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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Léo Saint-Clair (ranked 530 p4p, 685 weight class) and Joe Mendez (ranked 69 p4p, 84 weight class). Saint-Clair kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Seine Saint-Denis Style - Suprême NTM. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.
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| 194 cm
21
266
4 - 0 - 0 |
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188 cm
30
275
13 - 7 - 0 |
Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine |
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Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Léo Saint-Clair!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joe Mendez!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Russell Pearce and Jorge Garcia.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saint-Clair gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Mendez to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Mendez postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Saint-Clair keeping full guard, as Mendez tries to pass.
Saint-Clair wants to get back to his feet but Mendez is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Saint-Clair looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Mendez with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez throws a big elbow that misses.
Mendez working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendez connects with a couple of short punches.
Mendez lands a couple of digs.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mendez accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mendez is looking to work some ground and pound but Saint-Clair has wrist control.
Mendez with a nice head shot there.
Mendez must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Saint-Clair is pulling down on Mendez's head to control his posture.
Mendez is looking to work some ground and pound but Saint-Clair has wrist control.
Mendez wants to control from the top but Saint-Clair keeps moving.
Mendez postures up and lands a big shot to Saint-Clair's brow.
Mendez chips away with some ground and pound.
Mendez trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendez throws a big right hand that misses.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Mendez slips nicely into half guard.
Mendez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Saint-Clair is looking to improve his position.
Saint-Clair is trying to stand up here but Mendez is controlling him well.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Saint-Clair avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Mendez.
Mendez lands with a punch from half guard.
Well, if Mendez is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza Yum. Can't wait.
Mendez thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Saint-Clair's head.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair is controlling Mendez's trapped leg to prevent Mendez from advancing to side control.
Mendez is trying to control the action in half guard but Saint-Clair is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Saint-Clair throws a shot from downtown. Mendez moves away and avoids it.
Mendez manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Saint-Clair on his heels. He'll look to pass Saint-Clair's guard now, I'm sure.
Mendez lands a couple of elbows.
Saint-Clair is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Mendez trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mendez with a flurry of punches that miss.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendez stopping the sweep attempt from Saint-Clair.
Mendez makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Mendez throws an elbow that misses. Saint-Clair uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Mendez's guard. Nice move by Saint-Clair!
Mendez managing to control the position.
Saint-Clair in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Mendez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Saint-Clair.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendez wants to sweep but no luck.
Saint-Clair working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Saint-Clair postures up in Mendez's guard and throws a big left but Mendez blocks it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Joe Mendez dominated that round.
That's time! Saint-Clair's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Saint-Clair throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mendez counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Mendez has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
A swing and a miss from Saint-Clair.
We've been told by Saint-Clair's head coaches at Glory 4 Boxing that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
A telegraphed right hand from Saint-Clair misses the target.
Mendez throws a counter combo.
Saint-Clair misses with an uppercut. Mendez saw that one coming.
Mendez throws a hook but Saint-Clair blocks it.
Saint-Clair throwing a counter right hand but Mendez manages to avoid it.
Mendez avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Saint-Clair connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Saint-Clair is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mendez.
Mendez looks like he wants to counter punch here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Saint-Clair.
It seemed like Mendez was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Saint-Clair with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Saint-Clair swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mendez looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Mendez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendez gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Saint-Clair.
Mendez takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Mendez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair throwing a counter right hand but Mendez manages to avoid it.
Mendez shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Saint-Clair's corner calls for a 1-2. Saint-Clair obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Saint-Clair on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Saint-Clair takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Saint-Clair is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Mendez misses with a wild body shot.
Saint-Clair misses with a body punch
and Mendez counters with a stiff right hand.
Saint-Clair is rocked!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair lands with a hook. Mendez tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Léo Saint-Clair seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Saint-Clair misses the jab.
Saint-Clair throws a body shot but no joy.
Mendez will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A quick step to the side and Saint-Clair tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
A slow jab from Saint-Clair misses its intended target.
Mendez swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Oooooh!!! Mendez has knocked Saint-Clair down with a huge combo! Mendez steps away and waves a wobbly Saint-Clair back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!
Oh Saint-Clair is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Saint-Clair throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Saint-Clair seems to have got his legs back now.
Nice defenses there by Mendez.
Mendez drops Saint-Clair with a hook right on the temple. He thinks about going to the ground but Saint-Clair looks back up at him and smiles so Mendez waves him back to his feet - he obviously thinks he can knock him out after that shot landed.
The fighters circling - Mendez throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Saint-Clair throws a hook to the side of Mendez's head but Mendez sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Mendez! But no joy.
Saint-Clair scores with a sloppy right hand. Mendez should have avoided that one.
Mendez avoids the body shot from Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair with a nice cross.
Saint-Clair leaves Mendez with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Léo Saint-Clair has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joe Mendez.
Saint-Clair throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Saint-Clair throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Mendez sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mendez stuns Saint-Clair with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendez shoots in looking for a takedown but Saint-Clair manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Mendez's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Mendez ducks right into an uppercut from Saint-Clair.
Mendez shoots in and drives through. Saint-Clair sprawls well.
Saint-Clair misses with a looping right.
Léo Saint-Clair is winning the standup battle so far.
Saint-Clair misses with a left hand
and Mendez counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Saint-Clair throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Mendez manages to pass to side control.
Saint-Clair is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Saint-Clair manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Saint-Clair missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mendez keeps control of the position for the meantime.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
A close second round but Joe Mendez will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!
Saint-Clair thuds a left hand into Mendez's body.
Mendez ducks under a wild hook from Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair lands with an overhand left.
Saint-Clair misses with a looping left.
Mendez changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Mendez takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Mendez throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Saint-Clair connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez slips under a jab from Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair looks to score with a jab to the body but Mendez is just out of range.
