PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Juan De Souza (ranked 3098 p4p, 2518 weight class) and Nick Rodriguez (ranked 387 p4p, 270 weight class). Nick Rodriguez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

De Souza
vs
Rodriguez

185 cm
21
210
6 - 6 - 0

190 cm
20
220
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Juan De Souza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Nick Rodriguez!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Elvis Blanc and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rodriguez is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in De Souza's half guard.
De Souza regains full guard. Nicely done.
Rodriguez stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De Souza swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Rodriguez wants to control from the top but De Souza keeps moving.
Rodriguez stopping the sweep attempt from De Souza.
Rodriguez stays in close to De Souza's body and controls the position.
De Souza looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rodriguez is one step ahead there.
Rodriguez must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Rodriguez trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
De Souza not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Souza on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if De Souza tries to get out of the position.
De Souza manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Rodriguez manages to get himself to full guard.

Rodriguez keeping moving, preventing De Souza from controlling successfully.

Rodriguez escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. De Souza gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rodriguez looking for a guillotine here but De Souza defends easily.
Rodriguez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De Souza wants to control from the top but Rodriguez keeps moving.
Rodriguez looking for a sweep. Not yet Rodriguez, not yet.
De Souza wants to control from the top but Rodriguez keeps moving.
De Souza won't allow Rodriguez to sweep him here.
De Souza wants to control from the top but Rodriguez keeps moving.
De Souza controls from within his opponent's guard.
De Souza stopping the sweep attempt from Rodriguez.

That's two 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.
De Souza trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodriguez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Souza engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
De Souza trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodriguez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Rodriguez scores with a takedown into De Souza's guard.

Rodriguez drops back looking for a leg! De Souza is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and De Souza manages to kick Rodriguez off! Rodriguez jumps back into De Souza's guard.
Rodriguez sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez wants to pass the guard but De Souza is keeping the position.

Rodriguez is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! De Souza is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! De Souza has escaped and now he's on top!

De Souza wants to control from the top but Rodriguez keeps moving.
De Souza controlling from the top position.
Rodriguez wants to sweep but no luck.
Rodriguez controls De Souza momentarily but De Souza frees himself.

Rodriguez looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rodriguez is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. De Souza is aware though and is defending well.
Rodriguez working a defensive guard here.
Rodriguez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rodriguez is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Rodriguez is trying to control the position but De Souza postures up.
De Souza trying to control the position from guard on top but Rodriguez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rodriguez being controlled here, momentarily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rodriguez looking for a sweep. Not yet Rodriguez, not yet.
Rodriguez bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in De Souza's guard.

De Souza looking for a sweep. Not yet De Souza, not yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Rodriguez dominated that 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.

Rodriguez fails with a takedown attempt.
Rodriguez with a poor takedown
and Rodriguez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

It looks like Nick Rodriguez has been cut.
No luck for Rodriguez with that takedown attempt.
Juan De Souza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nick Rodriguez.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown
and De Souza counters with a straight right hand.

Rodriguez drives through with a takedown into guard.
Nick Rodriguez has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodriguez slips nicely into half guard.
Rodriguez wants to take a breather but De Souza is having none of it.
De Souza wants to get back to full guard.

Rodriguez 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.
Rodriguez tries to pass the half guard into mount. De Souza knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Souza trying to control but Rodriguez postures up.
Still in half guard, Rodriguez seems content to control.
De Souza won't allow Rodriguez to pass to mount.
Rodriguez seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
De Souza gets back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Rodriguez pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. De Souza is keeping the position for now.
De Souza is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Rodriguez won't allow De Souza to get back to his feet.
Rodriguez trying to control the position from guard on top but De Souza is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Souza looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rodriguez is one step ahead there.
De Souza is trying to control the position but Rodriguez postures up.
De Souza is really struggling to control Rodriguez but he's trying to hold on to the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Rodriguez has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.

Rodriguez throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. De Souza was covering up waiting for the punch and Rodriguez finishes the takedown easily into guard.

De Souza has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Rodriguez is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Souza is pressed up against the cage. Rodriguez has hold of a leg and is looking to drag De Souza down to the mat. De Souza avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Rodriguez throws a sloppy body shot
enabling De Souza to counter with a crisp jab.
We've been told by De Souza's head coaches at Soul Supremacy Rio that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Rodriguez misses with a takedown
and De Souza counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Rodriguez shoots in but De Souza avoids the takedown attempt easily.
A counter left hand to the body from De Souza misses its target.
Rodriguez with a lazy takedown attempt
and De Souza counters with a straight right hand.

Rodriguez shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in De Souza's guard.
Rodriguez passes into half guard.
Rodriguez is keen to just control but De Souza is a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Souza tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
De Souza is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
De Souza is trying to maintain the position but Rodriguez is very close to passing his half guard.
De Souza wants to get back to full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Souza is trying to maintain the position but Rodriguez is very close to passing his half guard.
Rodriguez tries to pass the half guard into mount. De Souza knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Rodriguez is thwarting De Souza's attempts to control the position.
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 Juan De Souza will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Nick Rodriguez's cut.
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. This is the final round!

De Souza misses the jab.
Rodriguez fails with the takedown
and De Souza counters with a lovely shot to the body.
De Souza looks to land a right hand but Rodriguez moved out of range.
Rodriguez shoots in but no luck this time.
A little feinted left hand from De Souza on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

Rodriguez scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Rodriguez is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. De Souza knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
De Souza is looking for a sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rodriguez is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. De Souza knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
De Souza is trying to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rodriguez is trying to get an arm triangle but De Souza is defending well.
De Souza tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Rodriguez wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

Rodriguez working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
De Souza is looking to reverse the position.
De Souza wants to control but Rodriguez postures up.
De Souza is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Rodriguez's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Rodriguez sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. De Souza defending well though.
De Souza trying to hold on to Rodriguez's head to control him but Rodriguez postures up.
Rodriguez is trying to control the action in half guard but De Souza is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez prevents De Souza from improving his position.
De Souza gets back to full guard.
De Souza controls Rodriguez momentarily but Rodriguez frees himself.
Rodriguez content to stall in guard here.
De Souza looking for a sweep. Not yet De Souza, not yet.
De Souza trying to keep a closed guard but Rodriguez is proving a slippery customer.
Rodriguez stops De Souza from standing up.
Rodriguez slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
De Souza sneaks back into half guard.
Rodriguez is looking to take a break and control but De Souza is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rodriguez 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.
De Souza is trying to get back to full guard.
De Souza wants to control but Rodriguez is keeping busy and won't allow it.
De Souza moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Rodriguez wants to control from the top but De Souza keeps moving.
De Souza is trying to keep Rodriguez in close.
Rodriguez trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rodriguez is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
De Souza pulls Rodriguez in close to his closed guard and prevents Rodriguez from doing any damage or advancing position.
Rodriguez pushes down on De Souza's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Rodriguez wants to control but De Souza is keeping him busy.
Rodriguez trying to pass the guard but De Souza defending well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
De Souza makes his way to full guard. A much better position for De Souza.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Rodriguez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rodriguez has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Rodriguez!