PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Barney Rubble (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alberto Lopez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Rubble might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Rage Against The Machine - No Shelter. Lopez is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Apeman. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Rubble
vs
Lopez

150 cm
27
140 lbs
19 - 5 - 0

175 cm
33
146 lbs
26 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Hellbent
KAISER Nutrition (160!/220$)

Hellbent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Barney Rubble!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Alberto Lopez!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Winston Howard and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A solid body kick from Rubble.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Lopez has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Rubble is looking to chop away at Lopez's legs.
Lopez tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Lopez swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Lopez works the jab nicely.
Lopez avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Lopez misses with a body shot.
Lopez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rubble moves away.
A slow jab from Lopez misses its intended target.
Lopez swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rubble scores with the left hand. Lopez knows he should have avoided that one.
Barney Rubble seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lopez avoids a punch combination nicely.
Good leg kick by Lopez there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rubble lands with an overhand left.

Rubble has taken the fight to the clinch.
Rubble lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Rubble using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Lopez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rubble misses with an elbow over the top.
Lopez lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Rubble lands with a right to the head.
Rubble scores with a shoulder strike.
Lopez lands a shot to the body.
Lopez working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Lopez blocks an uppercut.
Rubble goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rubble creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Lopez's defenses.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Lopez creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rubble.
Rubble tries a body shot but Lopez blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice elbow from Rubble.
A head punch on the inside from Rubble fails to land.
Lopez lands with a light punch inside.
Lopez lands a body punch in the clinch.
Rubble misses with the head strike.
Rubble blocking some punches.
Rubble lands a nice uppercut.
Rubble tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Lopez avoids it.
Lopez blocks an elbow strike.
Rubble lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Lopez.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Lopez creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Rubble creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Lopez effectively controlling the action here.
Rubble gets through Lopez's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Rubble lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez lands a hook that snaps the head of Rubble backwards.
Rubble fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Lopez blocks an uppercut.
Lopez lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A short right from Rubble on the inside.
Rubble blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rubble misses with a punch on the inside.
Rubble lands an elbow just above Lopez 's eye.
A nice right hand lands inside from Lopez.
Lopez throws a head punch that misses.
Lopez makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Lopez stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Lopez is looking to break free of the clinch but Rubble has double underhooks.
Lopez misses with a punch on the inside.
Rubble misses with a knee strike.
Rubble lands a knee to the body.
Lopez is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lopez lands a hook that snaps the head of Rubble backwards.
Lopez tries to throw a body punch but Rubble avoids it by throwing Lopez back against the cage.
Lopez lands with a short shot to the head.
Lopez misses with some punches.
Rubble tries to land a knee to the head but Lopez blocks with his arms.
Lopez softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Rubble lands a nice uppercut.
Lopez lands a left hand.
Lopez stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Lopez.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Lopez.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rubble lands a hook that snaps the head of Lopez backwards.
Lopez scores with a shoulder strike.
Rubble tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Lopez lands a shoulder strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Alberto Lopez will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Rubble feints and then cracks Lopez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Lopez down.
Good leg kick by Rubble there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rubble is looking to land body kicks.
Rubble misses with a leg kick.
Lopez throws an overhand right that lands on Rubble's shoulder, as Rubble tries to avoid the shot.
Rubble tries to land a front kick but Lopez steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Lopez blocks a low kick nicely.
Rubble throws a low kick but it's checked well by Lopez.
Rubble pivots, looking for a leg kick but Lopez is out of range and Rubble settles back down.
Rubble lands with a hook. Lopez tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Rubble throws a nice outside leg kick.
Lopez misses with an attempted mid kick.
Rubble throws a leg kick that is checked
and Lopez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Lopez.
Rubble throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Lopez throws a quick inside leg kick.
Lopez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rubble moves away.
Rubble lands a right hook to the body.
A low kick from Rubble is predictable there
and Lopez counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Rubble delivers a nice body kick.
Rubble moves out of range of the leg kick from Lopez.
Lopez displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Rubble throws out the jab.
Rubble loads up on a big right hand but Lopez slips the punch.
Rubble rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Lopez counters with a nice body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Both fighters circling a little - Rubble finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Lopez moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lopez misses with a wild body shot.
Rubble throws a leg kick but Lopez sees it coming and moves out of range.
Rubble tries to move into range but Lopez moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Rubble takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Lopez swings widly with a right hand

