PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Matt Lethal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Saint Faustina (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matt Lethal has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Lethal
vs
Faustina

190 cm
19
179 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

170 cm
19
167 lbs
0 - 12 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Matt Lethal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Saint Faustina!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Emerson Jorge and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.

Lethal scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Faustina wants to control but Lethal postures up.
Faustina tries to buck Lethal off but Lethal is having none of it.
Lethal controlling the position.
Faustina wants to control but Lethal postures up.
Faustina looking for a sweep but Lethal has passed into full mount! Oh no!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lethal controlling his opponent.
Lethal definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Lethal'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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lethal avoids the attempt from Faustina to control.
Lethal takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Lethal avoids the attempt from Faustina to control.
Lethal tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Faustina tries to reverse the position but Lethal maintains control.
Lethal avoids the attempt from Faustina to control.
Lethal sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Faustina working to try and regain half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lethal avoids the attempt from Faustina to control.
Faustina looks winded!
Lethal controlling the position easily from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Faustina is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Lethal controlling from mount.
Faustina is desperately trying to improve his position but Lethal has a good base and remains in mount.
Lethal content just to control the position here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Lethal seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Faustina for as long as he can get away with.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Lethal dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Lethal shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Lethal showed some decent athleticism there.
Lethal moves nicely into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Faustina is trying to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faustina is letting Lethal control him for a moment.
Lethal has control of an arm but Faustina manages to advance to Lethal's back!
Lethal just looking to survive in the bad position.
Lethal is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Faustina can do to turn this around?
Lethal looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faustina is trying to stick to Lethal's back but Lethal is turning into Faustina. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Faustina's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Lethal.
Faustina is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Faustina can't keep his opponent in guard - Lethal advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Faustina is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Lethal jumps into side control!
Matt Lethal overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Faustina is breathing heavily.
Lethal takes a little break here. Faustina wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Faustina tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Lethal wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Lethal stalls from top position.
Lethal advances nicely into full mount.
Faustina tries to hold on but Lethal pushes him away.
Lethal controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Lethal has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Lethal dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Lethal looking to score a takedown here. Faustina is defending well but Lethal drives through and ends up in Faustina's guard.
Faustina has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Lethal has passed into side control.
Lethal happy to just control the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Lethal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Further stalling from Lethal.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Matt Lethal is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Faustina gets caught flat footed, as Lethal shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lethal is stalling in the full guard.
Lethal pushing down on Faustina's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Lethal is thwarting Faustina's attempts to control the position.
Faustina trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Lethal manages to pass to mount!
Faustina is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lethal controlling the position easily from mount.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Lethal is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Faustina tries to hold on but Lethal pushes him away.
Saint Faustina has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Faustina can't escape the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Lethal showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Lethal 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:26
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:25
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Lethal!
A relieved looking Matt Lethal thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.