PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Charles Darwin (ranked 4642 p4p, 5595 weight class) and Eustaquio Melendez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Darwin
vs
Melendez

174 cm
25
176
0 - 0 - 0

184 cm
25
185
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid 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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Charles Darwin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Eustaquio Melendez!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Santiago Holmes and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Darwin misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Melendez swinging wildly here.

Melendez pushes Darwin up against the cage in a clinch.
Melendez has Darwin pushed against the cage.
Darwin letting Melendez take a breather here.
Melendez stops a takedown attempt from Darwin.

Darwin drags the fight down to the ground.
Melendez must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Melendez tries to stand but Darwin is controlling from the bottom.
Melendez is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Darwin is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melendez would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Melendez really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Darwin. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Darwin not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Darwin has a closed guard, preventing Melendez from standing up.
Darwin tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Darwin is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Melendez is looking to escape.
Darwin not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Darwin thows a huge punch but Melendez dodges it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darwin prevents Melendez from standing back up.
Darwin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Melendez keeps working.
Darwin passes to side control.
Melendez is pushing Darwin's head away, looking to escape. Darwin manages to hold on to the position though.
Melendez is not content to let Darwin control the position.
Melendez is pushing Darwin's head away, looking to escape. Darwin manages to hold on to the position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Melendez misses with an uppercut.
Darwin fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Charles Darwin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Good shot there by Melendez.
We've been informed that Melendez has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Eustaquio Melendez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Darwin goes for a double leg but Melendez avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Melendez continues to drive forward.
Melendez wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A short right from Melendez on the inside.
Melendez has Darwin pressed against the cage.
Darwin has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Melendez avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Melendez lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Darwin or not.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darwin tries to score a body lock takedown but Melendez shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Darwin is breathing heavily.
Darwin tries to pull guard but Melendez holds him up against the cage and eventually Darwin drops back down to his feet.
Darwin fails to pull guard.
Melendez is trying to break the clinch but Darwin is controlling him.
Melendez doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Melendez is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Melendez lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Darwin blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Darwin jumps guard but Melendez stands there with Darwin around his waist. Darwin gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Darwin jumps guard but Melendez stands there with Darwin around his waist. Darwin gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Melendez is struggling to control the position.
Melendez lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Melendez misses the shot to the body.
Melendez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Darwin was well out of range. Poor timing from Melendez.
Melendez throws a jab when Darwin was well out of range.
Darwin has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Darwin there as he acknowledges the shot.

Melendez clinches.
Melendez displaying some good clinch control by pressing Darwin up against the cage.
Darwin keeps control of Melendez as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Melendez tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Darwin jumps guard and drags Melendez to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Melendez is looking to stand up but Darwin won't let him.
Darwin working a defensive guard here.
Melendez wanted to stand there but Darwin had control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melendez won't allow Darwin to sweep him here.
Darwin is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Melendez tries to kick Darwin off but Darwin keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Melendez tries to kick Darwin off in order to stand up. Darwin Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Melendez is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Darwin has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Darwin creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Melendez sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Darwin is looking to take a break and control but Melendez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Melendez wants to get back to his feet but Darwin drags him back down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melendez is looking to get back to his feet here but Darwin is keeping cool and he's managed to take Melendez's back.
Melendez is trying to get back to his feet but Darwin has full control of the position and if anything, Melendez has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Melendez avoids the strikes from Darwin.
Melendez trying to get back to his feet but Darwin is in full control for now.
Charles Darwin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Melendez looking very determined here, making life difficult for Darwin.
Melendez is trying to stand back up.
Melendez has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Darwin.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melendez is trying to stand back up.
Darwin trying to control.
Melendez wants to get back to his feet.
Melendez covering up well and avoiding damage.
Melendez wants to get back to his feet.
Even with his hooks in, Darwin manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Melendez is trying to stand back up.

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.
Darwin throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Darwin throwing sloppy strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Melendez is trying to stand back up.
Darwin has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
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.

Charles Darwin dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Darwin ducks right into an uppercut from Melendez.
Melendez moves into range and connects with a jab.
Melendez misses the shot to the body.
Darwin drops down looking for a counter takedown but Melendez sprawls and moves away.
Melendez defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Darwin.
Melendez lands a jab to Darwin's midsection.
Darwin shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Melendez sprawls well. Melendez wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Darwin gets slowly back to his feet.
Melendez throws a shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Melendez jabs Darwin to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Melendez connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Darwin fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Melendez avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Charles Darwin. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A decent looking cross lands there for Melendez.
Melendez lands with a hook. Darwin tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Melendez has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Melendez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Darwin was well out of range. Poor timing from Melendez.
Darwin fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Melendez moves into the clinch.
Darwin goes for a takedown attempt but Melendez pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Melendez displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Darwin uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Melendez.
Darwin shoots and misses
and Melendez counters with a nice uppercut.
Melendez throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Melendez uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Darwin has time to react.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Melendez lands with an overhand left.
Melendez connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Melendez scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Darwin moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

Melendez instigates a clinch.
Darwin jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Melendez walks away with a smile on his face. Darwin gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Darwin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Melendez circles away.
Melendez comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Darwin on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Darwin on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Melendez uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Melendez misses with a wild combination.
Melendez cracks a nice hook into Darwin's ribs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lazy left from Melendez finds it's target.
Darwin takes one on the chin but seems OK.

Melendez rushes Darwin and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Melendez swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Melendez misses with a punch on the inside.
Melendez presses Darwin against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Melendez softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Melendez scores with a shot to the side of Darwin's head.
Eustaquio Melendez seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Melendez wants to get back to striking at distance but Darwin won't allow it.
Melendez tries to break free but Darwin pushes him back against the cage.
Melendez is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Melendez wants to get back to striking at distance but Darwin won't allow it.
Melendez is looking to break free of the clinch but Darwin has double underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darwin blocks an uppercut.
Melendez scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Melendez is pressed up against the cage. Darwin has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Melendez down to the mat. Melendez avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Melendez lands with a right hand.
Melendez fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Darwin.
Eustaquio Melendez is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Melendez drives through and clinches with Darwin against the cage.
Melendez lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Darwin blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Melendez is trying to break the clinch but Darwin is controlling him.
Darwin's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Darwin tries to pull guard but Melendez forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eustaquio Melendez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Melendez 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 Michael Johnstone scores the fight 27:29
Judge Santiago Holmes scores the fight 27:29
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eustaquio Melendez!