and Rubble counters by moving into the clinch.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Lopez.
Rubble's Muay Thai looks sharper than normal. He has obviously been working on it in the gym.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rubble.
Rubble tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Lopez's elbow.
Rubble tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Lopez avoids it.
Rubble tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Lopez in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rubble.
Rubble throws a knee to the head but misses.
A short body shot lands from Lopez as the two fighters clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Lopez fails to land.
Rubble misses with a body punch.
Rubble tries to land a knee to the head but Lopez blocks with his arms.
Rubble throws an elbow that misses.
Lopez on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rubble lands a damaging elbow.
A short left from Lopez.
Lopez taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Lopez lands a body shot in the clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Rubble.
Lopez lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rubble misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rubble's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lopez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Come on Lopez - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
A left hand lands to the body for Rubble.
Rubble throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Lopez blocks it with crossed arms.
Lopez misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rubble tries to work over Lopez's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rubble lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Lopez backwards.
Rubble blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A right hand to the body from Lopez.
Rubble has Lopez pressed against the cage, preventing Lopez from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rubble blocks an uppercut.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rubble misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rubble working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Rubble makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Lopez makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Alberto Lopez will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Rubble's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Rubble gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Rubble motions for Lopez to come forward. Rubble throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rubble throws out a leg kick but Lopez moves out of range and Rubble only half commits.
Lopez with a hook.
Rubble fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Lopez has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Lopez has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Rubble waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Lopez.
The fighters circling - Rubble throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rubble throws a body kick that misses.
Lopez connects with a single shot there.
Rubble tries to close the distance and clinch up but Lopez swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rubble misses with a low kick.
Lopez darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rubble throws a leg kick but Lopez checks it.
Rubble doesn't manage to clinch there - Lopez circles away.
Rubble avoids the body shot from Lopez.
Rubble throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Lopez counters with a low kick, right behind Rubble 's knee.
Rubble checks the leg kick.
Lopez is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Rubble feints and then cracks Lopez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Lopez down.
Lopez lands a lovely overhand right.
Nice shot lands for Lopez.
Rubble throws a lazy body kick
and Lopez counters with a low kick, right behind Rubble 's knee.
Lopez's jab looks to have found its range, popping Rubble under the eye.
Lopez fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rubble.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rubble lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lopez explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Lopez throws a leg kick which misses Rubble's front leg but catches the back leg as Rubble tries to avoid it.
Alberto Lopez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rubble ducks under a wild hook from Lopez.
Rubble misses with an attempted mid kick.
A low kick from Rubble misses
and Lopez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Lopez is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Rubble lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Rubble walks into a left hand.
Lopez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rubble.
Lopez misses with an attempted mid kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Lopez finds it's way through Rubble's defenses.
Rubble cracks Lopez with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Lopez misses with an uppercut
and Rubble counters with an outside leg kick.
Rubble throws a hook but Lopez avoids it easily.
Rubble slips under a jab.
Rubble connects with a leg kick. Lopez looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Rubble misses with a few strikes there.
Lopez's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Lopez bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Lopez crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Rubble - the referee stops the clock and Lopez gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Rubble. Lopez manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Rubble throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Lopez.
A chopping leg kick lands by Rubble.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lopez defending well as Rubble loads up on a big left hand.
Lopez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rubble.
Lopez moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Rubble is looking to score with low kicks.
Rubble attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rubble turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Lopez uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Rubble.
Lopez misses with a low kick.
Lopez takes one to the chin there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rubble throws a leg kick which misses Lopez's front leg but catches the back leg as Lopez tries to avoid it.
Rubble defending well as Lopez loads up on a big left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alberto Lopez really dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Lopez checks a leg kick.
Lopez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Lopez lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Rubble connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Lopez throws a wild body kick that Rubble sees coming a mile off.
A solid body kick from Lopez.
Rubble looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Rubble tries to land a leg kick but Lopez saw it coming and moves away.
Lopez moves out of range of the body kick from Rubble.
Lopez misses with a body kick.
Good leg kick by Rubble there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rubble fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez misses with a wild body shot.
Rubble lands a leg kick that knocks Lopez off balance momentarily.
Rubble thumps Lopez with a low kick.
Rubble throws a leg kick which misses Lopez's front leg but catches the back leg as Lopez tries to avoid it.
Lopez avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Lopez chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Rubble can pounce on him.
Lopez's corner calls for a 1-2. Lopez obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Good work by Lopez as he checks the leg kick.
A slapping leg kick lands for Rubble.
Rubble slips under a jab from Lopez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lopez explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Lopez misses with a looping right.
Lopez moves out of range as Rubble throws a body kick.
Lopez scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Rubble misses with a kick to the body.
A big right from Lopez misses.
Lopez chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lopez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Rubble.
Rubble delivers a nice body kick.
Rubble misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Lopez. Rubble shrugs it off though.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Rubble is predictable there
and Lopez counters with a right hand to the body.
Lopez explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Lopez swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Rubble staying out of range there.
Lopez checks a low kick from Rubble.
A low kick from Rubble misses
and Lopez counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Lopez takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Rubble tries a low kick but Lopez avoids it.
Rubble walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Lopez checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Rubble takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Lopez darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lopez closes the distance and lands a one-two.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rubble misses with a kick to the body.
Donk. Lopez catches Rubble right on the button with a cross.
Rubble looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
A left lands for Lopez.

