PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rai Costa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnny Penn could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Rai Costa's chin.

Penn
vs
Costa

180 cm
22
171 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
22
170 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Knockout power

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 Las Vegas, Johnny Penn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rai Costa!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Chris Downing and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Penn fails in his attempt to clinch.

Costa has taken the fight to the clinch.
Penn throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Costa blocks it with crossed arms.
Costa connects with a nasty looking knee right to Penn's face.
Costa avoiding damage as Penn throws knees to the body.

Costa escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A head kick misses from Penn.
Costa misses with a head kick.
Penn getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Penn misses with a series of wild punches.
Penn fails to land with a series of punches.
Costa throws a head kick that misses
and Penn counters with a nice uppercut.

Costa instigates a clinch.
Penn tries to break the clinch but Costa is controlling the position.
Costa tries to score a body lock takedown but Penn shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Costa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Penn throws a head punch that misses.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Penn goes for a takedown in the clinch but Costa prevents it.

Costa breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Costa closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Costa decides to stand up, so the ref orders Penn to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa shoots in for a takedown but Penn shows good takedown defense.
Costa looks gassed!
Penn is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Costa.

Penn scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Penn wants to control but Costa is keeping him busy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Penn decides to stand back up.
Penn finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Penn closes the distance looking to clinch
and Costa counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Penn.

Penn scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Penn decides to return to a standing position.
Penn misses with a body kick.
Penn throws a jab when Costa was well out of range.
Penn shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Penn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Penn misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Costa scores with a head kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Penn shoots in and bounces Costa off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Penn tries to free his leg and advance position but Costa is retaining full guard.
Penn with a flurry of punches that miss.
Costa has a closed guard, preventing Penn from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn thows a big elbow that misses.
Penn tries to stand but Costa is controlling from the bottom.

Costa pushes Penn off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Some wild striking there from Penn.
Costa lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

Costa darts in and clinches Penn up against the cage.

Costa breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Costa as he jumps to the side.
Penn shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Costa as he avoids it easily.
Costa looks to land a combination. Penn sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Costa pushes Penn up against the cage in a clinch.

Costa breaks the clinch.
Johnny Penn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Costa avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Penn misses with a takedown attempt - Costa sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Costa feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Penn scrambles and gets back to his feet.

Costa gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Costa wants to break free but Penn has control.

Penn pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Costa gets caught flat footed, as Penn shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Penn wants to stand but Costa has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Johnny Penn will probably get the nod.
That's time! Penn's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

A head kick misses from Costa.
Penn clinches but Costa breaks the clinch
and Costa counters with a body kick that stops Penn in his tracks momentarily.
Penn lands a high kick!
Penn misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Costa throws a head kick that Penn semi-blocks.
Penn tries to clinch
and Costa counters with a head kick. That will keep Penn thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Penn blocks a head kick by Costa.
No luck for Penn with that takedown attempt.

Costa pushes Penn up against the cage in a clinch.
Penn trying to land knees to the body.
Costa blocks a body shot from Penn.
Penn tries to pull guard but Costa won't allow it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Costa.

Costa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Penn blocks a head kick by Costa.
Costa steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Penn. That one must have hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn looks to land a combination. Costa sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Penn fails with the takedown

and Costa holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Penn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Costa prevents a body shot from Penn.
Penn tries to land a knee to the head but Costa blocks with his arms.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Costa breaks the clinch.
Penn takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Costa throws a head kick but Penn moves out of range.
Penn tries to clinch up but Costa circles away and keeps his distance.
Penn gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Costa counters with a good low kick that Penn was not able to check.
Penn throws a series of strikes that have Costa backpedaling.
Penn doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Costa counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Penn looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Costa trying to control but Penn is working from the bottom.
Costa looking to pass the guard.
Costa's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Costa stops Penn from standing up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Penn scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Penn blocks a head kick by Costa.
Costa misses with a head kick.
A head kick misses from Penn.

Costa clinches.
Costa is trying to break the clinch but Penn has him pressed against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Penn.

Costa has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Penn is trying to keep an underhook but Costa manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Costa prevents Penn from standing back up.
Costa throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Penn has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Costa is working away from the top position though.
Costa prevents Penn from standing back up.
Rai Costa has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Penn has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Costa off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Costa on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Penn. Penn obviously looking to wear him down.
Costa wants to clinch up but Penn keeps it at a distance.
Penn shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Costa counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Penn is lucky that one didn't land flush.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Penn wants to clinch up but Costa keeps it at a distance.
A combination from Penn does no damage.
Costa throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Penn's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rai Costa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Costa tries a head kick but it misses.
Costa blocks a head kick by Penn.
Costa fails with a takedown attempt.
A good leg kick by Penn.
Penn is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Rai Costa seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Penn digs a good hook to Costa's body.
Johnny Penn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Penn wants to clinch
and Costa counters with a left and a right that stings Penn.
Penn tries to close the distance and clinch but Costa swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Penn misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Penn tries to bum rush Costa with a series of wild strikes but Costa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Costa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Penn misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Penn throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Costa throws a head kick that misses.
Penn lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Costa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Penn closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Penn jumps guard but Costa stands there with Penn around his waist. Penn gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Penn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Costa lands an uppercut.
Penn tries to stall but Costa uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Costa tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Penn just stands there and leans against the cage.

Costa pulls guard successfully.

Penn gets to his feet - Costa follows without any prompting.

Costa moves into the clinch successfully.
Costa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Penn prevents Costa from breaking the clinch.
Penn is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Penn stalling in the clinch but Costa improves position.
Knees in the clinch landing for Costa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Costa lands a damaging elbow.

Penn pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Penn misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Costa lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Costa dodges the punch combination from Penn.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Costa!
Penn throws a jab when Costa was well out of range.
Costa scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

Penn tries to keep at a distance but Costa has taken the fight into the clinch.
Costa tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Costa trying to land knees to the body.

Penn pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Penn tries to clinch but Costa moves away
and Costa counters with a head kick. That will keep Penn thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Costa blocks a leg kick.
Penn shoots for a takedown but Costa saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Costa has a takedown stuffed.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Costa, right into the meat.
Penn keeps the fight on the outside.
Costa pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Costa thows a left - swing and a miss!
Penn tries to clinch

and Costa counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Costa moves into full mount! Penn won't be happy about that!
Costa controlling from the full mount.
Costa's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn tries to lock up and control but Costa gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Penn is in all sorts of trouble here.
Penn wants to hold on but Costa pushes him away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rai Costa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Costa has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rai Costa!