PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Mendes (ranked 4881 p4p, 225 weight class) and Anthony Birchack (ranked 21707 p4p, 345 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Mendes
vs
Birchack

175 cm
21
143 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

159 cm
26
138 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Counter fighter
KO power

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Determined

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Mendes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Anthony Birchack!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Tarja Halkonen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mendes looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Birchack!
Birchack tries to improve position but can't.
Birchack throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
Mendes controls the position.
Mendes slips into full mount, dodging the strikes by Birchack.
Birchack tries to improve his position but instead Mendes has taken his back!
Mendes has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Birchack's body.
Mendes controlling well, preventing Birchack from escaping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Birchack keeps trying to improve his position.
Birchack is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendes controlling the position well here. Birchack rolled but Mendes kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Birchack is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Mendes off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Birchack tries to escape but Mendes has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Birchack wants to escape the position.
Mendes has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Birchack's body.
Birchack is in bad spot here.
Mendes slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Birchack wants to escape the position.
Mendes controlling from the back.
Birchack is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Mendes will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Mendes is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.

Mendes looking for the RNC.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mendes slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Birchack wants to escape the position.
Good control from Mendes.
You can see the frustration on Birchack's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendes controls the action.
Mendes'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.
Mendes controlling well, preventing Birchack from escaping the position.

Mendes is looking for the choke from the back position but Birchack is controlling his hands well.
Mendes has the hooks in. Birchack is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Mendes controlling the positon.
Birchack tries to escape but Mendes has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Mendes seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Birchack is still trying to improve position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Birchack is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Mendes.

Mendes has got one arm under Birchack's chin. This could be trouble... Birchack trying to control the other hand but Mendes gets it free and sqeezes tight - just a matter of time now! Yep, Birchack has tapped out! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:30 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Rafael Mendes!
After winning the bout, Rafael Mendes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.