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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Paul Eclaro (ranked 533 p4p, 1484 weight class) and Deon Graves (ranked 65 p4p, 158 weight class). Eclaro kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is I'm The Boy. The crowd seem to be enjoying Graves's choice of entrance music: THE ZOO. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!
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| 168 cm
32
155
21 - 10 - 0 |
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182 cm
30
165
13 - 9 - 0 |
Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Granite chin |
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Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Paul Eclaro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Deon Graves!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Gwen Towbar and Daniel Franklin.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Eclaro looks to score with a jab to the body but Graves is just out of range.
Eclaro ducks under a wild hook from Graves.
Graves misses with a hook
and Eclaro counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Graves!
Eclaro has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
The strikes coming from Eclaro are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Eclaro grinds an elbow into Graves's temple.
Eclaro trying to control the action but Graves is working from the bottom.
Eclaro tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Eclaro with the ground and pound but Graves regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves trying to hold on to Eclaro's head to control him but Eclaro postures up.
Eclaro thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Graves's head.
Eclaro has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Graves is desperately trying to improve his position but Eclaro has a good base and remains in mount.
Eclaro wants to control the pace but Graves is squirming around nicely.
Eclaro has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Eclaro lands a couple of good shots and Graves has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Eclaro tries to keep control of the position but Graves is staying busy.
Eclaro patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Can Graves hold on?! Eclaro is landing more strikes to his hapless foe.
Graves covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Eclaro looking for the RNC.
Graves felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Eclaro lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Graves.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Eclaro throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Eclaro missing with strikes from the back.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Eclaro is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Eclaro biding his time, controlling Graves.
Eclaro working for a choke but Graves is defending well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Eclaro throwing strikes and Graves squirms under the pressure, ending up mounted.
Graves holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Eclaro tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Eclaro in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Graves is bucking up trying to escape but Eclaro cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The referee warns Graves that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Graves is in all sorts of trouble here.
Eclaro tries to control but Graves wriggling away.
Eclaro landing strikes, looking to finish!
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Graves turns into him and now he's in Eclaro's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Eclaro looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Eclaro keeping moving, preventing Graves from controlling successfully.
Eclaro bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Graves's guard.
Eclaro trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Eclaro trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Eclaro throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Eclaro looking to pass the guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Paul Eclaro dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!
Eclaro dodges the punch combination from Graves.
Graves throws the left hand but Eclaro avoids the punch easily.
Eclaro half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Eclaro lands a head shot.
Graves lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Eclaro misses with a jab to the body
and Graves counters with a nice uppercut.
Eclaro dives in and scores a takedown into Graves's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Graves preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Eclaro is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Graves can do to turn this around?
Eclaro postures up.
Graves preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Graves working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Eclaro has passed into half guard!
That's one minute gone in the round.
Eclaro seems to be working for a kimura but Graves defends the submission attempt.
Eclaro is nestled in close to Graves, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Eclaro is working for a submission of some sort.
Eclaro trying to pass the guard but Graves defending well.
Eclaro throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Eclaro seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Graves does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Eclaro thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Eclaro is looking to advance position but Graves won't allow it.
Eclaro wants to take a breather but Graves is having none of it.
Eclaro is nestled in close to Graves, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Graves is refusing to be controlled, as Eclaro sits in half guard.
Graves wants to improve his position but Eclaro is controlling well.
Eclaro misses with a head shot. Graves uses the momentum to regain guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Eclaro's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Eclaro's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Eclaro scoring with some ground and pound.
Eclaro throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Graves works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Eclaro loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Eclaro accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Eclaro avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Graves utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Graves wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Eclaro is now in half guard.
Graves wants to improve his position but Eclaro is controlling well.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro is looking to advance position but Graves won't allow it.
Eclaro is working hard here to advance position.
Graves wants to get back to full guard.
Graves is refusing to be controlled, as Eclaro sits in half guard.
Graves moves into full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Eclaro passes Graves's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Eclaro working the head and body with strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Paul Eclaro dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!
Graves is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Eclaro.
Eclaro misses with a body shot.
Graves looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Eclaro moves out of range of the strikes.
Graves pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Graves tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Eclaro was well out of range. Poor timing from Graves.
Eclaro is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Graves takes a shot right to the bread basket.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Eclaro looks to land a combination but Graves avoids it well.
Graves lands with a nice body punch.
Graves throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Eclaro stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Eclaro avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Eclaro feinted with a counter takedown.
Graves throws a body shot but no joy.
