PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Gunnar Nelson Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sredoje Lucic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Gunnar Nelson Jr has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Nelson Jr
vs
Lucic

181 cm
18
176 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

175 cm
18
197 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

Good wrestler
Brawler
Experienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gunnar Nelson Jr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sredoje Lucic!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Daniel Cesar and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Lucic 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.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Nelson Jr looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Lucic tries to free his leg and advance position but Nelson Jr is retaining full guard.
Lucic throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lucic looking to pass the guard.
Lucic chips away with some ground and pound.
Nelson Jr keeping full guard, as Lucic tries to pass.
Lucic postures up in Nelson Jr's guard and throws a big left but Nelson Jr blocks it.
Lucic trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lucic stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nelson Jr swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nelson Jr fails with the takedown

and Lucic counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Nelson Jr!
Lucic scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Lucic trying to control but Nelson Jr is having none of it.
Lucic lands a nice shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lucic landing strikes from the mount and Nelson Jr is in trouble!
Lucic putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Lucic lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Lucic with good strikes from the mount here!
Lucic lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Lucic in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Nelson Jr is bucking up trying to escape but Lucic cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Nelson Jr takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Lucic tries to control but Nelson Jr wriggling away.
Lucic lands with some strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lucic landing strikes, looking to finish!
Lucic scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Lucic content just to control the position here.
Lucic trying to control but Nelson Jr is having none of it.
Lucic in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Lucic landing shots from mount.
Lucic lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Nelson Jr hang on?
Lucic working Nelson Jr over with strikes here.
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.
Lucic with the ground and pound from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Lucic in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Nelson Jr is bucking up trying to escape but Lucic cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Nelson Jr is in a horrible position here. Lucic smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
A nice elbow there by Lucic.
Lucic with the ground and pound from mount.
Nelson Jr is bucking up trying to escape but Lucic cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Lucic fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Lucic working the ground and pound effectively.
Lucic scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Nelson Jr?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson Jr is squirming around, avoiding Lucic's attempts to control the action.
Lucic controlling from mount.
Lucic working the ground and pound effectively.
Lucic can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Nelson Jr is looking to escape.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nelson Jr is in all sorts of trouble here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sredoje Lucic dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Lucic fails with a takedown attempt.

Lucic shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Nelson Jr is staying active underneath Lucic, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Nelson Jr on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Lucic drops an elbow to the side of Nelson Jr's head.
Lucic scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Nelson Jr on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Nelson Jr is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Lucic wants to lay and pray for a moment but Nelson Jr keeps working.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lucic is pressing down on Nelson Jr's thigh, looking to free his foot. Nelson Jr is holding on for now.
Nelson Jr is not content to let Lucic control the position.
Lucic looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nelson Jr with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Lucic is looking to advance position but Nelson Jr won't allow it.
Lucic landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Lucic is looking to advance position but Nelson Jr won't allow it.
Lucic lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Nelson Jr wants to improve his position but Lucic is controlling well.
Lucic looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Lucic is taking a breather. Nelson Jr says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Lucic wants to pass the guard but Nelson Jr is defending well.
Lucic lands with a punch from half guard.
Lucic not doing much here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lucic wants to free his trapped foot but Nelson Jr is holding on for dear life with his legs.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Lucic lands a nice short elbow.
Lucic lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Nelson Jr is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Lucic scores with a couple of nice shots.
Lucic trying to pass the guard but Nelson Jr defending well.

That's four 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.

Lucic 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.
Lucic is keen to just control but Nelson Jr is a slippery customer.
Lucic prevents Nelson Jr from improving his position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lucic throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lucic throws a sloppy head kick and Nelson Jr moves out of range easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sredoje Lucic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Nice takedown defense from Nelson Jr. No joy for Lucic on that attempt.

Lucic feints and as Nelson Jr raises his hands in defense, Lucic changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sredoje Lucic has got the better of the ground game so far.
Lucic works over Nelson Jr with some ground and pound from guard.
Nelson Jr bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lucic's guard.
Lucic manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Nelson Jr manages to get himself to full guard.
Lucic wants to control from the top but Nelson Jr keeps moving.
Nelson Jr working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Lucic.
Nelson Jr preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lucic passes into half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Lucic lands strikes from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lucic trying to control from half guard but Nelson Jr is working away.
Lucic 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.
Nelson Jr makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Nelson Jr.
Nelson Jr preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lucic lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Lucic trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Nelson Jr manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Lucic seems keen to control Nelson Jr's posture.
Nelson Jr pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lucic is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Lucic will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

Nelson Jr postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Lucic is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Nelson Jr, into his guard.
Lucic preventing the sweep.
Nelson Jr can't keep his opponent in guard - Lucic advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Lucic tries to pass to full mount but Nelson Jr defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lucic is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Lucic scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Lucic looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Nelson Jr with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Lucic tries to pass to full mount but Nelson Jr defends it.
Nelson Jr wants to control but Lucic is keeping busy.
Nelson Jr is looking for a sweep. Lucic is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Lucic tries to pass to full mount but Nelson Jr defends it.
Nelson Jr taking some punishment here, with Lucic in his half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Nelson Jr trying to control from the bottom.
Nelson Jr is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Lucic scores with a couple of nice shots.
Lucic winds up and cracks Nelson Jr with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

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

Lucic feints and as Nelson Jr raises his hands in defense, Lucic changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Nelson Jr keeping full guard, as Lucic tries to pass.
Lucic trying to control but Nelson Jr is working from the bottom.
Lucic throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nelson Jr works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sredoje Lucic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Lucic winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 26:30
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 26:30
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sredoje Lucic!