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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Renoa Gracie (ranked 47 p4p, 138 weight class) and Balagot Liu (ranked 9 p4p, 19 weight class). Gracie's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Apaga Mas Não Bate. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.
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| 166 cm
28
145
12 - 3 - 1 |
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173 cm
32
146
28 - 9 - 1 |
Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible |
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Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 3 - 1, fighting out of London, Renoa Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Balagot Liu!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Sosuke Kotani and Yukihiro Yamamoto.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Liu lands a lovely overhand right.
Gracie decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Liu manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Gracie keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Gracie blocks an uppercut.
Gracie working aggressively here.
Liu tries to throw a body punch but Gracie avoids it by throwing Liu back against the cage.
Gracie stalling in the clinch but Liu improves position.
Gracie is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Still in the clinch, Gracie scores with a nice short uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Liu misses with some punches.
Liu lands a shoulder strike.
Gracie misses with a punch on the inside.
Gracie lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Liu backwards.
Gracie lands a body punch in the clinch.
A short uppercut from Gracie.
I was talking to Gracie's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Gracie lands a right hand that snaps the head of Liu backwards.
Gracie lands a right hand that snaps the head of Liu backwards.
Gracie avoiding damage.
Liu is trying to break the clinch but Gracie is controlling him.
Liu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Liu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Liu throws a punch but it's blocked by Gracie.
Liu can't break the clinch.
Gracie tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Liu just stands there and leans against the cage.
Gracie softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Gracie misses with the head strike.
Liu lands with a light punch inside.
Liu tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gracie's elbow.
Gracie throws a head punch that misses.
Liu breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Liu takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Gracie throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Liu is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gracie.
Liu uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gracie.
Liu takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Liu takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A slow jab from Liu misses its intended target.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Liu.
Liu misses with a head kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gracie rushes Liu and presses him up against the cage.
Liu working aggressively here.
Liu struggles to land a body shot inside as Gracie controls his hands.
Gracie is trying to pull guard but Liu turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gracie.
Gracie misses with the head strike.
Liu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Gracie lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Liu can't find room to land a body shot as Gracie controls the action.
Liu breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
The crowd cheers as Liu lands an impressive looking overhand right. Gracie doesn't seem phased though.
Liu throws a jab when Gracie was well out of range.
Liu on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Gracie throws an overhand right that lands on Liu's shoulder, as Liu tries to avoid the shot.
Liu feints a counter leg kick.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Liu.
A big right from Gracie misses.
Liu swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Gracie clobbers Liu with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Gracie lands a nice hook to Liu's body. Liu takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Gracie shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Liu pinned against the cage. Liu gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Renoa Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gracie moves out of range as Liu strikes.
Nice straight punches there by Gracie. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Gracie.
Liu misses with a straight right.
Nice jab there from Liu.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie fails with a takedown attempt.
Gracie misses with a lunging right hand
and Liu counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Donk. Gracie catches Liu right on the button with a cross.
Liu tries a low kick but Gracie avoids it.
Gracie is looking to counter punch.
Liu connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liu with a hook.
Gracie misses with an uppercut.
Gracie bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Gracie looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Liu is fending him off so far but Gracie persists. Nope, Liu circles away and we're back to standing.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Liu! But no joy.
Gracie gets a clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that Renoa Gracie will probably get the nod.
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.
Gracie connects with a right hand. Liu shakes it off.
Liu misses with a hook.
Gracie swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Gracie tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Liu manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Gracie lands a jab to the head.
Gracie swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Gracie throws a body shot but no joy.
Gracie shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Liu defends it nicely.
Liu looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie looking to score a takedown here. Liu is defending well but Gracie drives through and ends up in Liu's guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie is looking to work some ground and pound but Liu has wrist control.
Liu wants to stand but Gracie is controlling the position.
Gracie pushing down on Liu's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Liu tries to kick Gracie off but Gracie keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Gracie is working for a submission of some sort.
Gracie not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Nice strikes from Gracie there.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Gracie is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Liu has managed to free his arm - good work.
Gracie 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.
Gracie is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Gracie sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Liu defending well though.
Gracie seems to be working for a kimura but Liu defends the submission attempt.
Gracie is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Gracie thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Liu's head.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie slips a nice elbow through Liu's hands, connecting with Liu's forehead.
Gracie trying to control from half guard but Liu is working away.
Gracie is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Liu has managed to free his arm - good work.
Gracie trying to control from half guard but Liu is working away.
Gracie is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Liu sees it coming and defends easily.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Liu looks like he's trying to stand up.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Gracie looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Liu with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Gracie lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Gracie thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Liu's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gracie seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Liu does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Nice strikes from Gracie there.
