PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ethan Gracie (ranked 5501 p4p, 3404 weight class) and Nermin Varupa (ranked 538 p4p, 406 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Gracie might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to No Church In The Wild. Ethan Gracie had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Gracie
vs
Varupa

182 cm
24
185
5 - 5 - 0

185 cm
25
165
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
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 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ethan Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nermin Varupa!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Varupa slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Varupa bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Gracie's head backwards.

Gracie scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Gracie is looking to advance position but Varupa won't allow it.
Gracie throwing shots but Varupa is blocking nicely.

Gracie looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Varupa avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Gracie.
Varupa keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
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. Gracie connects with a nice short shot to Varupa's temple.

Gracie is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Varupa is concentrating on defense, preventing Gracie from advancing position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Varupa actively working from the bottom here.

Gracie seems to be working for a kimura but Varupa defends the submission attempt.
Gracie throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Gracie missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Gracie is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Varupa sees it coming and defends easily.
Varupa is doing well to control the position and prevent Gracie from advancing to side control.

Gracie is looking for a kimura but Varupa is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Gracie to get the leverage.
Varupa is trying to maintain the position but Gracie is very close to passing his half guard.

Gracie is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Varupa defends it well.
Gracie looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Varupa with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Gracie blocks the strikes from Varupa.

Gracie is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Varupa defends it well.

Gracie seems to be working for a kimura but Varupa defends the submission attempt.
Varupa has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Varupa blocking the ground and pound attempt from Gracie.

Gracie is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Gracie looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Gracie is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Varupa is just riding it out for now. Gracie eventually gives up the hold.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Varupa wants to control but Gracie is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Varupa really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gracie. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Gracie is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Varupa defends it well.

Gracie is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Gracie is working for a kimura but Varupa is defending it quite comfortably.
Varupa wants to control but Gracie is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Varupa with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Varupa tries to get to full guard but Gracie has control of the leg.

Gracie seems to be looking for submissions.
Gracie not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Gracie is thwarting Varupa's attempts to control the position.

Gracie is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Varupa sees it coming and defends easily.
Gracie not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Varupa keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ethan Gracie dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Varupa wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Varupa displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Gracie.
Gracie looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Varupa can do to turn this around?
Varupa stuffs the takedown attempt from Gracie. Gracie gets slowly back to his feet.
Varupa fails to land with a series of punches.
Varupa misses with a jab, cross combination.
Varupa displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Gracie.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ethan Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gracie takes a jab right on the kisser.
Gracie dives in for a single leg takedown but Varupa sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Gracie fails to pull guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Varupa just stands there and leans against the cage.
Gracie tries to pull guard but Varupa won't allow it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gracie.
Varupa lands a nice uppercut.
Gracie tries to pull guard but Varupa won't allow it.

Gracie pulls guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Gracie is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Varupa must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Varupa from controlling successfully.
Varupa throwing strikes but missing.

Gracie had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Varupa defends it easily.
Varupa not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
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.

Varupa got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gracie has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Varupa has managed to get both his arms back between Gracie's legs - danger averted.
Varupa looking to pass the guard.
Gracie looking to hit a scissor sweep but Varupa is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gracie is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Gracie is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Varupa defends well.

Gracie is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Varupa is aware though and is defending well.
Varupa trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Varupa is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

Varupa avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Gracie working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Varupa doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Oh but Gracie is tightening it up a little... Varupa has to be careful here... He's got his foot tucked under now, this looks tight! Varupa reacted too slowly and this one could be over in a matter of seconds! YES! Varupa taps out! Nice BJJ there by Gracie!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Ethan Gracie!