PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Guilherme Duarte (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paulo Lessa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lessa has chosen Uriah Heep: Easy Livin´ as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Duarte
vs
Lessa

180 cm
23
175 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

185 cm
23
180 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Guilherme Duarte!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Lessa!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Edson Gomes and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lessa fails with a takedown attempt.
Lessa fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Lessa fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Guilherme Duarte has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Lessa.
A combination from Duarte does no damage.
Lessa tries for a takedown but Duarte sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Lessa throws a jab but it's blocked by Duarte.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Lessa.
Lessa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Duarte keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Lessa looks gassed!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lessa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Lessa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Lessa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A left and a right from Duarte both land. Nice combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lessa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Duarte.
Duarte throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Duarte throws a one two combo.
Lessa shoots in for a takedown but Duarte shows good takedown defense.
Duarte looks to land a combination but Lessa avoids it well.
Duarte keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Duarte lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Duarte throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Paulo Lessa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A right-left combo lands from Duarte.
Horrible takedown by Lessa or perhaps it was just good defense by Duarte which made him look bad.
Danga de danga de dang - Duarte scores with a four punch combination!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A left and a right from Duarte both land. Nice combination.
Duarte is working the combinations to good effect here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Duarte tries to bum rush Lessa with a series of wild strikes but Lessa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Lessa shoots in for a takedown but Duarte shows good takedown defense.
Duarte lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Duarte throws a series of punches but Lessa moves out of range.
Duarte throws a right and a left that both miss.
Duarte swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Lessa tries to score a power double leg takedown but Duarte sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Lessa somewhat.
Lessa shoots in but no luck this time.
Duarte misses with a series of wild punches.
Guilherme Duarte is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Duarte rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lessa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lessa misses with a body shot.
Lessa fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Duarte avoids it really well and circles away.
Lessa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Duarte.
Duarte throws a one two combo.
No joy there for Duarte, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Duarte looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Lessa misses with a combination
and Duarte counters with a two punch combo.
Lessa misses with a takedown attempt
and Duarte counters with a three punch combo that has Lessa backing up. Lessa nods at Duarte to acknowledge the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duarte rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lessa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Lessa with a poor takedown
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Duarte throws a one two combo.
Danga de danga de dang - Duarte scores with a four punch combination!
Duarte lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lessa avoids a punch combination nicely.
Duarte misses with the combination.
Lessa throws a combination that misses
and Duarte counters with a series of strikes. Lessa will be more careful next time no doubt.
Duarte throws a right and a left that Lessa avoids nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Duarte stalks Lessa and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Lessa's face. Lessa staggers backwards, shaken.
Lessa misses with a combination
and Duarte counters with a left and a right that stings Lessa.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Guilherme Duarte dominated that 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.

Duarte scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Lessa misses with a takedown
and Duarte counters with a left and a right that stings Lessa.
Lessa misses with a straight right.
Lessa doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Duarte counters with a left and a right that stings Lessa.
Duarte scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Guilherme Duarte is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A combination from Duarte does no damage.
Guilherme Duarte is winning the standup battle so far.
Duarte goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Duarte throws a combination. Lessa tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Lessa fails with the takedown
and Duarte counters with a series of strikes. Lessa will be more careful next time no doubt.
Guilherme Duarte has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Lessa.
Lessa is breathing heavily.
Duarte misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Duarte misses with a two punch combination.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Duarte!
Duarte moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Lessa walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Duarte checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Lessa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Duarte.
A leg kick checked by Duarte.
Lessa jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Duarte scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Lessa doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duarte throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Duarte throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Duarte misses with a series of wild punches.
Lessa misses the body punch
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Lessa misses with a body punch
and Duarte counters with a left and a right that stings Lessa.
Lessa shoots and misses
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Duarte misses with a series of wild punches.
Duarte is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lessa can do to turn this around?
Duarte throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Lessa with a lazy takedown attempt
and Duarte counters with a series of strikes. Lessa will be more careful next time no doubt.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Lessa might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Duarte has got the better of the exchanges.
Duarte lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Duarte.
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!
Duarte lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Danga de danga de dang - Duarte scores with a four punch combination!
Duarte throws a right and a left that both miss.
Duarte throws a right hand that Lessa ducks under and follows up with a left that Lessa also avoids with ease.
No joy there for Duarte, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Duarte misses with a double jab.
Duarte scores with a one two! Lessa had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Duarte swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Duarte fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Duarte rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lessa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Duarte goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Lessa tries for a takedown but Duarte circles away easily
and Duarte counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duarte misses with a few strikes there.
No joy there for Duarte, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Duarte misses with a series of wild punches.
Lessa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Duarte.
Danga de danga de dang - Duarte scores with a four punch combination!
Lessa with a poor takedown
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Duarte misses with a wild combination.
Lessa is trying desperately to land a takedown but Duarte is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Lessa.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Duarte misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lessa misses with a takedown
and Duarte counters with a series of strikes. Lessa will be more careful next time no doubt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Guilherme Duarte dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Duarte tries to bum rush Lessa with a series of wild strikes but Lessa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Lessa fails with the takedown
and Duarte counters with a two punch combo.
Duarte looks to land a combination but Lessa avoids it well.
Duarte scores with a one two! Lessa had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Duarte lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Lessa throws a combination that misses
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Duarte moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Lessa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Duarte.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Lessa.
Duarte lands with a nice combination. Lessa backs away looking to recover.
Lessa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lessa shoots and misses
and Duarte counters with a left and a right that stings Lessa.
Duarte will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Lessa throws a sloppy head kick and Duarte moves out of range easily.
Duarte swinging wildly here.
Duarte tries to bum rush Lessa with a series of wild strikes but Lessa uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Lessa misses with a takedown
and Duarte counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Guilherme Duarte has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Lessa.
Lessa takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Duarte moves away from the strike by Lessa.
A left and a right from Duarte both land. Nice combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duarte throws a left and a right that both miss

and Lessa counters with a takedown into side control.
Lessa prevents Duarte from escaping the position.

Duarte throws Lessa to one side and escapes!
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!
Duarte throws a combination. Lessa tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Duarte throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Lessa with a poor takedown
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Duarte misses with a jab, cross combination.
Duarte looks to land a combination but Lessa avoids it well.
Duarte throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Lessa misses with a combination
and Duarte counters with a two punch combo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Lessa throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Lessa tries for a takedown but Duarte circles away easily
and Duarte counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Duarte rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lessa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Lessa gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Duarte counters with a series of strikes. Lessa will be more careful next time no doubt.
Lessa fails with the takedown
and Duarte counters with a series of strikes. Lessa will be more careful next time no doubt.
Lessa has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Duarte scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Lessa doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Duarte counters with a left and a right that stings Lessa.
A nice combination there by Duarte.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duarte throws a nice looking combination but Lessa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Lessa showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Duarte.
Lessa has his takedown stuffed
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Guilherme Duarte is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Lessa avoids a punch combination nicely.
Lessa shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Duarte counters with a one-two to the body.
Duarte throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Duarte slips a straight right by Lessa.
Duarte throws a series of strikes that have Lessa backpedaling.
Paulo Lessa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Duarte misses with a two punch combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
Guilherme Duarte showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Duarte, 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight for Guilherme Duarte!
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight for Guilherme Duarte!
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight for Guilherme Duarte!

Guilherme Duarte wins by unanimous decision!