PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Cesar Dominguez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Matrione (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dominguez comes to the cage accompanied by The Unforgiven by MetallicA. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Dominguez
vs
Matrione

176 cm
29
178 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

170 cm
24
190 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Fight Night Nutrition

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Cesar Dominguez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mark Matrione!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Colin Fray and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Matrione fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Dominguez looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Matrione tries to score with a low kick but Dominguez moves his leg out of the way.
Matrione motions for Dominguez to come forward. Matrione throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Matrione tries to sprawl but Dominguez drives through with a takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dominguez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Matrione tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Dominguez with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Matrione keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Dominguez throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Dominguez working the head and body with strikes.
Matrione pushes Dominguez off looking to stand but Dominguez dives back in and keeps control.
Ground and pound from Dominguez.
Dominguez sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Matrione is trying to maintain the position but Dominguez is very close to passing his half guard.
Matrione is trying to stand back up but Dominguez is controlling him

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dominguez is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Matrione pushes Dominguez off but Dominguez dives into side control.
Dominguez is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Matrione's shoulder. That is not cool.

Dominguez working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Dominguez is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Matrione is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Matrione wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Matrione is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Dominguez is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Dominguez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Matrione keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Matrione down.
Matrione misses with a strike from the bottom.
Dominguez 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.
Matrione wants to control but Dominguez postures up.
Dominguez in side control lands a decent elbow.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dominguez slows the pace down.
Matrione on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Dominguez wants to control but Matrione is keeping him busy.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Dominguez has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Matrione is pushing Dominguez's head away, looking to escape. Dominguez manages to hold on to the position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez looks up at the clock and then as Matrione takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Dominguez smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Dominguez controlling from side mount.
Matrione can't do much from the bottom here.
Matrione is trying to escape the position but Dominguez is controlling the position.
Matrione is not content to let Dominguez control the position.
Dominguez creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Dominguez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Matrione keeps working.
Matrione takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez working the head with strikes.
Dominguez wants to control but Matrione is keeping him busy.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
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!
Dominguez lands an elbow.
Dominguez creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Matrione is pushing Dominguez's head away, looking to escape. Dominguez manages to hold on to the position though.
Dominguez controlling the position from side mount.
Matrione is not content to let Dominguez control the position.
You can see the frustration on Matrione's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Dominguez is looking to take a break and control but Matrione is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Matrione takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cesar Dominguez dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Matrione throws a low kick but it's checked well by Dominguez.
Dominguez checks the leg kick nicely there.
Matrione will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Dominguez fails with the takedown.
Matrione motions for Dominguez to come forward. Matrione throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Dominguez blocks a leg kick.
Matrione throws a right hand that Dominguez ducks under and follows up with a left that Dominguez also avoids with ease.
Matrione feints and then cracks Dominguez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Dominguez down.
Dominguez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
A bone on bone clash there as Matrione blocks the leg kick.
Matrione throws a body punch but Dominguez moves out of range.
Matrione misses with a low kick as Dominguez jumps back.
Matrione fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Matrione throws out a leg kick but Dominguez moves out of range and Matrione only half commits.
Dominguez misses with a kick to the body.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Matrione.
Matrione is looking to score with low kicks.
Dominguez misses with a low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dominguez blocks a jab.
Matrione closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Dominguez throws a sloppy head kick and Matrione moves out of range easily.
Dominguez pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Matrione throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Matrione throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Matrione throws a front kick aimed at Dominguez's knee but Dominguez avoids it well.
Matrione stuffs the takedown.
Dominguez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Nice takedown defense from Matrione. No joy for Dominguez on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cesar Dominguez. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Dominguez feints and as Matrione raises his hands in defense, Dominguez changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Matrione trying to control the position.
Dominguez wants to control from the top but Matrione keeps moving.
Matrione is striking from the bottom but Dominguez uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Dominguez slows the pace down in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez working over Matrione with some ground and pound. Matrione looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Matrione slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dominguez postures up.
Dominguez wants to control from the top but Matrione keeps moving.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Matrione not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Dominguez is working Matrione over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Matrione has his hands on Dominguez's head, controlling the position.
Dominguez with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Matrione is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Dominguez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Matrione works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Matrione is trying to keep Dominguez in close.
Cesar Dominguez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Dominguez sitting in guard here, content to control.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Mark Matrione wasn't active enough on the ground.
Matrione feints a jab promting Dominguez to slip. Matrione then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Dominguez slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Matrione displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Dominguez throws out the jab.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Dominguez here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Dominguez checks a leg kick.
Matrione checks a low kick from Dominguez.
Dominguez wants to land a leg kick but Matrione is out of range.
Matrione throws a chopping leg kick but Dominguez manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Matrione misses with a double jab.
Mark Matrione is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Matrione checks the leg kick nicely there.
Dominguez staying out of range there.
Matrione misses with a body shot.
Matrione ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

