PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Marco Natta (ranked 1293 p4p, 1949 weight class) and Caleb Jones (ranked 105 p4p, 151 weight class). Marco Natta is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Natta
vs
Jones

170 cm
30
145
21 - 10 - 0

170 cm
30
145
15 - 13 - 2

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Silverguard Outfitters ðŸ›¡

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Marco Natta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 13 - 2, fighting out of Helsinki, Caleb Jones!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Stewart Dunkirk and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Natta misses with a body shot.
Natta tries to clinch there but Jones circles away.
A slow jab from Natta misses its intended target.
A big right from Natta misses.
Natta wants to clinch up but Jones keeps it at a distance.
Natta defending well as Jones loads up on a big left hand.
Natta tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Jones manages to circle out of the way.
Natta rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Jones counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A big left from Jones misses.
Natta tries to close the distance and clinch up but Jones swats him away and circles back towards the center.
The fight stays on the outside here - Jones looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Natta tries to clinch up but Jones circles away and keeps his distance.
Natta misses with a looping left.

Jones rushes Natta and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Natta pulls Jones into guard.
Jones stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Natta swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Natta controls Jones momentarily but Jones frees himself.
Jones controlling from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

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.

Natta looking for a guillotine here but Jones defends easily.
Natta has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Jones controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Jones avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Natta is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A looping hook to the body misses from Natta. Jones does a little dance to reset his feet.
Natta throws a lazy right hand but Jones sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Jones has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Natta is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Jones uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Natta.
Natta moves away from the strike by Jones.
Natta tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Jones manages to circle out of the way.
Natta misses with a straight right.
Natta throws a shot from downtown. Jones moves away and avoids it.
Natta throws a jab when Jones was well out of range.
Natta throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Jones is looking to clinch but Natta is avoiding it.
Natta throws a body shot but no joy.
Jones appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Natta misses with a hook
and Natta takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Natta misses with a wild body shot.

Jones moves into the clinch.
Jones tries to pull guard but Natta holds him up against the cage and eventually Jones drops back down to his feet.
Jones tries a body shot but Natta blocks it.
Jones jumps guard but Natta stands there with Jones around his waist. Jones gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Jones tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Natta smiles and moves away.
Marco Natta has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Caleb Jones.
Jones uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Natta.
Natta tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Jones manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Jones wants to counter the offense by Natta and move into the clinch position.
Natta throws a body shot but no joy.
Jones wants to counter with a clinch but Natta pushes him away.
Jones steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Natta.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Jones blocks a jab.
Jones tries to clinch up but Natta circles away and keeps his distance.
Natta slips a jab from Jones.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Marco Natta will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Natta avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Natta wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Jones connects with a single shot there.
Jones ducks under a wild hook from Natta.
Jones throws a shot from downtown. Natta moves away and avoids it.
Natta tries to counter by clinching up but Jones breaks away and moves out of range.
Natta is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Jones.
Jones misses with an uppercut.
Natta pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Jones looks to land a right hand but Natta moved out of range.

Natta has managed to clinch.
Jones is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Natta to keep the fight standing.
Natta misses with a shot to the kidneys.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Natta drags the fight down to the ground.
Jones trying to control the position from guard on top but Natta is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Natta has his foot on Jones's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Jones works his way back into a safe position though.
Natta is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Natta looking to control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

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.
Jones blocks a jab.
Natta misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Jones.
Jones looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Natta throws a lazy right hand but Jones sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

Jones rushes Natta and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Jones is trying to pull guard but Natta has him pressed against the cage.
Natta misses with a punch on the inside.
Jones trying to land knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Jones.
Jones misses with a hook to the ribs.
Jones jumps guard but Natta turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Marco Natta has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Caleb Jones.

Natta drags the fight down to the ground.
Jones wants to control from the top but Natta keeps moving.
Jones postures up.

Natta looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones postures up.
Jones pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Natta is keeping the position for now.
Natta is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Jones trying to control the position from guard on top but Natta is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Jones circles away from the clinch attempt
and Jones counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
A swing and a miss from Natta.
Natta misses with a hook.
Natta throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Jones sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Natta throws a hook but Jones blocks it.
Natta moves away from the strike by Jones.
Jones staying out of range there.
Natta throws a jab but it's blocked by Jones.
Jones tries to counter by closing the distance.
Natta throws a jab when Jones was well out of range.
Natta takes a swing at Jones's ribcage but misses.
Jones tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Natta paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Jones tries to close the distance and clinch up but Natta swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A telegraphed right hand from Natta misses the target.
Natta is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jones can do to turn this around?
Natta throws out a loose jab but Jones uses good head movement to avoid it.
Jones uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Natta.
Jones swats away the attempt to clinch by Natta.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Marco Natta dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

Natta swings for the body but Jones moves out of range.
Caleb Jones has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marco Natta is winning the standup battle so far.

Natta takes the fight into the clinch.
Natta is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Jones to keep the fight standing.
A nice right hand lands inside from Jones.
Jones digs a right hand into Natta's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Natta's gas tank.
Jones tries to pull guard but Natta won't allow it.
Natta is trying to pull guard but Jones turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Jones is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Natta to keep the fight standing.
Natta misses with a short punch on the inside.
Natta tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Jones smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marco Natta. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Natta tries to clinch up.
Jones might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Natta fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Jones manages to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Natta avoids the body shot from Jones.
Natta tries to clinch but Jones is having none of it.
Jones is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Natta misses with an uppercut
enabling Jones to counter with a crisp jab.
Jones ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Jones is looking to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones tries to close the distance and clinch up but Natta swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Natta swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Jones is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Natta.
Natta tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Jones manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Jones is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
A jab from Jones finds it's way through Natta's defenses.
Marco Natta seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The fight stays on the outside here - Natta looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Natta has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Natta tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Jones manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
The fight stays on the outside here - Natta looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Jones is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Natta throws a sloppy body shot

and Jones counters by clinching up.
Jones is trying to pull guard but Natta has him pressed against the cage.
Jones tries to pull guard but Natta forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Natta jumps guard and drags Jones to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Natta wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Jones is now in half guard.
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.
Jones moves into full mount! Natta won't be happy about that!
Natta is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Jones takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Natta regains half guard.
Natta wants to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Natta is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Jones's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Jones's back!

Natta is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Natta avoiding Jones 's attempts to control his hands.

Natta 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, Jones has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Marco Natta is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Jones is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Natta.
Marco Natta overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jones tries to escape but Natta has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Natta 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.
Jones wants to control his opponent's hands but Natta gets his hands free.
What can Jones do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Jones tries to roll but Natta sticks to his back.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Natta biding his time, looking for the opening.
Natta is trying to stick to Jones's back but Jones is turning into Natta. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Natta's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Jones.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Caleb Jones.
I think Natta 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marco Natta!
A very excited looking Marco Natta made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.