Rubble is rocked!
Rubble misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lopez.
Rubble misses with a low kick.
Rubble misses with a hook.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rubble connects with an inside leg kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Lopez.
A leg kick checked by Rubble.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alberto Lopez dominated that fourth round.
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. And we move into the final round!

Rubble feints and then cracks Lopez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Lopez down.
Rubble tries to clinch up but Lopez circles away and keeps his distance.
Rubble looks to land a right hand but Lopez moved out of range.
Lopez throws a leg kick but Rubble moved away.
Lopez scores with a nice body kick.
Lopez moves out of range of the body kick from Rubble.
Rubble lands with an uppercut that bounces Lopez off the cage and back into range.
Rubble goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Lopez moves out of range of the body kick.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rubble.
Rubble looks to land a body kick but Lopez moved away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rubble pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
An inside leg kick from Rubble misses.
Rubble swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Rubble misses with a body shot.
Rubble thumps Lopez with a low kick.
Rubble looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Rubble throws a lazy right hand but Lopez sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Lopez scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Good exchange - Rubble coming out on top.
Lopez ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Rubble uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Lopez.
Barney Rubble has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rubble connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Rubble throws a leg kick
and Lopez counters with a nice uppercut.
Rubble will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Rubble throws a body kick that misses.
A punch combination from Rubble misses.
Lopez scores with a nice right hand.
Some bone on bone action there as Lopez checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lopez chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Rubble throws a solid leg kick but Lopez takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Rubble.
Jab by Lopez.
Lopez catches Rubble with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Rubble pushes Lopez away with a front kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rubble pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A solid leg kick lands there for Rubble.
Lopez steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rubble.
Rubble fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Lopez throws a half hearted mid kick.
Rubble throws a lazy uppercut
and Lopez finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Lopez lands a nice looking kick to the body. Rubble takes a step back to recover.
Rubble misses with a leg kick
and Lopez counters with a straight right hand.
Lopez thumps Rubble with a low kick.
Rubble throws a leg kick that is checked
and Lopez counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rubble pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Rubble lands a body shot.
Rubble ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Lopez moves away.
Rubble throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Lopez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
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!
Rubble is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Lopez avoids a kick to the body.
Lopez lands with a hook. Rubble tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lopez throws a body punch but Rubble moves out of range.
Lopez tries to work over Rubble's front leg with a kick but Rubble checks it.
Lopez wants to land a leg kick but Rubble is out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Alberto Lopez.
Well Lopez has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 48:50
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 48:47
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 45:50

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Alberto Lopez!
Alberto Lopez is the new bantamweight champion!
An out of breath Alberto Lopez thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.