Graves scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Eclaro looks to score with a jab to the body but Graves is just out of range.
Graves lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Eclaro avoids the body shot from Graves.
Deon Graves seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Eclaro ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Eclaro tries to counter with a takedown but Graves is quick to defend against it.
Eclaro ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Graves moves away.
Graves throws a hook but Eclaro avoids it easily.
Eclaro changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Graves misses with a hook. Eclaro ducked under it nicely.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graves jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Eclaro is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Graves.
It looks like Paul Eclaro has been cut.
Eclaro uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Graves.
Graves throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Graves rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Eclaro counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Graves!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Eclaro thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Graves is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Graves is looking to reverse the position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Graves is looking for a sweep.
Eclaro trying to control the position but Graves is working away.
Eclaro landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Graves gets back to half guard.
Eclaro is looking to advance position but Graves won't allow it.
Eclaro works his way into side control.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro is putting a hurting on Graves here, landing some big shots from side control.
Graves regains half guard, as Eclaro was trying to land strikes.
Eclaro passes the guard and advances to mount!
Graves is in a horrible position here. Eclaro smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Eclaro landing strikes, looking to finish!
Graves tries to reverse the position but Eclaro maintains control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Paul Eclaro clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Paul Eclaro's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!
Graves throws a big shot that misses.
Eclaro tries to counter with a takedown but Graves is quick to defend against it.
Graves falls off balance throwing a combination
and Eclaro counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Graves taking some punishment here, with Eclaro in his half guard.
Eclaro is working for a submission of some sort.
Eclaro wants to pass to mount but Graves is defending the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Eclaro lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Eclaro wants to pass to mount but Graves is defending the position.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Eclaro there.
Graves has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Eclaro escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Eclaro!
Eclaro is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Graves is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Eclaro is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Graves is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Graves taking a bit of punishment here - Eclaro scoring with strikes.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graves tries to buck Eclaro off but Eclaro is having none of it.
Graves dodges the ground and pound from Eclaro.
Eclaro sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Graves is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Eclaro lands a decent elbow from side control.
Eclaro scoring with punches and elbows.
Paul Eclaro overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Eclaro working the head and body with strikes.
Eclaro grinds an elbow into Graves's temple.
Graves is trying to improve his position.
You can see the frustration on Graves's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Eclaro wants to lay and pray for a moment but Graves keeps working.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Eclaro cracks Graves with a big right hand but Graves just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Eclaro trying to control the position but Graves is working away.
Eclaro wants to take a breather but Graves manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Eclaro.
Eclaro pushes down on Graves's leg and manages to get into half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro tries to pass to full mount but Graves defends it.
Eclaro takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Graves is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Graves avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Eclaro.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Eclaro is nestled in close to Graves, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Eclaro passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Graves!
Eclaro lands a heavy elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Paul Eclaro had his way with Deon Graves in that round.
The cut man is working on Paul Eclaro's cut.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!
Graves misses with a lunging right hand
and Eclaro counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Deon Graves has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Graves on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Eclaro is trying to work for a kimura but Graves is defending well.
Eclaro moves nicely into side control.
Eclaro is working Graves over with some ground and pound from side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Eclaro controlling from side mount.
Graves tries to bench press Eclaro off him but Eclaro keeps the position.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Eclaro is putting a hurting on Graves here, landing some big shots from side control.
Graves is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
A lull in the action here.
Eclaro works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Graves tries to improve position but can't.
Eclaro tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Eclaro has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Eclaro is trying to ground and pound but Graves uses the momentary lack of control by Eclaro to regain half guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro tries to pass the half guard into mount. Graves knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Graves taking some punishment here, with Eclaro in his half guard.
Eclaro looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Graves with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Eclaro seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Graves is looking to improve his position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro wants to take a breather but Graves is having none of it.
Eclaro missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Eclaro working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Eclaro wants to lay and pray for a moment but Graves keeps working.
Graves is in trouble now - Eclaro has advanced to mount!
Eclaro lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Eclaro looking to control and managing it successfully.
Graves wants to control but Eclaro is having none of it.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eclaro has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Graves's face.
Eclaro lands a big elbow.
Graves throwing hammer fists to the chest of Eclaro. What's that going to do exactly?
Eclaro punishing his opponent with strikes.
Eclaro tries to control but Graves wriggling away.
Graves really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Eclaro lands a couple of good shots and Graves has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
And that's the end of the fight!
Paul Eclaro showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Eclaro, 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 50:44
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 50:43
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 50:43
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Eclaro!
Paul Eclaro decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
44% |
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