PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Marcelo Castro (ranked 1868 p4p, 3525 weight class) and Solomon Striker (ranked 190 p4p, 353 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Castro
vs
Striker

187 cm
29
265
5 - 3 - 0

225 cm
24
285
6 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Castro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Solomon Striker!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Columbo Gatti and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Striker throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Castro counters with a nice double leg into side control. Striker won't be happy with that.
Castro in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Castro is staying tight to Striker's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Striker really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Castro. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Striker is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Castro is staying tight to Striker's torso, preventing him from escaping.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castro seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Striker for as long as he can get away with.
Striker is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Striker is looking for a sweep.
Castro landing strikes.
Castro controlling from side mount.
Castro works to advance to full mount. Striker defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Castro content just to control the position here.
Castro'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.
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.
Further stalling from Castro.
Striker is wriggling around trying to escape.
Castro controlling the position easily from mount.
Castro unloading with bombs!
Castro tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Striker looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castro prevents Striker from getting the reversal.
Castro looking to control and managing it successfully.
Castro with a couple of short strikes.
Castro takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Castro breaks from Striker's wrist control and lands an elbow.

Castro is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Striker to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Striker shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castro controlling the position easily from mount.
Castro continues to stall.
More hug and hope from Castro.
Castro has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Castro is stinking the place up with his stalling.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Marcelo Castro dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Striker swinging wildly here.

Castro closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Striker's guard.
Castro sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Striker's guard.
Castro content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Castro.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Striker has a hand on Castro's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Castro takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
BOOM! Castro connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castro connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Castro controlling from mount.
Castro is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Striker can do to turn this around?
Castro is landing with some decent strikes but Striker is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Castro has control of Striker's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Striker regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Castro working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Castro controlling from the full mount.
Castro lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Striker hang on?
Castro lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Striker hang on?

Castro with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Castro looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Castro swings around for an armbar and he's got it! Wow, that came out of nowhere! What a finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:27 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Marcelo Castro!
Marcelo Castro decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.
In defeat, Solomon Striker stepped up to the mic, saying 'The Fight was rigged. I'm gonna be hUGE'.