PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Julius Rodrigo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabriel Deslandes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Julius Rodrigo could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Gabriel Deslandes's chin.

Rodrigo
vs
Deslandes

170 cm
18
135 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
141 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Julius Rodrigo!
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, Gabriel Deslandes!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Seu Braga and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Deslandes moves in looking to clinch but Rodrigo pushes him off.

Deslandes closes the distance and pushes Rodrigo back into the cage.
Rodrigo looking for a takedown.
Deslandes with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Rodrigo has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Deslandes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Deslandes just misses with a elbow thrown towards Rodrigo's brow.
Deslandes is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Deslandes misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rodrigo.
Deslandes is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rodrigo is defending well for now.
Deslandes slowing the pace effectively.
Rodrigo has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Deslandes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Julius Rodrigo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Deslandes manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Deslandes pushes Rodrigo off and gets back to his feet.

Deslandes closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Deslandes lands in his opponent'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!
Rodrigo wants to stand and escape but Deslandes is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rodrigo has his feet on Deslandes's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Deslandes shoots and misses

and Rodrigo counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Deslandes's guard now.
Deslandes wants to stand up but Rodrigo is controlling him.
Deslandes looks gassed!
Rodrigo looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Rodrigo trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Deslandes is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Rodrigo not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Rodrigo won't allow Deslandes to get back to his feet.
Rodrigo sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Julius Rodrigo just wasn't active enough.
Deslandes is looking to clinch.
Gabriel Deslandes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Rodrigo closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rodrigo takes a little break here. Deslandes wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Deslandes is looking to get back to his feet here but Rodrigo is keeping cool and he's managed to take Deslandes's back.
Rodrigo has good solid back control here.

Rodrigo is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigo lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Deslandes preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Rodrigo.
Deslandes is trying to stand back up.
Rodrigo knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Deslandes on the ground.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Julius Rodrigo dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Deslandes tries to clinch up but Rodrigo circles away and keeps his distance.
Rodrigo shoots in looking for a takedown. Deslandes tries to sprawl out of it but Rodrigo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Deslandes manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Rodrigo looking to score a takedown here. Deslandes is defending well but Rodrigo drives through and ends up in Deslandes's guard.
Deslandes wants to get back to his feet but Rodrigo is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Deslandes manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Rodrigo has a takedown stuffed.
Deslandes fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rodrigo scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Rodrigo prevents Deslandes from standing back up.
Deslandes is breathing heavily.
Rodrigo is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Rodrigo prevents Deslandes from standing back up.
Rodrigo seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Deslandes is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Rodrigo scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Deslandes is trying to stand.
Rodrigo content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Deslandes tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rodrigo circles away from the clinch attempt.

Rodrigo scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rodrigo is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Deslandes!
Rodrigo content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Deslandes is trying to stand up.
Rodrigo content just to control the position here.
Deslandes is trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Rodrigo sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Rodrigo putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Rodrigo cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Rodrigo with good strikes from the mount here!
Rodrigo controlling from the full mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Julius Rodrigo dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Rodrigo has Deslandes up against the cage in a clinch.
Rodrigo looking for a takedown.
Deslandes is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Deslandes is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Rodrigo stops a takedown attempt from Deslandes.
Deslandes prevents a takedown attempt there.
Deslandes scores with a shot to the side of Rodrigo's head.
Deslandes goes for a takedown attempt but Rodrigo pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Julius Rodrigo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gabriel Deslandes.
Deslandes fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Deslandes takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Deslandes stuffs the takedown attempt from Rodrigo. Rodrigo gets slowly back to his feet.
Deslandes misses with a few strikes there.
Rodrigo defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Deslandes.

Rodrigo closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Deslandes's guard.
Deslandes wants to stand up but Rodrigo is controlling him.
Rodrigo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Deslandes is keeping the position for now.
Rodrigo lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Rodrigo is standing up over Deslandes. Deslandes looks to escape but Rodrigo dives into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Deslandes is working to avoid the ground and pound but Rodrigo connects with a decent elbow.
Rodrigo controlling the position from side mount.
Rodrigo moves into full mount!
BOOM! Rodrigo connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
You get the feeling that Deslandes really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Rodrigo takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Julius Rodrigo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigo'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.
Deslandes squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Rodrigo controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Julius Rodrigo.
Rodrigo shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Deslandes counters with a nice body shot.

Rodrigo bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Deslandes wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Julius Rodrigo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rodrigo remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Julius Rodrigo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rodrigo, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Julius Rodrigo!
An out of breath Julius Rodrigo thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.