PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Darius Gracie (ranked 5090 p4p, 24234 weight class) and Chen Denghui (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gracie
vs
Denghui

179 cm
27
173
1 - 1 - 0

172 cm
25
176
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Fantasy Threads

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Darius Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Chen Denghui!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Arvi Lind and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Denghui uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gracie.
Gracie blocks a jab.
Gracie throws a jab when Denghui was well out of range.
Denghui ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gracie scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Gracie tries to clinch there but Denghui circles away.
Denghui wants to counter with a clinch but Gracie pushes him away.
Gracie throws a head kick that misses.
Denghui is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Gracie will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie misses with a few strikes there.
A decent looking cross lands there for Gracie.
Denghui shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie misses with a body kick.
Gracie misses the shot to the body.
Gracie misses with an uppercut.
Gracie lands a nice hook to Denghui's body. Denghui takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt - Denghui sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Gracie goes for a double leg but Denghui avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Denghui continues to drive forward.
Gracie tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darius Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gracie has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Denghui clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie punches the canvas rather than the man.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Denghui is trying to break free.
Gracie misses with a punch to the head.

Denghui preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Gracie.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Denghui tries to roll but Gracie sticks to his back.
Gracie keeps control of the position easily here as Denghui tries to buck him off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Denghui showing good submission defense here.
Denghui can't escape the position.

Gracie working for the choke.
Denghui has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Gracie.
Gracie cracks Denghui with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Denghui from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Denghui preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Gracie.
Gracie misses with an elbow to the head.

Denghui defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Gracie seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Denghui for as long as he can get away with.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Denghui moves out of range of the leg kick from Gracie.
Gracie sets himself, and Denghui steps forward looking for the clinch! Gracie avoids it this time.
Gracie misses with a jab, cross combination.
Gracie lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Gracie swings for the body but Denghui moves out of range.
Gracie throws a body shot but no joy.
Denghui wants to counter the offense by Gracie and move into the clinch position.
Gracie needs to keep his hands up - Denghui had a free shot at his head there.
We've been informed that Denghui has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

Gracie scores with a takedown into Denghui's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Denghui is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Gracie is positioning himself well to prevent Denghui advancing to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie tries to get to full guard but Denghui has control of the leg.
Gracie is controlling Denghui's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Denghui wants to pass the guard but Gracie is defending well.
Darius Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Denghui is keen to just control but Gracie is a slippery customer.
We've been hearing good reports from Gracie's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Gracie is pressing down on Denghui's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Gracie looking to hit a scissor sweep but Denghui is one step ahead there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two 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.

Gracie has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Denghui is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Gracie.
Gracie is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Denghui off and has taken his back!
Denghui is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Gracie.
Gracie throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Gracie controlling from the back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Denghui rolls, trying to escape but Gracie keeps control of the position.
Denghui keeps trying to improve his position.
Denghui is breathing heavily.

Gracie looking for the choke from the back.
Denghui is trapped and Gracie is scoring with shots to the head and body.
Gracie missing with punches from the back.
Gracie is riding his opponent, not letting Denghui buck him off.
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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Denghui preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Gracie.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Denghui can do to turn this around?
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.

Denghui is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Darius Gracie 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!

Gracie lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Gracie fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Denghui sprawls well initially but Gracie persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Denghui is refusing to be controlled, as Gracie sits in half guard.
Gracie works his way into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie throws an elbow but Denghui slips to the side and avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Denghui!
Gracie looking to control but Denghui is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Gracie looking to ground and pound but Denghui is blocking nicely.
Gracie lands a couple of good shots and Denghui has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Denghui takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gracie controlling the position well here. Denghui rolled but Gracie kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie missing with strikes.
Gracie biding his time, looking for the opening.

Gracie sinks in the hooks and is looking for the choke. He's got it! Denghui taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:40 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Darius Gracie!
Darius Gracie really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Fantasy Threads logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.