Mendez shoots for a double leg takedown but Saint-Clair sprawls well. He's pushed Mendez's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Saint-Clair throws the left hand but Mendez avoids the punch easily.
A swing and a miss from Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Mendez counters with a straight right hand.
Saint-Clair fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mendez manages to avoid it.
Mendez tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Saint-Clair throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A big right from Saint-Clair misses.
Saint-Clair misses with a shot to the body
and Mendez counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Saint-Clair throws a hook but Mendez blocks it.
Mendez looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Mendez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Saint-Clair was well out of range. Poor timing from Mendez.
Mendez lands with a hook. Saint-Clair tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Mendez gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Saint-Clair counters with a stiff right hand.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nice defenses there by Mendez.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Saint-Clair cracks Mendez with a right hand to the side of the head.
Mendez ducks under a wild hook from Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Mendez loads up on a big right hand but Saint-Clair slips the punch.
Mendez fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Saint-Clair to the ground. Mendez is now in Saint-Clair's guard.
Saint-Clair trying to control the position.
Joe Mendez has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mendez works a leg free and moves into half guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mendez slips a nice elbow through Saint-Clair's hands, connecting with Saint-Clair's forehead.
Saint-Clair taking some punishment here, with Mendez in his half guard.
Mendez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mendez uses his free foot to push down on Saint-Clair's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Mendez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Mendez has Saint-Clair pulled in close to control his posture.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendez keeping moving, preventing Saint-Clair from controlling successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Saint-Clair accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mendez managing to control the position.
Saint-Clair trying to control the position from guard on top but Mendez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mendez avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Saint-Clair throwing strikes from guard but Mendez blocks nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Léo Saint-Clair clearly takes that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.
Saint-Clair throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Saint-Clair swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mendez is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Mendez feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Saint-Clairs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Saint-Clair doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Saint-Clair throws a looping overhand right but Mendez ducks down to avoid it.
Saint-Clair throws an overhand right that lands on Mendez's shoulder, as Mendez tries to avoid the shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice defenses there by Mendez.
Mendez swinging wildly here.
Saint-Clair misses with a hook. Mendez ducked under it nicely.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Saint-Clair pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Mendez looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Saint-Clair looks to land a left hand but Mendez moved out of range nicely.
Nice defenses there by Mendez.
Mendez drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Saint-Clair defends it well.
Mendez ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Saint-Clair misses the jab.
Saint-Clair rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Mendez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Saint-Clair waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Mendez.
Saint-Clair misses with a right hand
and Mendez counters with a left to the body.
Saint-Clair tests Mendez's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Saint-Clair looks to land a right hand but Mendez moved out of range.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair misses with a right hand
and Mendez counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Mendez is pressing down on Saint-Clair's thigh, looking to free his foot. Saint-Clair is holding on for now.
Mendez working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Saint-Clair's thigh. Saint-Clair counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mendez throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mendez is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Saint-Clair is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Saint-Clair wants to stand up but Mendez is controlling him.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mendez's guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Mendez holds on and takes a little breather.
Saint-Clair with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mendez wants to sweep but no luck.
Saint-Clair controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Mendez looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Saint-Clair puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mendez trying to control but Saint-Clair postures up.
Saint-Clair throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Mendez wants to control but Saint-Clair is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Mendez slips a straight right by Saint-Clair.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mendez shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Saint-Clair pinned against the cage. Saint-Clair gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Saint-Clair swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close fourth round but I would say that Léo Saint-Clair will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!
Saint-Clair throws a big shot that misses.
Mendez misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Saint-Clair dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Mendez slips under a jab from Saint-Clair.
Mendez with the counter takedown but Saint-Clair avoids it easily.
Saint-Clair throws a lazy uppercut
and Mendez counters with a stiff right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Saint-Clair avoids it really well and circles away.
Mendez ducks under a wild hook from Saint-Clair.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Saint-Clair misses with a straight right.
Mendez is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Saint-Clair with a body shot.
Saint-Clair throws a big shot that misses.
Saint-Clair lands with an overhand left.
Saint-Clair pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Saint-Clair throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Mendez with the counter takedown but Saint-Clair avoids it easily.
Mendez throws a shot from downtown. Saint-Clair moves away and avoids it.
Saint-Clair tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mendez was well out of range. Poor timing from Saint-Clair.
Saint-Clair scores with a jab.
Saint-Clair uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mendez.
Saint-Clair throws a looping overhand right but Mendez ducks down to avoid it.
Mendez feints the counter takedown.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saint-Clair swings for the body but Mendez moves out of range.
Saint-Clair lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
The fighters circling - Saint-Clair throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Mendez tries to clinch up.
Saint-Clair throwing a counter right hand but Mendez manages to avoid it.
Jab from Saint-Clair.
Mendez looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mendez with a nice head shot there.
Mendez preventing the sweep.
Mendez throws a strike but Saint-Clair rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Saint-Clair wants to control from the top but Mendez keeps moving.
Mendez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Saint-Clair trying to control but Mendez is working from the bottom.
Saint-Clair postures up.
Mendez looking for a sweep. Not yet Mendez, not yet.
Saint-Clair wants to control from the top but Mendez keeps moving.
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.
Mendez is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Mendez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Saint-Clair not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Saint-Clair throws a poor cross that misses
and Mendez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Mendez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Saint-Clair sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mendez blocks a jab.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Saint-Clair lands with a right hand.
Saint-Clair displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Mendez.
And that's the end of the fight!
Léo Saint-Clair showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Saint-Clair 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 49:46
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 47:48
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 47:48
In favor of your winner, by split decision... Joe Mendez!
Joe Mendez is the new heavyweight champion!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
45% |
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