PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lucio Rodrigues (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phillip Anselmo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rodrigues comes to the cage accompanied by Ain't no Sunshine. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rodrigues
vs
Anselmo

188 cm
23
212 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

188 cm
22
213 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Syndicate Drugs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lucio Rodrigues!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Phillip Anselmo!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Alexandre Firmino and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Anselmo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Anselmo tries to score a power double leg takedown but Rodrigues sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Anselmo somewhat.

Rodrigues gets a takedown into half guard.
Rodrigues trying to pass the guard but Anselmo defending well.
Rodrigues throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Rodrigues thows a huge punch but Anselmo dodges it nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Rodrigues wants to work for an arm triangle but Anselmo is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Rodrigues trying to control from half guard but Anselmo is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anselmo is trying to stand back up but Rodrigues is controlling him

Rodrigues is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Anselmo sees it coming and defends easily.
Rodrigues moves nicely into side control.

Rodrigues swings around for an armbar but Anselmo sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Rodrigues's guard.

Rodrigues is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Rodrigues 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.
Anselmo wants to pass the guard but Rodrigues is keeping the position.
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.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Anselmo advances to half guard.
Rodrigues is looking for a sweep. Anselmo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Rodrigues trying to hold on to Anselmo's head to control him but Anselmo postures up.
Rodrigues slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Rodrigues is breathing heavily.
Rodrigues trying to keep a closed guard but Anselmo is proving a slippery customer.
Anselmo has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Rodrigues is proving hard to escape from.

Rodrigues throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rodrigues wants to sweep here but Anselmo controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rodrigues is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Anselmo defends well.
Anselmo trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodrigues is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rodrigues can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Anselmo controls the pace.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Anselmo misses with a double jab.
Anselmo with a lazy takedown attempt

and Rodrigues counters with a takedown into side control.

Rodrigues tries for a kimura but Anselmo is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Anselmo is pushing Rodrigues's head away, looking to escape. Rodrigues manages to hold on to the position though.

Rodrigues is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Anselmo has escaped the position, nice work there.
Rodrigues misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

Rodrigues is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Anselmo has escaped the position, nice work there.
Anselmo tries to escape but Rodrigues is in control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lucio Rodrigues dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Anselmo tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Anselmo shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rodrigues sprawls well. Rodrigues wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Anselmo gets slowly back to his feet.
Rodrigues misses with a looping right.
Anselmo showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rodrigues.
Anselmo throws a head kick but Rodrigues moves out of range.
Some wild striking there from Anselmo.
Lucio Rodrigues is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rodrigues thows a left - swing and a miss!

Rodrigues closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Rodrigues is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Anselmo defends it well.

Anselmo makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anselmo fakes the leg kick and cracks Rodrigues in the body.
Rodrigues avoids the head kick by Anselmo.
Anselmo misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Anselmo lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Anselmo lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Anselmo tries a head kick but it misses.
Anselmo scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Anselmo shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Rodrigues defends it nicely.
Anselmo tries to clinch but Rodrigues moves away

and Rodrigues counters by clinching up.
Anselmo tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Rodrigues ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Rodrigues no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

Anselmo postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Rodrigues is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Anselmo, into his guard.
Rodrigues thows a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Rodrigues advances position into side control!
Anselmo dodges the ground and pound from Rodrigues.

Rodrigues swings around for an armbar but Anselmo sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Rodrigues's guard.
Anselmo must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Anselmo got a little sloppy there for a moment and Rodrigues has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Anselmo has managed to get both his arms back between Rodrigues's legs - danger averted.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anselmo passes Rodrigues's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Anselmo seems to be looking for submissions.
Rodrigues trying to control from the bottom.
Rodrigues works his way to full guard. Good work.
Anselmo wants to control from the top but Rodrigues keeps moving.

Rodrigues is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Anselmo defends well.

Anselmo drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Anselmo jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

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.
Rodrigues wants to sweep but no luck.

Anselmo decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Rodrigues, up you get!
Anselmo tries to clinch but Rodrigues is having none of it.
Anselmo misses with a few strikes there.
Rodrigues is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Anselmo.
Anselmo throws a low kick but Rodrigues avoids it.
Rodrigues looks to land a combination but Anselmo avoids it well.
Anselmo misses with a jab, cross combination.

Rodrigues has managed to clinch.

Rodrigues breaks the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Anselmo throws a low kick, looking for Rodrigues's leg but Rodrigues calmly moves out of range.
Anselmo plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Anselmo throws a nice looking combination but Rodrigues bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Rodrigues with a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phillip Anselmo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Anselmo falls off balance throwing a combination

and Rodrigues counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Rodrigues 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.
Rodrigues is trying to control the action in half guard but Anselmo is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Rodrigues is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Anselmo defends it well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigues thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rodrigues missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Anselmo is trying to stand back up but Rodrigues is controlling him
Rodrigues thows a huge punch but Anselmo dodges it nicely.
Rodrigues wants to pass the guard but Anselmo is defending well.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
A head kick misses from Anselmo.
Anselmo has a takedown stuffed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Rodrigues dives in and grabs Anselmo's left leg, looking for a takedown. Anselmo pushes down on Rodrigues's head and hops out.
Rodrigues misses with an uppercut. Anselmo saw that one coming.
Anselmo misses with a kick to the body.
Anselmo swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Rodrigues counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rodrigues.
Anselmo preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Rodrigues prevents Anselmo from getting back to his feet.
Rodrigues pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Anselmo is keeping the position for now.
Rodrigues postures up in Anselmo's guard and throws a big left but Anselmo blocks it.
Rodrigues stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Anselmo swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anselmo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rodrigues wants to pass the guard but Anselmo is keeping the position.
Rodrigues is working hard here to advance position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rodrigues has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Rodrigues there as he acknowledges the shot.
Rodrigues keeps the fight on the outside.
Rodrigues misses with a double jab
and Anselmo counters with a stiff right hand.
Anselmo lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rodrigues circles away quickly and effectively.

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.
Rodrigues avoids the head kick by Anselmo.
Rodrigues dodges the punch combination from Anselmo.
Anselmo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Rodrigues drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Rodrigues working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Rodrigues taking a break here but Anselmo is having none of it and regains half guard.
Rodrigues trying to advance position but Anselmo counters by regaining guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lucio Rodrigues showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Rodrigues 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lucio Rodrigues!