
Furioto content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Furioto has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four 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.
Furioto advances to mount.
Furioto wants to take his opponent's back but Grestch doesn't allow it.
Furioto avoids the attempt from Grestch to control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Grestch is looking to get to half guard.
Furioto wants to control the pace but Grestch is squirming around nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maximus Furioto dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

A looping hook to the body misses from Furioto. Grestch does a little dance to reset his feet.
Furioto looks to score with a jab to the body but Grestch is just out of range.

Furioto scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Grestch tries to get to full guard but Furioto has control of the leg.
Furioto slows the pace down in half guard.
Grestch is trying to control but can't.
Grestch keeping control of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Furioto is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Furioto is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Furioto seems content to control.
Grestch won't allow Furioto to pass to mount.
Furioto is trying to control the action in half guard but Grestch is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Furioto is thwarting Grestch's attempts to control the position.
Furioto wants to lay and pray for a moment but Grestch keeps working.

Furioto is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Maximus Furioto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Grestch wants to get back to full guard.

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.
Grestch is staying active underneath Furioto, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Grestch manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Furioto wants to pass the guard but Grestch is keeping the position.
Furioto pushing down on Grestch's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Furioto content to control rather than advance.
Grestch tries to get to full guard but Furioto has control of the leg.
Furioto slows the pace down in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grestch trying to control here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Grestch takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Furioto just misses with a punch to the body.
Furioto looks to throw the jab but Grestch is out of range.
Grestch changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Grestch keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Furioto.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Grestch! But no joy.
Furioto misses with an uppercut.
The fighters circling - Furioto throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Furioto sets himself, and Grestch steps forward looking for the clinch! Furioto avoids it this time.
Furioto throws a hook but Grestch blocks it.

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.
Furioto misses with a body shot.
Grestch swats away the attempt to clinch by Furioto.

Furioto gets a double leg takedown into Grestch's guard.
Grestch wants to sweep but no luck.
Grestch is trying to keep Furioto in close.

Grestch is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Furioto is aware though and is defending well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Grestch looking to hit a scissor sweep but Furioto is one step ahead there.
Furioto pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Grestch is keeping the position for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Maximus Furioto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Furioto has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Maximus Furioto!