Gracie works his way into full mount!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Renoa Gracie dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!
Gracie bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Liu's head.
Gracie shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Liu's guard.
Gracie loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Gracie keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Liu's head.
Gracie throws a big right hand that misses.
Gracie postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gracie sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Liu pushes Gracie off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Balagot Liu seems to be getting the better of the standup.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Liu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gracie.
Gracie drives through with a takedown into guard.
Gracie looking to pass the guard.
Liu wants to get back to his feet but Gracie is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Liu keeps moving.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie tries to free his leg and advance position but Liu is retaining full guard.
Gracie 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.
Liu wants to stand and escape but Gracie is having none of it.
Gracie content to stall in guard here.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gracie tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Liu swivels and escapes.
Gracie backing away here, and Liu unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie looks to land a left hand but Liu moved out of range nicely.
Liu looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Gracie looks for a takedown but Liu sprawls well.
Gracie shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Liu pinned against the cage. Liu gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Renoa Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Liu misses the jab.
Gracie feinted with a counter takedown.
Gracie shoots in but no luck this time.
Nice shot by Gracie.
Liu is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gracie.
Gracie is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Liu takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Balagot Liu is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gracie scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Liu misses with a two punch combination.
Gracie is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Liu misses with a low kick as Gracie jumps back.
The fighters circle momentarily. Liu darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liu lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Gracie backwards.
Liu misses with the head strike.
Liu breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gracie ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Liu can do to turn this around?
Liu throws the left hand but Gracie avoids the punch easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but Renoa Gracie did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!
Gracie cracks a nice hook into Liu's ribs.
Liu closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Gracie blocks a jab.
Gracie lands a glancing blow to the side of Liu's head.
Gracie looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Liu catches Gracie with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie lands with a nice body punch.
Gracie digs a good hook to Liu's body.
Gracie takes a swing at Liu's ribcage but misses.
Liu throws out a counter right but Gracie avoids it with no problem.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Gracie takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Liu lands a big head kick that sends Gracie tumbling to the mat! Liu takes a step backwards and waves Gracie back to his feet - he wants the finish!
Gracie lands with an uppercut that bounces Liu off the cage and back into range.
Liu closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Liu ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Liu takes a jab right on the kisser.
Gracie closes the distance and pushes Liu back into the cage.
Liu blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Liu breaks the clinch.
Gracie misses the shot to the body.
A countering left hand to the body from Liu misses.
Gracie checks a leg kick.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Liu with a nice cross.
Liu keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Liu misses with a hook.
Liu pushes Gracie away with a front kick.
Gracie avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Liu looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gracie is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Liu's half guard.
Gracie tries to pass to full mount but Liu defends it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Gracie stops Liu from getting back to his feet.
Gracie scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Gracie trying to control the action but Liu is working from the bottom.
Gracie is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Liu sees it coming and defends easily.
Gracie scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie trying to pass the guard but Liu defending well.
Liu felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Liu is not content to let Gracie control the position.
Gracie sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Liu defending well though.
Gracie is stalling here. Liu is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Gracie seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Liu has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Renoa Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gracie is trying to get back to half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Balagot Liu dominated that fourth round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!
Liu looks to land a combination. Gracie sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Gracie misses the jab.
Liu tries to move into range but Gracie moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Liu. Gracie does a little dance to reset his feet.
Liu walks into a stiff left hand from Gracie.
Gracie staying out of range there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Liu throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Gracie counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Gracie loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Gracie accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Gracie pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Liu is keeping the position for now.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie cracks Liu with a solid left hand.
Gracie throws a strike but Liu rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Gracie is looking for a triangle here but Liu uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Gracie is trying to improve his position.
Liu working away.
Balagot Liu has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie sneaks back into half guard.
Liu prevents Gracie from improving his position.
Gracie works his way to full guard. Good work.
Gracie wants to sweep here but Liu controlling him for the moment.
Liu avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Gracie is trying to control the position but Liu postures up.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Liu doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Liu manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gracie looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Liu must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Gracie is working hard here to advance position.
Gracie looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Gracie is trying to keep Liu in close.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Liu lands with an overhand left.
Liu scores with a punch to the head.
Gracie changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Liu tries to avoid it but Gracie manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Liu to the ground. Liu escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Liu throws a body shot but no joy.
Gracie changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gracie rushes Liu and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Liu manages to break the clinch.
Gracie is looking to clinch.
And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Balagot Liu.
I think Gracie has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.
Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 48:48
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 48:47
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 48:47
In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Renoa Gracie!
Renoa Gracie decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
50% |
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