PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Gustafsson (ranked 6541 p4p, 5874 weight class) and Luis Santos (ranked 628 p4p, 589 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Gustafsson
vs
Santos

201 cm
20
205
1 - 1 - 0

190 cm
24
210
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Alexander Gustafsson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Luis Santos!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Franklyn Lucas and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gustafsson misses with a body kick.
Gustafsson sets himself, and Santos steps forward looking for the clinch! Gustafsson avoids it this time.
Gustafsson throws a head kick that misses

and Santos counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Gustafsson!
Santos taking a breather here.
Santos's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Gustafsson is looking for a sweep.
Santos remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Gustafsson is trying to improve his position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santos is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Gustafsson's shoulder. That is not cool.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
More stalling from Santos.
Gustafsson tries to bench press Santos off him but Santos keeps the position.
Santos blocks the strikes from Gustafsson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos just content to control the position.
Santos working away.
A lull in the action here.

That's two 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.
Let's hope that Santos has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Gustafsson tries to bench press Santos off him but Santos keeps the position.
The referee asks Santos politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Santos prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson pushes Santos away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Santos gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Gustafsson throws a sloppy head kick

and Santos counters with a shoot takedown. Gustafsson fights it but they end up in guard.
Santos 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're seeing a lot of stalling here from Santos.
Gustafsson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Santos sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson is looking for a triangle but Santos pushes his legs off easily.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Santos's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gustafsson closes the distance but Santos moves to the side

and Santos decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gustafsson's guard.
Santos is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Santos preventing the sweep.
Santos sitting in guard here, content to control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
It looks like Santos might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Nice sprawl there from Santos as Gustafsson shoots in.
Santos leaves Gustafsson with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Gustafsson misses with a takedown

and Santos counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Gustafsson!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Santos in side control, just content to control the action for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson is looking to reverse the position.
Gustafsson can't do much from the bottom here.
Santos taking a breather here.
Santos working away.
Santos controlling from side mount.
Luis Santos has got the better of the ground game so far.

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.
Santos has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Santos with more of the same as he continues to hold on.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos is continuing to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Santos working away.
Santos is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Luis Santos showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Gustafsson tries for a takedown but Santos sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Santos replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Gustafsson blocks it well.
Gustafsson tries for a takedown but Santos circles away easily

and Santos counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Santos seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Gustafsson missing with punches from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santos is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson is trying to stand up here but Santos is controlling him well.
Santos keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Santos passes to full mount!
Santos looking to control and managing it successfully.
Gustafsson keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Gustafsson slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Luis Santos is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santos takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gustafsson trying to hold on to Santos's head to control him but Santos postures up.
Still in half guard, Santos seems content to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The adventures of Santos the control monster continue. Boring.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gustafsson fails with the takedown

and Santos counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Santos.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Santos pulls guard effortlessly.
Gustafsson looking to sit in guard and control but Santos gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Santos avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Santos seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Luis Santos comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Santos has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Anthony Taglia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luis Santos!