PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rodolpho Vasquel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joao Alves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vasquel's entrance music is Surviving the Times. A fine choice. Alves has chosen Carl Orff - Carmina Burana - André Rieu's version as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Vasquel
vs
Alves

186 cm
23
185 lbs
9 - 8 - 1

179 cm
28
200 lbs
11 - 11 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

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 9 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rodolpho Vasquel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joao Alves!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Daniel Cesar and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alves takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Vasquel avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Alves. Those never looked like landing.

Alves pushes Vasquel up against the cage in a clinch.
Alves using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Vasquel has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Vasquel breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Alves is looking to clinch but Vasquel is avoiding it.
Alves throws a leg kick
and Vasquel counters with a left to the body.
Vasquel with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Vasquel jabs Alves to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Vasquel throws a jab but it's blocked by Alves.
The fighters circling - Vasquel throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Vasquel fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Alves has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Vasquel bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Vasquel in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Vasquel sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Alves is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vasquel throws an elbow but Alves slips to the side and avoids it well.
An elbow from Vasquel crashes against the mat.
Alves being controlled for a moment.
Vasquel in side control, throwing shots but Alves defends.
Vasquel wants to control but Alves is keeping him busy.
Alves defending against the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel working away.
A lull in the action here as Vasquel stalls from top position.
Vasquel landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Alves tries to control but Vasquel manages to take his back.

Vasquel working for a choke but Alves is defending well.

Vasquel working for the choke.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel trying to control momentarily.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Alves can't escape the position.
Alves staying busy and making it hard for Vasquel to control.
Vasquel misses with an elbow to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Alves avoids the strikes from Vasquel.
Alves covers up after that shot from Vasquel.
Vasquel lands shots from the back.
Vasquel doesn't have the hooks in and Alves manages to turn into his guard.
Vasquel bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Alves's guard.
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!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vasquel trying to move into half guard but instead Alves has managed to sweep!
Vasquel tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodolpho Vasquel dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Vasquel throws a series of punches but Alves avoids them all with ease.
Vasquel misses with a series of wild punches.
Vasquel misses with a body shot

and Alves moves into the clinch.
Alves has Vasquel pressed against the cage, preventing Vasquel from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Vasquel misses with a hook to the ribs.
Vasquel misses with a short punch on the inside.
Vasquel is trying to break the clinch but Alves is controlling him.
Vasquel swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Vasquel breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Alves shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Vasquel as he avoids it easily.
Vasquel misses with a head kick.
Rodolpho Vasquel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Vasquel scores with a body shot.

Vasquel shoots in and bounces Alves off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Alves controlling Vasquel's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vasquel missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Vasquel trying to control the position from guard on top but Alves is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Vasquel not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Alves is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Vasquel is aware though and is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Rodolpho Vasquel overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Vasquel forces his way into half guard.
Alves tries to roll over but Vasquel keeps him under control.
Vasquel is taking a breather. Alves 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.
Alves is not content to let Vasquel control the position.
Vasquel throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Alves is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Vasquel pulls his head out easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vasquel slows the pace down in half guard.
Vasquel's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Vasquel is thwarting Alves's attempts to control the position.
Vasquel seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Alves does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alves won't allow Vasquel to pass to mount.

Rodolpho Vasquel has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Alves steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Vasquel.
Alves ducks under a wild hook from Vasquel.
Alves is trying hard to land a takedown here. Vasquel sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Vasquel changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Alves looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Vasquel is looking to take a break and control but Alves is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Alves struggling a bit here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodolpho Vasquel dominated that second round.
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.

Alves takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Vasquel checks the leg kick.
Vasquel looks to land a combination. Alves sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Alves on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Vasquel swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Alves.
Vasquel looks to score with a jab to the body but Alves is just out of range.
Vasquel's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Vasquel duly obliges.
Vasquel connects with a solid leg kick.
Joao Alves is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Alves uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Vasquel.
Vasquel throws a head kick but Alves moves out of range.
Vasquel clobbers Alves with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
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!
Alves is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alves avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Vasquel is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Alves can do to turn this around?
Vasquel misses with a hook.
Vasquel cracks Alves with an open hand slap.
Vasquel throws a shot from downtown. Alves moves away and avoids it.
Vasquel misses with a body shot.
Vasquel lands a nice hook to Alves's body. Alves takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Alves on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Vasquel thumps Alves with a low kick.
Vasquel lands a nice shot to the body.
Alves wants to clinch
and Vasquel counters with a straight right hand.
Alves takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Vasquel misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Vasquel throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Horrible takedown by Alves or perhaps it was just good defense by Vasquel which made him look bad.
Vasquel sizes up Alves with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vasquel scores with a body shot.
Alves fails in his attempt to clinch.
Vasquel throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Alves wants to clinch up but Vasquel keeps it at a distance.
Alves lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Vasquel circles away quickly and effectively.
Vasquel throws a solid leg kick but Alves takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Vasquel.
Alves keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Vasquel.
Vasquel looks to land a right hand but Alves moved out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alves wants to clinch up but Vasquel keeps it at a distance.
Vasquel throws a right and a left that Alves avoids nicely.
Vasquel throws a hook to the side of Alves's head but Alves sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
No joy there for Alves, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Vasquel scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Rodolpho Vasquel is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Vasquel bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Alves's head.
Vasquel throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Alves on the side of the head.
Vasquel scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Alves walks into a stiff left hand from Vasquel.
Vasquel misses with a body shot.
Vasquel connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Vasquel throws a jab when Alves was well out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alves staying out of range there.
Vasquel looks to score with a jab to the body but Alves is just out of range.
Vasquel misses the shot to the body.
Alves slips a straight right by Vasquel.
Alves tries to clinch but Vasquel is having none of it.
Vasquel just misses with a punch to the body.
Vasquel's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Vasquel duly obliges.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vasquel keeps Alves at a distance using the push kick.

Alves pushes Vasquel up against the cage in a clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alves takes a shot to the head.
Vasquel lands an uppercut.
Joao Alves has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Alves is fighting off a takedown attempt but Vasquel is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Alves to the mat. Alves regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rodolpho Vasquel showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Vasquel has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rodolpho Vasquel!