PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Emanuel Rodrigez (ranked 2665 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Davis (ranked 4339 p4p, 0 weight class). Mark Davis has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Rodrigez
vs
Davis

188 cm
35
169 lbs
16 - 25 - 0

178 cm
26
169 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 25 - 0, fighting out of London, Emanuel Rodrigez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Mark Davis!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Steven Brown and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Davis fails to land the takedown.
Davis rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rodrigez moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Davis throws a lazy uppercut

and Rodrigez counters with a single leg into guard. Davis didn't expect that.
Rodrigez engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rodrigez stopping the sweep attempt from Davis.
Rodrigez 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodrigez throwing strikes but missing.
Davis working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigez sitting in guard here, content to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rodrigez shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Davis sprawls well. Davis wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rodrigez gets slowly back to his feet.
Davis is looking for the big counter here.
Davis misses with a takedown

and Rodrigez moves into the clinch.
Davis is looking for a takedown.
Emanuel Rodrigez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mark Davis.

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.
Davis is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rodrigez to keep the fight standing.
Stalling in the clinch from Rodrigez.
Davis tries to break the clinch but Rodrigez is controlling the position.
Rodrigez gets underhooks to prevent Davis's takedown attempt.
Rodrigez stalls.

Rodrigez is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Davis can't fight it off and eventually Rodrigez manages to take the fight to the floor. Davis looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Davis being controlled here, momentarily.
Davis can't keep his opponent in guard - Rodrigez advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigez seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Rodrigez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Rodrigez content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Rodrigez has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.

Rodrigez decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Rodrigez slaps away a takedown attempt from Davis, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Rodrigez drops down looking for a counter takedown but Davis sprawls and moves away.

Rodrigez feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rodrigez scoring with some ground and pound.

Rodrigez stands and steps away. Davis gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Davis pushes Rodrigez up against the cage in a clinch.
Davis is working for takedown but Rodrigez is calmly controlling the position for now.
Davis looks winded!

Rodrigez has hold of one of Davis's legs. Davis is fighting the takedown attempt but Rodrigez gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Rodrigez showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Davis looking for a sweep. Not yet Davis, not yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Emanuel Rodrigez 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.

Davis gets caught napping as Rodrigez dives in and scores a takedown. Davis manages to retain guard.
Rodrigez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Davis can do to turn this around?
Rodrigez sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Davis's guard.
Davis tries to roll over but Rodrigez keeps him under control.
Rodrigez lands with a punch from half guard.
Rodrigez content to control rather than advance.
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. Rodrigez connects with a nice short shot to Davis's temple.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodrigez keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Rodrigez stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Davis to get to his feet.

Rodrigez shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Davis manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigez sitting in guard here, content to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Davis is trying to control the position but Rodrigez postures up.
Davis can't keep his opponent in guard - Rodrigez advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Davis is trying to stand.
Davis is breathing heavily.

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.
Rodrigez slows the pace down in half guard.
Davis moves into full guard.
Davis really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rodrigez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Rodrigez decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Rodrigez throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Davis was covering up waiting for the punch and Rodrigez finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Davis not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rodrigez is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Davis working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Rodrigez doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Rodrigez manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Rodrigez controls from within his opponent's 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.
Rodrigez working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Rodrigez controlling from the top position.
Rodrigez'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.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Davis pushes Rodrigez off and gets back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Emanuel Rodrigez dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Rodrigez gets tackled into the cage by Davis. Davis maintains the clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

Rodrigez works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Rodrigez looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Davis trying to keep a closed guard but Rodrigez is proving a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodrigez 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigez seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Davis for as long as he can get away with.
Davis wants to stand up but Rodrigez is controlling him.
Rodrigez passes Davis's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rodrigez controlling the action here.
Davis tries to roll over but Rodrigez keeps him under control.
Rodrigez controlling the action here.
Rodrigez continues to stall.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Davis throws a leg kick

and Rodrigez counters with a single leg into guard. Davis didn't expect that.
Davis takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rodrigez slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigez advances position into side control!
Davis is looking for a sweep.
Davis on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Rodrigez in side control lands a decent elbow.
Rodrigez working the ground and pound.
Davis tries to strike but it doesn't land.
Rodrigez lands a decent elbow from side control.
Davis struggling a bit here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Rodrigez has worked his way into a potential kimura here. Davis is trying to get out of the position but his squirming has just got him deeper into trouble. Rodrigez yanks on the arm and Davis is forced to tap due to a very painful looking submission! Nice work by Rodrigez.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Emanuel Rodrigez!
After the fight, Emanuel Rodrigez was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.