PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jim Halberg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and sto bueno (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). bueno is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbNJcF0H8b4. Jim Halberg has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Halberg
vs
bueno

164 cm
18
160 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

190 cm
20
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jim Halberg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, sto bueno!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Wesley Smith and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
bueno misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
bueno circles away from the clinch attempt.
Halberg fails with an attempt to clinch.
bueno throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Nice takedown defense from Halberg. No joy for bueno on that attempt.
sto bueno seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
bueno throws a sloppy head kick and Halberg moves out of range easily.
bueno misses with a takedown attempt - Halberg sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
bueno avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A punch combination from Halberg misses.
Halberg has his takedown stuffed

so bueno counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Halberg is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Halberg wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
bueno trying to control but Halberg is working from the bottom.
bueno looks gassed!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halberg trying to keep a closed guard but bueno is proving a slippery customer.
bueno tries to free his leg and advance position but Halberg is retaining full guard.
Halberg trying to control the position.
Halberg manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
bueno tries to hold on but Halberg pushes him away.

That's two 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.
Halberg trying to control but he's not successful this time.
bueno regains half guard.
bueno is looking to control Halberg's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can bueno avoid being mounted?
Halberg is keen to just control but bueno is a slippery customer.
Halberg lands with a punch from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Halberg moves nicely into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Halberg tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Halberg has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
bueno is looking for a sweep.
Halberg passes to full mount! That's big trouble for bueno!
Halberg trying to control but he's not successful this time.
bueno taking shots to the head.

That's four 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.
Halberg looking to control but bueno is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
bueno tries to hold on but Halberg postures up.

Halberg is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. bueno can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
bueno is trying to escape the mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but sto bueno will probably get the nod.
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.

Halberg wants to clinch but bueno slips to the side

and bueno counters by clinching up.

bueno breaks from the clinch.
Halberg circles away from the clinch attempt.
Halberg fails to land the takedown.
bueno changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Halberg tries to avoid it but bueno manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Halberg to the ground. Halberg escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Halberg looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Halberg tries for a takedown but bueno circles away easily

and bueno counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by bueno.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jim Halberg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Halberg wants to stand but bueno is controlling the position.
Halberg trying to control the position.
Halberg is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
bueno wants to control from the top but Halberg keeps moving.
Halberg is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst bueno is controlling him.
Halberg not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
bueno really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Halberg. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
bueno is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
bueno 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Nice takedown defense from bueno. No joy for Halberg on that attempt.

Excellent takedown into side control there by bueno.

bueno stands up.

bueno has closed the distance and engaged Halberg in a clinch.
Halberg wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
bueno prevents Halberg from breaking the clinch.

bueno escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Halberg has his takedown stuffed

and bueno counters by clinching up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

bueno has hold of one of Halberg's legs. Halberg is fighting the takedown attempt but bueno gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
bueno won't allow Halberg to sweep him here.
Halberg is trying to keep bueno in close.
Halberg striking off his back but it's not causing bueno any problems.
bueno looking to pass the guard.

bueno postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Halberg is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of bueno, into his guard.
Halberg trying to control but bueno is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Halberg is looking to stand up but bueno won't let him.
Halberg content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
sto bueno has got the better of the ground game so far.

bueno isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Halberg stacks bueno on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Halberg!
bueno taking punishment in the form of punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

sto bueno showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Halberg lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

bueno darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
bueno is keen to just control but Halberg is a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
bueno is thwarting Halberg's attempts to control the position.
Halberg is refusing to be controlled, as bueno sits in half guard.

Halberg kicks off bueno and gets to his feet.
bueno takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halberg fails with the takedown.
Halberg fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Halberg doesn't succeed with the takedown

and bueno counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jim Halberg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
bueno moves into full mount! Halberg won't be happy about that!
Halberg sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
bueno not doing much here.

bueno is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
bueno is stalling here. Halberg is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! bueno seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Halberg has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Halberg working the head and body with strikes.
You can see the frustration on bueno's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
bueno is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Halberg is looking to take a break and control but bueno is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Halberg with a lazy takedown attempt

and bueno counters with a nice double leg into side control. Halberg won't be happy with that.
Halberg tries to buck bueno off but bueno is having none of it.

bueno is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Halberg is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Halberg manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
bueno is looking to control Halberg's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can bueno avoid being mounted?
bueno is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Halberg is staying active.

Halberg is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Halberg prevents bueno from improving his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
sto bueno comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well bueno has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... sto bueno!