PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bryan Banks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matheus Almeida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Almeida has chosen Inner Circle - Bad Boys as his entrance music. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Banks
vs
Almeida

205 cm
23
270 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

187 cm
21
250 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bryan Banks!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Matheus Almeida!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Frank Dennis and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Almeida uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Banks.

Almeida shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Banks napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Banks pushes Almeida away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Almeida gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Almeida advances to full mount.
Almeida fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Banks sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Banks wants to control but Almeida passes into side.
Banks manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Almeida prevents Banks from improving his position.
Almeida throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Banks is looking to control Almeida's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Banks avoid being mounted?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Almeida prevents Banks from improving his position.
Banks wants to control but Almeida is keeping busy.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Banks misses with a takedown

and Almeida counters with a single leg into guard. Banks didn't expect that.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Almeida is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Banks is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Almeida with a nice head shot there.
Almeida trying to control but Banks is working from the bottom.

Almeida thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Banks is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Almeida trying to control but Banks is working from the bottom.
Almeida working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Almeida trying to control the position from guard on top but Banks is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Banks is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

Almeida stands up from Banks's guard - Almeida perhaps looking for a knockout.
Banks gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Almeida counters with a shoot takedown. Banks fights it but they end up in guard.
Banks is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Almeida postures up.
Banks keeping moving, preventing Almeida from controlling successfully.
Almeida works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Almeida wants to control but Banks is keeping him busy.

Banks manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Banks fails with the takedown

and Almeida decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Banks's guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bryan Banks. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Banks working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banks will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Banks looking to hit a scissor sweep but Almeida is one step ahead there.
Banks wants to control the position but Almeida says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Banks has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Almeida is working away from the top position though.
Almeida is pressing down on Banks's thigh, looking to free his foot. Banks is holding on for now.
Almeida should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Banks wants to control but Almeida is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Banks tries for a takedown but Almeida circles away easily

and Almeida counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Almeida.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matheus Almeida dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Banks tries for a takedown but Almeida circles away easily

and Almeida counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Almeida wants to control from the top but Banks keeps moving.
Banks pulls Almeida in close to prevent any damage.
Matheus Almeida has got the better of the ground game so far.
Banks not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Almeida postures up and lands a big shot to Banks's brow.
Almeida stopping the sweep attempt from Banks.

Banks had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Almeida defends it easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banks is trying to keep Almeida in close.
Almeida must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Almeida misses with a double jab.
Banks with a lazy takedown attempt

and Almeida counters with a nice double leg into side control. Banks won't be happy with that.
Almeida working the ground and pound.
Almeida working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Almeida wants to lay and pray for a moment but Banks keeps working.
Banks is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Almeida works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Banks is trying to control Almeida's posture but Almeida avoids it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Banks misses with a takedown attempt

and Almeida counters with a shoot takedown. Banks fights it but they end up in guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bryan Banks. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Almeida trying to control the position from guard on top but Banks is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Banks is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Almeida is aware though and is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Almeida stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Banks doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Almeida decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Banks's guard.
Banks trying to keep a closed guard but Almeida is proving a slippery customer.
Almeida stands up over Banks, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Banks is trying to control the position but Almeida postures up.
Almeida controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Banks lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Almeida!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banks with good strikes from the mount here!
Banks with the ground and pound from mount.
Banks working Almeida over with strikes here.
Banks with a couple of short strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Banks working the ground and pound effectively.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Banks cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Banks prevents Almeida from getting the reversal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matheus Almeida showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, 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.

Banks shoots and misses

and Almeida counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Banks keeping hold of Almeida's head, controlling as best he can.
Banks trying to hold on to Almeida's head to control him but Almeida postures up.
Banks taking some punishment here, with Almeida in his half guard.
Banks tries to roll over but Almeida keeps him under control.
Almeida trying to control from half guard but Banks is working away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Banks looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banks has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Almeida is working away from the top position though.
Banks is looking for a sweep. Almeida is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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

and Almeida counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Almeida works his foot free and advances to mount.
Almeida has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Banks tries to lock up and control but Almeida gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Banks is trying to reverse the position but instead Almeida has taken his back - oops!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Almeida doesn't have the hooks in and Banks manages to turn into his guard.

Banks drops back looking for a leg! Almeida is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Almeida manages to kick Banks off! Banks jumps back into Almeida's guard.

Almeida had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Banks defends it easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Banks passes Almeida's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Banks lands with a punch from half guard.
Almeida has hold of Banks's hands but Banks slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Banks slips a nice elbow through Almeida's hands, connecting with Almeida's forehead.
Banks uses his free foot to push down on Almeida's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Almeida.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Almeida hang on?
Almeida keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Banks looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Matheus Almeida is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Almeida sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Almeida is trying to stand back up but Banks is controlling him
Banks looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Banks is thwarting Almeida's attempts to control the position.
Almeida on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Almeida trying to control but Banks postures up.
Almeida taking some punishment here, with Banks in his half guard.
Bryan Banks has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Almeida wants to get back to full guard.
Banks is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Banks lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Banks lands a nice short elbow.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Banks drops an elbow to the side of Almeida's head.
Almeida taking some punishment here, with Banks in his half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matheus Almeida comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Almeida has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matheus Almeida!