PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Leonardo Santos (ranked 3895 p4p, 5087 weight class) and Miguel Garces (ranked 408 p4p, 473 weight class). Garces is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Light into the Darkness. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Santos
vs
Garces

190 cm
23
195
5 - 4 - 0

183 cm
24
198
6 - 10 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Brawler
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Determined

Silverguard Outfitters ðŸ›¡
Furnace Performance ðŸ”¥

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Leonardo Santos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Miguel Garces!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Ron Honeybunn and Chris Dean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Garces has closed the distance and engaged Santos in a clinch.

Garces jumps guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Garces looking for a sweep. Not yet Garces, not yet.
Santos is stalling in the full guard.
Garces pulls Santos in close to prevent any damage.
Santos forces his way into half guard.
Garces wants to sweep but Santos has passed to side control!
Garces is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Santos has just dragged him back down to the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garces tries to bench press Santos off him but Santos keeps the position.
Santos prevents Garces from escaping the position.
Garces struggling a bit here.
Garces tries to buck Santos off but Santos is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Santos thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Santos tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Santos trying to control the action but Garces is working from the bottom.

Santos wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Garces, who protects the arm well.
Garces prevents Santos from improving position.

Santos tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Santos has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Santos wants to control but Garces is keeping him busy.

Santos tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Santos has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Santos tries to advance to mount but Garces denies him.
Garces can't do much from the bottom here.

Santos thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Garces is looking to regain half guard here but Santos keeps moving and retains side control.
Garces wants to get back to his feet but Santos is dominant here and he's now got Garces's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Santos is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Garces rolls, trying to escape but Santos keeps control of the position.

Santos is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Garces is defending well though. Santos let's go of the attempt for now.
Santos not allowing Garces to control his hands.

Santos has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Garces has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Santos tries to get the hooks in deep but Garces pushed the leg off.
Garces is trying to stand back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garces wants to control his opponent's hands but Santos gets his hands free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garces biding his time here by controlling the hands, looking to escape.
Garces looking very determined here, making life difficult for Santos.
Santos looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Santos controlling well, preventing Garces from escaping the position.

Santos is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Garces has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

Santos is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Garces looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Garces preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Santos.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Santos fails with a takedown attempt.

Garces takes the fight into the clinch.
Garces lands a good knee to the midsection. Santos won't want to take too many of those.
Santos fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Garces breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Santos shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leonardo Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Garces throws a nice inside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Santos looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Garces!
Garces struggling a bit here.

Santos wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Garces, who protects the arm well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garces is looking to regain half guard here but Santos keeps moving and retains side control.
Garces wants to control but Santos postures up.
Garces is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Santos's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Garces wants to control but Santos is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Santos is looking to stall here but Garces recovers full guard.
Santos looking to pass the guard.
Santos is working hard here to advance position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Santos passes Garces's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Santos is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Garces doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Santos.

Santos is working for a submission of some sort.

Santos is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Garces doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Santos.

Santos 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garces wants to control but Santos is keeping busy.
Garces is looking for a sweep. Santos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Santos wants to control but Garces is keeping him busy.

Santos is looking for a kimura here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Garces is staying active underneath Santos, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Garces tries to roll over but Santos keeps him under control.

Garces is defending against the submission attempts here by Santos.
Garces is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Santos is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Santos wants to work for an arm triangle but Garces is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
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 Leonardo Santos will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Garces rushes Santos and presses him up against the cage.
Santos is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Garces to keep the fight standing.
Garces landing knees to the body.
Garces landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

Garces breaks the clinch.
Santos fails with a takedown attempt.
Miguel Garces is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Garces clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knees in the clinch landing for Garces.
Santos takes an elbow to the temple.

Garces breaks from the clinch.

Garces instigates a clinch.
Garces is pressed up against the cage. Santos has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Garces down to the mat. Garces avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leonardo Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Garces takes the fight into the clinch.
Garces lands a good knee to the midsection. Santos won't want to take too many of those.
Santos tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Garces just stands there and leans against the cage.

Garces breaks from the clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Miguel Garces seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A shot in the inside from Garces.
Garces prevents a takedown attempt there.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Garces obliges.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Garces lands a left hand that snaps the head of Santos backwards.
Santos is trying to pull guard but Garces turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Santos's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Santos tries to pull guard but Garces forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garces lands a left hand that snaps the head of Santos backwards.
Garces landing knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Garces lands a hook to the side of the head.
Santos jumps guard but Garces turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Garces landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Garces lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Santos backwards.
Garces lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Garces manages to break the clinch.

Garces closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Santos to the mat! Santos manages to get full guard.
Garces is working Santos over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Garces connects with a couple of short punches.
Santos preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Santos wants to sweep but no luck.

Garces gets to his feet - Santos follows without any prompting.

Garces gets a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garces pushes Santos back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Garces breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Garces fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Santos manages to avoid it.
Garces buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Sloppy strikes from Garces. Those never looked like landing.
Garces stuffs the takedown.
Santos throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Garces's waist but Garces gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Santos off to one side.

Garces closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Santos quickly recovers to half guard.
Garces tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Garces seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Santos does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Garces is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Garces is nestled in close to Santos, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Garces wants to control but Santos is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos wants to control but Garces is keeping busy.
Nice strikes from Garces there.
Santos is trying to maintain the position but Garces is very close to passing his half guard.
Garces trying to advance position but Santos counters by regaining guard.

Garces got a little sloppy there for a moment and Santos has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Garces has managed to get both his arms back between Santos's legs - danger averted.
Garces has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Santos controls Garces momentarily but Garces frees himself.
Miguel Garces has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Santos preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Garces chips away with some ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Miguel Garces comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Santos has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 28:28
Judge Ron Honeybunn scores the fight 28:28
Judge Chris Dean scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a draw!