PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ethan Gracie (ranked 3611 p4p, 2648 weight class) and Branko Banik (ranked 444 p4p, 347 weight class). Gracie comes to the cage accompanied by No Church In The Wild. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Gracie
vs
Banik

182 cm
25
185
7 - 7 - 0

183 cm
20
179
5 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Furnace Performance 🔥
Silverguard Outfitters 🛡

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 7 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ethan Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Branko Banik!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Shigeki Fujiwara and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gracie shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Banik is trying to defend but Gracie finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Banik tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Banik wants to control but Gracie is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Gracie is working for a kimura but Banik is defending it quite comfortably.
Banik gets full guard.
Banik utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Gracie has gone for a leg lock! Banik slips out almost immediately though and dives into Gracie's guard.

Gracie looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Gracie seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Banik working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Banik trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Banik slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Banik must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Banik working some strikes from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banik scoring with punches to the head and body.
Banik working some strikes from top position.

Gracie is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Banik is aware though and is defending well.
Banik keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gracie's head.

Gracie is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Banik preventing the sweep.
My spies in Canucks Combat Club inform me that Banik has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!

Gracie is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Banik lands a couple of digs.
Banik working some strikes from top position.
Banik is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Banik lands a couple of decent looking shots.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Banik stays in close to Gracie's body and controls the position.
Banik trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banik chips away with some ground and pound.
Gracie has momentary wrist control but Banik slips an elbow through the middle.

Gracie is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Banik is aware though and is defending well.

Gracie is looking for a triangle but Banik pushes his legs off easily.
Banik is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Gracie throws his legs up looking for a submission but Banik uses it to pass to side control.
You can see the frustration on Gracie's face as Banik controls the position.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Gracie is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Banik landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Banik creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Banik lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banik lands a nice forearm strike.
Gracie tries to bench press Banik off him but Banik keeps the position.
Banik working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Banik trying to control the action but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Gracie is looking to regain half guard here but Banik keeps moving and retains side control.
Gracie is working hard here to advance position.
Banik is working Gracie over with some ground and pound from side control.
Banik is working Gracie over with some ground and pound from side control.
Gracie tries to buck Banik off but Banik is having none of it.
Gracie gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Banik lands a nice short elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gracie won't allow Banik to pass to mount.
Gracie tries to get to full guard but Banik has control of the leg.
Banik is nestled in close to Gracie, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banik looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Gracie with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Banik is controlling the pace.
Gracie is looking to improve his position.
Gracie has hold of Banik's hands but Banik slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Banik working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nice strikes from Banik there.

Gracie is rocked!
Banik trying to mount his opponent but Gracie defends it.
Oh Gracie is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Gracie seems to have got his legs back now.

Gracie is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Banik pulls his head out easily.
Banik lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Gracie tries to get to full guard but Banik has control of the leg.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Branko Banik dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Gracie throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Banik's waist but Banik gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gracie off to one side.
Banik with the counter takedown but Gracie avoids it easily.
Gracie fails to land the takedown.
Ethan Gracie is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Banik throws a lazy right hand but Gracie sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gracie uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Banik.
A swing and a miss from Banik.
Gracie on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Gracie takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Nice sprawl there from Banik as Gracie shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ethan Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gracie fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Banik with the counter takedown but Gracie avoids it easily.

Banik bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Banik working the ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Banik working the ground and pound.
Banik content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Gracie is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banik lands strikes from half guard.
Gracie has hold of Banik's hands but Banik slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Gracie is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Banik pulls his head out easily.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Banik lands a nice short elbow.
Banik trying to control from half guard but Gracie is working away.

Gracie looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Gracie has a hand on Banik's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Banik takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Gracie working to try and regain half guard.
Banik working the ground and pound effectively.
Banik looking to finish Gracie with some ground and pound. This is bad for Gracie!
Banik controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banik looking to finish Gracie with some ground and pound. This is bad for Gracie!
Banik tries to control but Gracie wriggling away.
Banik landing strikes from the mount.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Gracie keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Banik scoring with strikes but Gracie is staying in there.
Banik landing punches.
Banik prevents Gracie from getting the reversal.
Banik unloads with some vicious shots from mount and Gracie wants out - he looks towards the referee who steps in to save him! Banik celebrates on the cage and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Branko Banik!
An out of breath Branko Banik thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
The defeated Ethan Gracie had this to say: 'Four losses in a row. Not a good look for me man. Don't know whats next to be honest.'.