PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matheus Coelho (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antonio Nogueira (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Coelho comes to the cage accompanied by Trough the Fire and the Flames. Matheus Coelho had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Coelho
vs
Nogueira

187 cm
18
198 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
22
200 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Matheus Coelho!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Nogueira!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Felipe Paraventi and Mauricio Rocha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Coelho tries to bum rush Nogueira with a series of wild strikes but Nogueira uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Coelho stuffs the takedown attempt from Nogueira. Nogueira gets slowly back to his feet.

Coelho shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Coelho throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Nogueira because Coelho loaded up on that one.
Nogueira is looking to get to half guard.
Coelho throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Coelho wants to control the pace but Nogueira is squirming around nicely.
Coelho misses with a head shot.
Coelho throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Nogueira because Coelho loaded up on that one.
Coelho misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Coelho misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Nogueira keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coelho landing strikes from the mount.
Nogueira holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Coelho tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Coelho unloads with some shots from mount but Nogueira bucks and avoids them well.

Coelho swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Nogueira is now in Coelho's guard. A big mistake from Coelho there, giving up the dominant position!

Coelho has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nogueira can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Coelho not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nogueira stands up and waves to Coelho to follow him.
Nogueira misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Coelho shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Nogueira napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nogueira gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Nogueira keeping hold of Coelho's head, controlling as best he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Coelho missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Coelho thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Nogueira's head.
Nogueira wants to control but Coelho is keeping busy.
Coelho wants to stand but Nogueira has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Coelho is breathing heavily.
Coelho is looking to take a break and control but Nogueira is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Nogueira blocking the ground and pound attempt from Coelho.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Coelho tries to stand and escape but Nogueira actually recovers to full guard.
Nogueira is pulling down on Coelho's head. It's preventing any offense from Coelho, at least for the moment.
Coelho tries to stand but Nogueira is controlling from the bottom.
Nogueira trying to control the position here.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Antonio Nogueira was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Coelho throws a nice looking combination but Nogueira bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Coelho swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Nogueira counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Coelho!
Coelho is trying to reverse the position but instead Nogueira has taken his back - oops!
Coelho just trying to survive but Nogueira is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Nogueira has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Coelho's body.
Coelho tries to roll but Nogueira sticks to his back.
Nogueira really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Coelho.
Let's hope that Nogueira has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Matheus Coelho overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coelho trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Nogueira is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Coelho's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Coelho holding both Nogueira 's hands and preventing any damage.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nogueira circles away from the clinch attempt.
Coelho throws a sloppy head kick and Nogueira moves out of range easily.
Nogueira shoots for a double leg takedown but Coelho sprawls well. He's pushed Nogueira's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Coelho tries to clinch up but Nogueira circles away and keeps his distance.
Coelho tries a head kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Coelho shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Coelho showed some decent athleticism there.

Nogueira makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Coelho enables Nogueira to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Coelho manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Nogueira sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Coelho's guard.
Nogueira not doing much here.
Coelho is looking to control Nogueira's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Coelho avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nogueira looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

Nogueira is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Coelho defends it well.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nogueira looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Nogueira 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!

Coelho misses with a head kick.

Coelho scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Nogueira is holding on to half guard well.
Nogueira is looking to control Coelho's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Nogueira avoid being mounted?

Coelho is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Nogueira is just riding it out for now. Coelho eventually gives up the hold.
Nogueira moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coelho throws a big elbow that misses.
Coelho has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Nogueira is proving hard to escape from.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Coelho being controlled here momentarily.
Coelho trying to control the position from guard on top but Nogueira is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Nogueira pulls Coelho in to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Matheus Coelho wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Nogueira shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Coelho pinned against the cage. Coelho gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Coelho tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nogueira paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Coelho defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Nogueira.
Nogueira shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Coelho as he jumps to the side.
Matheus Coelho has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Antonio Nogueira.
Coelho slaps away a takedown attempt from Nogueira, before circling back to the center of the mat.
No joy there for Coelho, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Coelho fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Coelho rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nogueira moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A punch combination from Coelho misses.
Nogueira avoids the head kick by Coelho.
Nogueira misses with a takedown attempt - Coelho sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Coelho darts in trying to clinch
letting Nogueira counter with a right hand.

Coelho drives through and clinches with Nogueira against the cage.

Coelho's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Coelho misses with a series of wild punches.
Coelho misses with a body kick.
Matheus Coelho is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nogueira shoots for a takedown but Coelho saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
No joy there for Coelho, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Nogueira throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Coelho was covering up waiting for the punch and Nogueira finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Nogueira seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Nogueira passes into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Matheus Coelho.
I think Coelho has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 29:28
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Antonio Nogueira!