PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sid Lagove (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pena Vanilla (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lagove comes to the cage accompanied by What you say. Vanilla comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Rainbow - Stargazer kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the fighters buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Lagove
vs
Vanilla

193 cm
23
210 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

203 cm
25
240 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

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 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sid Lagove!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pena Vanilla!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Gwen Towbar and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vanilla connects with a body shot.
Vanilla waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Lagove.
Lagove tries to clinch but Vanilla is having none of it.
Lagove shoots for a takedown but Vanilla saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Lagove tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Vanilla paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Vanilla gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Vanilla breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Vanilla misses with a double jab.
Nice takedown defense from Vanilla. No joy for Lagove on that attempt.
Vanilla keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sid Lagove. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vanilla displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Lagove.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vanilla looks to clinch

and Lagove counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Vanilla wants to break the clinch but can't.

Lagove has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Vanilla regains guard immediately.
Lagove won't allow Vanilla to get back to his feet.
Vanilla has his hands on Lagove's head, controlling the position.
Lagove with a flurry of punches that miss.

Vanilla pushes Lagove off and gets back to his feet.
Lagove ducks under a wild hook from Vanilla.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vanilla lands a body shot.
Vanilla leaves Lagove with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Lagove throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Vanilla's waist but Vanilla gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Lagove off to one side.
Lagove fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Vanilla avoids it really well and circles away.
Vanilla fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vanilla misses with a two punch combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nice combo by Vanilla! Oh, that's hurt him - Lagove falls to the canvas and Vanilla follows him into side control.

It looks like Sid Lagove has been cut.
Lagove tries to bench press Vanilla off him but Vanilla keeps the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vanilla trying to control the action but Lagove is working from the bottom.
A lull in the action here as Vanilla stalls from top position.
Vanilla gets to mount! Lagove was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Lagove can't escape the position.

Vanilla is standing up, even though he is in mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Lagove.

Lagove darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Lagove thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Vanilla's head.
Lagove working over Vanilla with some ground and pound. Vanilla looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lagove winds up and cracks Vanilla with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Vanilla tries to get to full guard but Lagove has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pena Vanilla dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sid Lagove's cut.
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.

Vanilla tries to bum rush Lagove with a series of wild strikes but Lagove uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Lagove shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Vanilla defends it nicely.
Vanilla scores with a nice strike.
Lagove fails with the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vanilla is looking to clinch but Lagove is avoiding it.
Lagove showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Vanilla.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lagove tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Vanilla manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Lagove closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Lagove lands in his opponent's guard.
Lagove trying to control but Vanilla is working from the bottom.
Lagove throwing strikes from guard but Vanilla blocks nicely.
Lagove trying to control the position from guard on top but Vanilla is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lagove throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Vanilla works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lagove throwing strikes but missing.
Lagove throws a big right hand that misses.
Lagove prevents Vanilla from getting back to his feet.

Lagove drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Vanilla dives on top into guard.
Lagove not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Vanilla tries to stand but Lagove is controlling from the bottom.

Lagove has his foot on Vanilla's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Vanilla works his way back into a safe position though.
Vanilla postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vanilla controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Lagove controls Vanilla momentarily but Vanilla frees himself.
Vanilla trying to control but Lagove is working from the bottom.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Lagove shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Vanilla defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sid Lagove. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vanilla scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Vanilla closes the distance and lands a one-two.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lagove tries to clinch there but Vanilla circles away.
Lagove fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Lagove shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Vanilla defends it nicely.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Lagove misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Vanilla tests Lagove's chin there with a solid looking shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pena Vanilla showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Sid Lagove's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Lagove tries to close the distance and clinch but Vanilla swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Pena Vanilla seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Vanilla shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Lagove counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Lagove.
Lagove throwing strikes from guard but Vanilla blocks nicely.
Lagove trying to control the position from guard on top but Vanilla is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lagove throwing strikes but missing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vanilla utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Lagove throwing strikes from guard but Vanilla blocks nicely.
Lagove in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Vanilla keeping moving, preventing Lagove from controlling successfully.

Lagove is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Vanilla is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Vanilla has escaped and now he's on top!

Vanilla stands and steps away. Lagove gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vanilla misses with a series of wild punches.
Lagove tries to move into range but Vanilla moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Vanilla stuffs the takedown attempt from Lagove. Lagove gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice uppercut lands for Vanilla. That snapped Lagove's head back.

Lagove has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vanilla tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Vanilla is trying to break the clinch but Lagove has him pressed against the cage.

Lagove has picked Vanilla up - he's going for a ride! Lagove dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Vanilla tries to kick Lagove off but Lagove keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Lagove throwing shots but Vanilla is blocking nicely.
Lagove throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Lagove not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Lagove 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.
Lagove trying to mount his opponent but Vanilla defends it.

Lagove seems to be looking for submissions.
Lagove trying to mount his opponent but Vanilla defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vanilla is trying to stand back up but Lagove is controlling him
Lagove not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Lagove thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Vanilla to regain full guard.
Lagove throwing strikes but missing.
Lagove throwing strikes but missing.
Lagove loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Lagove throws and elbow that misses. Vanilla uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Lagove's guard. Nice move by Vanilla!
Sid Lagove has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Vanilla has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Lagove is proving hard to escape from.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sid Lagove showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Vanilla has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pena Vanilla!