Dominguez shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Matrione is trying to defend but Dominguez finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Dominguez working over Matrione with some ground and pound. Matrione looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matrione is trying to maintain the position but Dominguez is very close to passing his half guard.
Matrione wants to get back to his feet.
Dominguez is figuring out what he wants to do next.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dominguez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Matrione with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Matrione pushes Dominguez off looking to stand but Dominguez dives back in and keeps control.
Matrione is trying to maintain the position but Dominguez is very close to passing his half guard.
Matrione is breathing heavily.
Dominguez is nestled in close to Matrione, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Dominguez looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dominguez'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.
Dominguez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Cesar Dominguez will probably get the nod.
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!

A head kick misses from Dominguez.
Dominguez motions for Matrione to come forward. Dominguez throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Dominguez fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Matrione jabs at Dominguez's body.
Matrione lands with a shot to the body.
Dominguez attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Dominguez keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
A leg kick checked by Dominguez.

Dominguez feints and as Matrione raises his hands in defense, Dominguez changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Dominguez throwing strikes but missing.
Matrione wants to stand and escape but Dominguez is having none of it.
Dominguez lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Dominguez won't allow Matrione to get back to his feet.
Dominguez with a nice head shot there.
Matrione takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Dominguez scoring with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dominguez slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Dominguez trying to control but Matrione is working from the bottom.
Dominguez cracks Matrione with a solid left hand.
Dominguez cracks Matrione with a solid left hand.
Dominguez lands a couple of digs.
Matrione wants to stand but Dominguez is controlling the position.
Dominguez connects with a couple of short punches.
Matrione wants to stand but Dominguez is controlling the position.
Matrione trying to keep a closed guard but Dominguez is proving a slippery customer.
Dominguez stays in close to Matrione's body and controls the position.
Dominguez trying to control the position from guard on top but Matrione is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez stands up over Matrione, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Matrione controls Dominguez momentarily but Dominguez frees himself.
Dominguez pushing down on Matrione's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Dominguez lands a nice short elbow.
Dominguez seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Dominguez drops an elbow to the side of Matrione's head.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Dominguez in particular looking to stall.
Dominguez landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Matrione has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Dominguez is working away from the top position though.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Dominguez in particular looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez working over Matrione with some ground and pound. Matrione looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Matrione taking some punishment here, with Dominguez in his half guard.
Dominguez prevents Matrione from standing back up.
Dominguez seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Matrione does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Dominguez with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Matrione is trying to stand up here but Dominguez is controlling him well.
Matrione flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Dominguez thows a huge punch but Matrione dodges it nicely.
Dominguez scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Dominguez working Matrione over with strikes.
Dominguez drops an elbow to the side of Matrione's head.
Dominguez is nestled in close to Matrione, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dominguez working the head and body with strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dominguez not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Dominguez sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Matrione defending well though.
Matrione is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Dominguez working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Dominguez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Matrione can do to turn this around?
Matrione is looking to escape.
Matrione is trying to maintain the position but Dominguez is very close to passing his half guard.
Matrione tries to kick Dominguez off but Dominguez keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Mark Matrione has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dominguez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Dominguez stalling.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cesar Dominguez is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cesar Dominguez showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dominguez, 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 30:27
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 30:27

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