PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rio Free (ranked 4030 p4p, 25167 weight class) and Dana White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Free
vs
White

187 cm
18
171
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
18
165
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 Tokyo, Rio Free!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Dana White!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Shigeki Fujiwara and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Free moves into the clinch successfully.
White looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Free drops down looking for an ankle pick but White pulls his leg out and moves away.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that White has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.

Free has closed the distance and engaged White in a clinch.
White tries to pull guard but Free forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
White has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Free's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Free is struggling to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Free pulls White into guard.
Free is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
White tries to free his leg and advance position but Free is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Free seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Free is on top in guard.

Free throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Free trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Free slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
White wants to sweep here but Free controlling him for the moment.
Free is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
White working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Free looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Free chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Free has his takedown stuffed
and White counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Free clinches up with White and pushes him back against the cage.
Free changes levels and goes for a takedown here. White fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rio Free. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Free looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Free takes the fight into the clinch.
Free taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

Free breaks the clinch.

Free has managed to clinch.
Free just leaning against White, taking a breather.
The referee calls for Free to work.

Free breaks the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
White steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Free. That one must have hurt.
Free shoots in looking for a takedown but White manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Free's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from White.
Free moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Free shoots in but White avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Free fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
White with a poor takedown
and Free makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Free tries to score a power double leg takedown but White sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Free somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rio Free. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Free misses with a takedown attempt - White sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Free moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Free with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Free will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning White up against the cage.
White is looking to break free of the clinch but Free has double underhooks.
Free lands a shoulder strike.
White gets underhooks to prevent Free's takedown attempt.
Free unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Free works on White's body with a couple of short punches.

Free has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics White uses from the top position.
Free is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White preventing the sweep.

Free looking for subs off his back but White has passed one foot through into half guard.
Free is looking to escape.
Free is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Free is controlling White's trapped leg to prevent White from advancing to side control.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
It looks like White is going to stand back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Free drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
White keeping full guard, as Free tries to pass.
Free controls from within his opponent's guard.
Free stands and throws White's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Free knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for White on the ground.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
White prevents Free from moving into mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rio Free dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Free dives in and grabs White's left leg, looking for a takedown. White pushes down on Free's head and hops out.
White dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
White doesn't manage to clinch there - Free circles away.

Free gets a clinch.
White tries to pull guard but Free forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Free unloads a knee to the mid-section.

Free manages to break the clinch.
Free jabs White right on the nose. White blinks but takes it well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Free escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
White takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
White keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's one minute gone in the round.
White takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Free closes the distance and clinches up with White, looking for a takedown. Free pushes White against the cage but White circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rio Free. That's going to take a lot out of him.
White will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Free clinches.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Free takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Free is trying to pull guard but White turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
White goes for a takedown in the clinch but Free prevents it.
Knees in the clinch landing for Free.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White is defending well against a takedown attempt.
White is trying to stall.

Free successfully pulls guard.
Free has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Free looking for a sweep. Not yet Free, not yet.
White chips away with some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Free has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes White off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Rio Free is winning the standup battle so far.

Free moves into the clinch.
Free tries to pull guard but White forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
A right hand to the body from Free.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
White is pressed up against the cage. Free has hold of a leg and is looking to drag White down to the mat. White avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
White has a takedown stuffed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Free tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but White swivels and escapes.
White wants to counter with a clinch but Free pushes him away.
Free dives in and grabs White's left leg, looking for a takedown. White pushes down on Free's head and hops out.
White fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Free drives through and clinches with White against the cage.
Free has White pressed against the cage, preventing White from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Free has dropped down and is working for a takedown. White is trying to keep an underhook but Free manages to get the takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Free missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Free content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Dana White has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rio Free is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
White missing with punches from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rio Free showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Free has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rio Free!