PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Dos Santos (ranked 4385 p4p, 4801 weight class) and Jon Hiccup (ranked 0 p4p, 552 weight class). Daniel Dos Santos has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Dos Santos
vs
Hiccup

192 cm
25
185
0 - 0 - 0

179 cm
25
186
1 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Daniel Dos Santos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jon Hiccup!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Daniel Cesar and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dos Santos stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Dos Santos wants it to stay on the feet.
Dos Santos throws a big counter combination but Hiccup scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.

Hiccup shoots in and bounces Dos Santos off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Dos Santos will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Dos Santos seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

Hiccup gets to his feet - Dos Santos follows without any prompting.

Dos Santos forces Hiccup back against the cage and clinches.

Dos Santos escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hiccup gets tackled into the cage by Dos Santos. Dos Santos maintains the clinch.

Dos Santos pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Dos Santos avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Dos Santos seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Hiccup looks for a takedown but Dos Santos sprawls well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dos Santos throws a left and a right that both miss

and Hiccup counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Hiccup trying to land knees to the body.
Hiccup is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Hiccup is trying to maintain a safe position but Dos Santos gets an underhook and turns Hiccup into the cage.

Dos Santos breaks from the clinch.
Dos Santos shoots for a takedown but Hiccup saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Dos Santos clinches with his opponent.
Dos Santos is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Hiccup pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hiccup fails to pull guard.
Hiccup is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Dos Santos displaying some good clinch control by pressing Hiccup up against the cage.
Dos Santos taking a breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos prevents a takedown attempt there.
Dos Santos drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Dos Santos stalling.

Dos Santos breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Dos Santos fails with the takedown
enabling Hiccup to counter with a crisp jab.

Dos Santos has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Hiccup walks away with a smile on his face. Dos Santos gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Hiccup throws out a powerful jab.
Hiccup swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Dos Santos dives in and grabs Hiccup's left leg, looking for a takedown. Hiccup pushes down on Dos Santos's head and hops out.

Dos Santos moves into the clinch.
Dos Santos is looking to take this one to the mat.
Dos Santos is breathing heavily.
Dos Santos has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Hiccup after a bit of a struggle.
Dos Santos is trying to break free.
Dos Santos is trying to break the clinch but Hiccup is controlling him.
Hiccup tries to pull guard but Dos Santos forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Hiccup stalling in the clinch but Dos Santos improves position.
Hiccup is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Dos Santos is keeping busy.
Dos Santos swings wildly with an uppercut but Hiccup uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hiccup drops down looking for an ankle pick but Dos Santos pulls his leg out and moves away.
Dos Santos shoots in but Hiccup avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Hiccup fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Dos Santos fails with the takedown
and Dos Santos takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Hiccup fails with an attempt to clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dos Santos dives in and grabs Hiccup's left leg, looking for a takedown. Hiccup pushes down on Dos Santos's head and hops out.
Hiccup tries to clinch up.
Hiccup wants to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Daniel Dos Santos will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Hiccup shoots for a takedown but Dos Santos saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Hiccup fails with the takedown.
Dos Santos shoots in for a takedown but Hiccup shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Dos Santos connects with a solid leg kick.
Hiccup with a lazy takedown attempt
and Dos Santos counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Daniel Dos Santos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jon Hiccup.

Dos Santos clinches.

Dos Santos's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Hiccup has Dos Santos up against the cage in a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hiccup looking for a takedown.
Dos Santos wants a takedown but no success here.
Hiccup tries for a takedown but Dos Santos manages to get underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hiccup fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Dos Santos pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Hiccup fails in his attempt to clinch.
Daniel Dos Santos is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Dos Santos closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Hiccup works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Dos Santos pushes Hiccup off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Some wild striking there from Hiccup.

Hiccup shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Hiccup was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Hiccup is breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dos Santos can't do much from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dos Santos throws Hiccup to one side and escapes!
Hiccup tries to close the distance and clinch up but Dos Santos swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Daniel Dos Santos is winning the standup battle so far.
Hiccup dives in and grabs Dos Santos's left leg, looking for a takedown. Dos Santos pushes down on Hiccup's head and hops out.
Hiccup throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Dos Santos dives in for a single leg takedown but Hiccup sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Hiccup throws out a counter right but Dos Santos avoids it with no problem.
Dos Santos closes the distance looking to clinch
and Hiccup counters with a series of strikes. Dos Santos will be more careful next time no doubt.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hiccup looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hiccup tries to score a power double leg takedown but Dos Santos sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Hiccup somewhat.

Dos Santos gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Dos Santos pulls guard successfully.
Hiccup throwing strikes from guard but Dos Santos blocks nicely.
Dos Santos looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hiccup is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hiccup wants to control from the top but Dos Santos keeps moving.

Dos Santos looking for a guillotine here but Hiccup defends easily.
Hiccup looking to pass the guard.
Dos Santos is pulling down on Hiccup's head. It's preventing any offense from Hiccup, at least for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daniel Dos Santos 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. This is the final round!

Good leg kick by Dos Santos.
Dos Santos closes the distance but Hiccup moves to the side
and Hiccup counters with a left to the body.
Dos Santos throws a series of strikes that have Hiccup backpedaling.

It looks like Jon Hiccup has been cut.
Hiccup fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dos Santos tries to clinch up
and Hiccup counters with a left and a right that stings Dos Santos.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hiccup tries to clinch there but Dos Santos circles away.
Dos Santos doesn't manage to clinch there - Hiccup circles away.
As Dos Santos backs off Hiccup throws a huge counter combo but Dos Santos manages to avoid it all.
Dos Santos tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Hiccup swivels and escapes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dos Santos throws a head kick but Hiccup moves out of range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dos Santos leaves Hiccup with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Hiccup drives through with a takedown into guard.

Dos Santos is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Hiccup is trying to break the clinch but Dos Santos has him pressed against the cage.

Hiccup pulls guard effortlessly.
Hiccup keeping moving, preventing Dos Santos from controlling successfully.
Dos Santos is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos trying to control the position from guard on top but Hiccup is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hiccup is trying to keep Dos Santos in close.
Dos Santos stands up over Hiccup, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Dos Santos trying to control the position from guard on top but Hiccup is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dos Santos working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hiccup's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hiccup had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Dos Santos defends it easily.
Dos Santos is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Hiccup looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Dos Santos!
Dos Santos struggling a bit here.

Hiccup stands up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos circles away from the clinch attempt.
Dos Santos is looking for a counter combo.
Dos Santos avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hiccup tries to bum rush Dos Santos with a series of wild strikes but Dos Santos uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Dos Santos shoots in for a takedown but Hiccup shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Dos Santos closes the distance and clinches.
Hiccup drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Dos Santos gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Dos Santos has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Hiccup after a bit of a struggle.
Jon Hiccup has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Daniel Dos Santos is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Dos Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hiccup is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Dos Santos is defending well for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Daniel Dos Santos.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dos Santos, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 29:29
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Daniel Dos Santos!