PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cpjan Hammarstroem (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Santos
vs
Hammarstroem

188 cm
18
209 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

184 cm
22
230 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rafael Santos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Cpjan Hammarstroem!
The judges for this bout are , and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Santos closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Santos decides to take the fight back to the feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Hammarstroem gets underhooks to prevent Santos's takedown attempt.
Hammarstroem looking to throw knees to the head but Santos is blocking nicely.
Santos changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Hammarstroem fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Santos wants to clinch up but Hammarstroem keeps it at a distance.
Santos swinging wildly here.

Santos drives through and clinches with Hammarstroem against the cage.
Santos wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Santos jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Hammarstroem walks away with a smile on his face. Santos gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hammarstroem misses with a combination

and Santos counters with a nice double leg into side control. Hammarstroem won't be happy with that.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hammarstroem sneaks out the side door and pushes Santos away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Hammarstroem looks gassed!
Santos lands the left hand.

Hammarstroem closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Santos is refusing to be controlled, as Hammarstroem sits in half guard.
Santos trying to hold on to Hammarstroem's head to control him but Hammarstroem postures up.
Hammarstroem prevents Santos from improving his position.
Santos tries to kick Hammarstroem off but Hammarstroem keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hammarstroem is trying to work for a kimura but Santos is defending well.
Santos is looking for a sweep. Hammarstroem is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Santos knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hammarstroem on the ground.
Santos trying to hold on to Hammarstroem's head to control him but Hammarstroem postures up.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Santos fails with the takedown

and Hammarstroem counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Santos!
Santos tries to hold on but Hammarstroem pushes him away.
Hammarstroem controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammarstroem sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Santos is looking to improve his position but Hammarstroem isn't that keen on the idea.

That's four 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.
Santos throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Santos really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hammarstroem punishing his opponent with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Rafael Santos will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hammarstroem shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Santos counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Hammarstroem!
Santos with a couple of short strikes.
Santos breaks from Hammarstroem's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Hammarstroem is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

Santos is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Hammarstroem can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Rafael Santos overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Santos cracks Hammarstroem with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Santos controlling from the full mount.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Santos working Hammarstroem over with strikes here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Hammarstroem looks a forlorn figure.
Santos landing strikes, looking to finish!
Santos working the ground and pound effectively.
Hammarstroem wants to hold on but Santos pushes him away.
Santos wants to control the pace but Hammarstroem is squirming around nicely.
Hammarstroem tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Santos tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Hammarstroem wants to try and get back to his feet.
Hammarstroem is in all sorts of trouble here.
Hammarstroem is squirming around, avoiding Santos's attempts to control the action.

Santos is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Hammarstroem has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Hammarstroem!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammarstroem is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Santos pushes Hammarstroem off and scrambles back to his feet.
Hammarstroem is trying hard to land a takedown here. Santos sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Santos lands with a kick to the ribs.
Santos fakes the leg kick and cracks Hammarstroem in the body.
Santos tries to clinch up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hammarstroem throws a series of punches but Santos avoids them all with ease.

Hammarstroem feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Santos looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hammarstroem is one step ahead there.
Hammarstroem working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hammarstroem is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hammarstroem preventing the sweep.
Hammarstroem looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Hammarstroem trying to control but Santos is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Santos dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Hammarstroem gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Santos counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Santos tries for a takedown but Hammarstroem circles away easily

and Hammarstroem counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Santos!
Santos keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Santos tries to lock up and control but Hammarstroem gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Hammarstroem tries to control but Santos wriggling away.
Santos tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hammarstroem controlling the pace for now.
Hammarstroem with a couple of short strikes.
Santos working to try and regain half guard.
Santos wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Santos is really stuck here.

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.
Santos just trying to survive but Hammarstroem is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Hammarstroem controlling the positon.
Hammarstroem lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Hammarstroem has good solid back control here.
Hammarstroem lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Hammarstroem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammarstroem biding his time, looking for the opening.
Santos wants to escape the position.
Hammarstroem is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Hammarstroem gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Hammarstroem gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Hammarstroem apologises and we restart here on the feet.
Hammarstroem avoids a kick to the body.
Hammarstroem shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Santos counters with a nice uppercut.
Rafael Santos is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The fight stays on the outside here - Santos looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hammarstroem shoots and misses
and Santos counters with a body kick.
Rafael Santos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cpjan Hammarstroem.
Hammarstroem moves in looking to clinch but Santos pushes him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Santos tries to clinch

and Hammarstroem counters with a single leg into guard. Santos didn't expect that.
Santos working a defensive guard here.
Santos wants to sweep but no luck.
Hammarstroem trying to control the position from guard on top but Santos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hammarstroem controlling from the top position.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
Cpjan Hammarstroem comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Santos 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Rafael Santos!