PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Luiz Franca (ranked 1094 p4p, 140 weight class) and Dragomir Savic (ranked 1494 p4p, 190 weight class). Franca comes to the ring accompanied by The Greatest Showman. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Franca
vs
Savic

188 cm
30
185 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

186 cm
20
186 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Vegan Gains
Trap-Alot-Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Luiz Franca!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Dragomir Savic!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shigeki Fujiwara and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Franca closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Savic's guard.
Savic is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Franca tries to roll over but Savic keeps him under control.
Savic takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
We've been hearing good reports from Franca's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Savic passes to side control.
Franca is not content to let Savic control the position.
Franca tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Savic wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Franca gets back to half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Savic prevents Franca from improving his position.
Savic wants to pass to mount but Franca is defending the position.
Savic is taking a breather. Franca says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Savic is trying to control. Franca wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franca gets full guard.
I've been told that Savic has been drilling his wrestling of late, which has already helped him take this fight to the mat. Let's see how much of an impact it has on the outcome of the ground game.
Savic must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Savic preventing the sweep.
Franca lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Savic seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Savic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Franca throws a big right hand that misses.
Savic bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Franca's guard.

Franca bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Savic's guard.

Franca throws a strike but Savic rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Franca wants to sweep here but Savic controlling him for the moment.
Franca is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Franca seems to be looking for submissions.

Franca wants to work for an arm triangle but Savic is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franca is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Franca missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Franca seems to be working for a kimura but Savic defends the submission attempt.
Savic tries to get to full guard but Franca has control of the leg.

Franca is looking for a kimura but Savic is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Franca to get the leverage.
Franca missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Savic tries to get to full guard but Franca has control of the leg.
Savic keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Savic tries to get to full guard but Franca has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Franca is working for a submission of some sort.
Savic avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Franca.

Franca looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Franca throwing shots but Savic is blocking nicely.

Franca is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Savic tries to roll over but Franca keeps him under control.
Savic is looking to control Franca's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Savic avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Franca looks to land a strike but Savic avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Savic not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Franca sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Savic's guard.
Savic desperately trying to maintain half guard.

Savic is defending against the submission attempts here by Franca.
Franca drops an elbow to the side of Savic's head.
Savic is trying to get back to full guard.
Savic is trying to control but can't.
Franca is pressing down on Savic's thigh, looking to free his foot. Savic is holding on for now.

Franca is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Savic has managed to free his arm - good work.
Franca 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.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Savic tries to roll over but Franca keeps him under control.

Franca wants to work for an arm triangle but Savic is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Savic regains full guard. Nicely done.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Savic wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Savic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Savic avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Franca thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Franca forces his way into half guard.

Franca is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Savic is just riding it out for now. Franca eventually gives up the hold.
Franca tries to pass to full mount but Savic defends it.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Savic trying to control from the bottom.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Franca works his way into side control.

Franca tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Franca has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Savic tries to bench press Franca off him but Franca keeps the position.
Franca sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Savic is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Savic is trying to control Franca's posture but Franca avoids it.

Franca working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Savic is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Franca is thwarting Savic's attempts to control the position.

Franca is looking for a kimura here.
Savic trying to control from the bottom.
Savic is looking to improve his position.
Franca wants to free his trapped foot but Savic is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Franca wants to work for an arm triangle but Savic is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Savic avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Franca.
Savic is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Savic landing strikes from the bottom.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Savic is defending against the submission attempts here by Franca.
Savic trying to control from the bottom.
Savic gets full guard.
Savic manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Franca manages to get himself to full guard.

Franca keeping full guard, as Savic tries to pass.
Savic with a flurry of punches that miss.
Franca looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Savic wants to control from the top but Franca keeps moving.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Franca is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Savic blocking the ground and pound attempt from Franca.

Franca is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Savic doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Franca.

Franca is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Savic gets back to full guard.
Franca missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Franca postures up in Savic's guard and throws a big left but Savic blocks it.
Savic working a defensive guard here.

