PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rio Gracie (ranked 1580 p4p, 4064 weight class) and Mark Jackson (ranked 215 p4p, 486 weight class). Rio Gracie has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Gracie
vs
Jackson

175 cm
21
170
6 - 0 - 0

191 cm
25
182
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Experienced

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 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Rio Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Mark Jackson!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Ren Mimura and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gracie looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Jackson!
Gracie controls the position.
Gracie is looking to take a break and control but Jackson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie controls the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jackson tries to bench press Gracie off him but Gracie keeps the position.
Jackson is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Gracie staying calm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Gracie wants to control but Jackson is keeping him busy.
Gracie controlling the position.
Gracie trying to control the action but Jackson is working from the bottom.
Gracie moves into full mount!

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 controlling the position easily from mount.
Further stalling from Gracie.
Gracie fails to take his opponent's back.
Jackson has given up his back - I don’t know if this is a deliberate ploy to try and escape or if he is just struggling down there.
Gracie just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Gracie has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Gracie is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Jackson is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Gracie off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Jackson is trying to get back to his feet but Gracie has full control of the position and if anything, Jackson has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Will Gracie go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Jackson wants to control his opponent's hands but Gracie gets his hands free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
I would not like to be Jackson right now.
Gracie tries to keep control of the position but Jackson is staying busy.
Gracie controls the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Jackson wants to get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rio Gracie dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Jackson gets a double leg takedown into Gracie's guard.
Jackson wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.
Gracie is trying to keep Jackson in close.
Gracie pulls Jackson in close to prevent any damage.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Gracie.
Gracie 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 has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie controlling from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Gracie moves to the back.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jackson can do to turn this around?
Gracie has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Jackson's body.
Gracie is not going to allow Jackson to sit and survive in this position.
Gracie has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Jackson's body.
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.
Rio Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gracie trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Gracie wants to control but Jackson is keeping busy.
Good control from Gracie.
Jackson trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Gracie controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jackson wants to control his opponent's hands but Gracie gets his hands free.
Gracie is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gracie seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Jackson for as long as he can get away with.
Gracie continues to hold on tight.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rio Gracie dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Gracie looks for a takedown but Jackson sprawls well.

Jackson is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Gracie's half guard.
Gracie is trying to maintain the position but Jackson is very close to passing his half guard.
Jackson winds up and cracks Gracie with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gracie is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Jackson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Jackson's back!
Gracie just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Jackson just trying to survive but Gracie is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jackson is trying to get back to his feet but Gracie has full control of the position and if anything, Jackson has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Jackson is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Gracie.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson tries to escape the position.
Jackson trying to get back to his feet but Gracie is in full control for now.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Gracie controlling the positon.
Gracie is hanging on to Jackson's back as he tries to escape.
Gracie biding his time, looking for the opening.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie continues to stall.
More hug and hope from Gracie.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie controlling well, preventing Jackson from escaping the position.
Gracie is riding his opponent, not letting Jackson buck him off.
Gracie is not going to allow Jackson to sit and survive in this position.
Jackson can't escape the position.
Gracie keeps control of the position easily here as Jackson tries to buck him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is trying to get back to his feet but Gracie has full control of the position and if anything, Jackson has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Gracie slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Gracie avoiding Jackson 's attempts to control his hands.
Gracie trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Jackson doesn't escape.
Mark Jackson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Rio Gracie showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gracie, 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rio Gracie!
During a confident post fight interview, Rio Gracie thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.