PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ashton Chen (ranked 5305 p4p, 3520 weight class) and Marcelo Castro (ranked 498 p4p, 0 weight class). Castro has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. The key to victory for Ashton Chen has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Chen
vs
Castro

220 cm
23
270
3 - 2 - 0

187 cm
25
265
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

Good takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

White Gorilla
PWNAGE™

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Ashton Chen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Castro!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fray, Chris Saunders and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Castro shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Chen counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Castro looks winded!

Chen pulls guard successfully.
Castro sitting in guard here, content to control.

Chen escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Castro gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Chen has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Castro can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Chen looking for a guillotine here but Castro defends easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chen wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Chen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castro won't allow Chen to sweep him here.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Chen is on top in guard.

Castro is looking to stand up but Chen isn't so interested in that idea.
Chen wanted to stand there but Castro had control of the position.
Chen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Castro is keeping the position for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chen wanted to stand there but Castro had control of the position.

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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Chen prevents Castro from getting back to his feet.
Castro keeping moving, preventing Chen from controlling successfully.
Chen stops Castro from standing up.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Castro trying to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Jab, jab by Chen - just one landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chen lands with a good body shot.
Castro throws a right hand that misses

and Chen counters with a combination of strikes to the head and body that crumple Castro!
Castro trying to control here.
Castro is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Chen scores with a couple of nice shots.

Chen escapes and gets back to his feet.
Chen fails with a takedown attempt.
Chen is trying hard to land a takedown here. Castro sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Chen shoots for a takedown but Castro saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ashton Chen. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castro tries to clinch up
and Chen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Castro displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Chen.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Chen misses with a combination

and Castro counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Chen!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Chen gets back to half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Chen looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Chen takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Castro throws a right hand that Chen ducks under and follows up with a left that Chen also avoids with ease.
Chen lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Castro defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Chen.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castro throws an overhand right that lands on Chen's shoulder, as Chen tries to avoid the shot.
It looked like Chen was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Castro is breathing heavily.
Chen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Castro tries to avoid it but Chen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Castro to the ground. Castro escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ashton Chen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Castro stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Castro wants it to stay on the feet.
Castro goes for a double leg but Chen avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Chen continues to drive forward.
Chen is looking for a counter combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chen doesn't manage to clinch there - Castro circles away.
Chen has a takedown stuffed.
Castro just misses with a punch to the body.
Chen tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Castro manages to circle out of the way.

Castro gets caught flat footed, as Chen shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Castro wants to get back to his feet but Chen is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Chen 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.
Chen has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castro wants to get back to his feet but Chen is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Chen wants to control from the top but Castro keeps moving.
Castro is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Chen won't allow Castro to sweep him here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Chen closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Castro quickly recovers to half guard.
Castro tries to kick Chen off in order to stand up. Chen Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Chen trying to control the position but Castro is working away.
Castro is trying to get back to half guard.
The ground and pound from Chen seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Castro is trying to buck Chen off.

Chen is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Castro has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castro is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Castro is trying to get back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Chen tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ashton Chen will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Chen dives in and scores a takedown into Castro's guard.

Chen gets to his feet - Castro follows without any prompting.

Chen clinches up with Castro and pushes him back against the cage.
Castro tries for a takedown but Chen manages to get underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castro prevents a takedown attempt there.

Chen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Castro takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Chen closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Castro to the mat! Castro manages to get full guard.
Chen stopping the sweep attempt from Castro.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chen connects with a couple of short punches.
Ashton Chen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Chen gets to his feet. Castro looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

Chen gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Chen lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Chen manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Chen is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Castro working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Chen's head.
Chen trying to keep a closed guard but Castro is proving a slippery customer.
Castro stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Chen swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castro throws a big right hand that misses.
Castro lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Castro loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Castro trying to control but Chen is working from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Chen shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Castro but Castro pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Chen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Castro can do to turn this around?
Chen shoots in looking for a takedown. Castro tries to sprawl out of it but Chen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Castro manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ashton Chen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Castro is looking to clinch but Chen is avoiding it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chen looks to land a combination. Castro sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Castro keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Chen throws a leg kick that is checked

and Castro counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Castro won't allow Chen to sweep him here.
Castro is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chen looking for a sweep. Not yet Chen, not yet.
Castro is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Castro trying to control the position from guard on top but Chen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Castro slips nicely into half guard.
Castro lands with a punch from half guard.
Chen trying to control from the bottom.
Chen looks like he's trying to stand up.
Chen taking some punishment here, with Castro in his half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Castro scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Marcelo Castro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ashton Chen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Castro lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ashton Chen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Chen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Colin Fray scores the fight 30:28
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ashton Chen!