Franca drops back, looking for a kneebar! Savic looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Savic looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Savic!

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luiz Franca dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Franca decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Savic is defending against the submission attempts here by Franca.

Franca is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Savic defends it well.
Franca is thwarting Savic's attempts to control the position.
Franca thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Savic's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Franca is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Savic doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Franca.
Franca is looking to advance position but Savic won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franca lands strikes from half guard.

Franca seems to be looking for submissions.
Savic tries to get to full guard but Franca has control of the leg.
Savic is trying to control but can't.
Franca is nestled in close to Savic, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

Franca is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Savic sees it coming and defends easily.
Luiz Franca overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Savic avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Franca.
Savic is looking for a sweep. Franca is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Savic has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Franca is working away from the top position though.
Franca working Savic over with strikes.
Savic regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Savic wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Franca won't allow Savic to sweep him here.
Franca is in close to Savic's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Savic is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Franca lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Franca chips away with some ground and pound.
Franca is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Savic can do to turn this around?

Franca drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Franca jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Savic is trying to keep Franca in close.
Franca missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Franca throws a big right hand that misses.
Savic pulls Franca in close to prevent any damage.
Franca is working Savic over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savic is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Franca content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Franca throws a big elbow that misses.
Franca tries to free his leg and advance position but Savic is retaining full guard.
Savic looking for a sweep. Not yet Savic, not yet.
Franca throwing strikes from guard but Savic blocks nicely.
Franca postures up in Savic's guard and throws a big left but Savic blocks it.
Savic working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Franca.
Savic looking to hit a scissor sweep but Franca is one step ahead there.
Franca postures up.
Franca trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franca works over Savic with some ground and pound from guard.

It looks like Dragomir Savic has been cut.
Franca tries to free his leg and advance position but Savic is retaining full guard.
Franca is looking to pass into half guard but Savic pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Savic is in guard.

Savic stopping the sweep attempt from Franca.
Savic sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Savic's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Franca looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Franca working for a triangle but Savic defends it easily.
Savic won't allow Franca to sweep him here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Savic is stalling in the full guard.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Savic is pushing down on Franca's leg trying to pass to half guard. Franca is fighting to maintain full guard but Savic has managed to sneak the leg through.
Savic looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Franca moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Savic content to stall in guard here.
Savic passes Franca's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Savic content to control rather than advance.
Franca is trying to get back to full guard.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Savic is looking to advance position but Franca won't allow it.
Franca slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Franca throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Savic escapes and throws Franca's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Franca is not content to let Savic control the position.
Franca is looking for a sweep.
Franca is working hard here to advance position.
Dragomir Savic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Savic is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Franca knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Franca is trying to improve his position.
Savic controlling from side mount.
Franca gets back to half guard.
Franca is looking to improve his position.
Savic with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Savic trying to control the action but Franca is working from the bottom.
Franca manages to get to full guard.
Savic is working Franca over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Savic content to stall in guard here.
Savic preventing the sweep.

Franca working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Savic doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Savic manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Savic postures up and lands a big shot to Franca's brow.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Savic sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Savic got a little sloppy there for a moment and Franca has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Savic has managed to get both his arms back between Franca's legs - danger averted.
Savic throws a big right hand that misses.
Savic loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Franca keeping moving, preventing Savic from controlling successfully.
Franca is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Savic missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Franca keeping moving, preventing Savic from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Luiz Franca is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Franca looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Savic is fending him off so far but Franca persists. Nope, Savic circles away and we're back to standing.
Franca gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Savic counters with a lovely straight right hand!

And that's the end of the fight!
Luiz Franca showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Franca 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 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight for Luiz Franca!
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight for Luiz Franca!
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight for Luiz Franca!

Luiz Franca wins by unanimous decision!
In his post fight interview, Luiz Franca started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.