PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jemaine Clement (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vitor Belfort (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Clement comes to the cage accompanied by Mutha Uckers. Jemaine Clement has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Clement
vs
Belfort

192 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
22
196 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jemaine Clement!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Vitor Belfort!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Jack Bonds and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Clement shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Belfort pinned against the cage. Belfort gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Belfort tries to clinch but Clement is having none of it.

Clement shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Clement takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Belfort defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Clement.
Belfort is trying to stand.
Clement controlling from mount.
Belfort regains half guard.
Clement is trying to control the action in half guard but Belfort is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belfort looks like he's trying to stand up.
Belfort is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Clement seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Clement prevents Belfort from standing back up.
Clement trying to mount his opponent but Belfort defends it.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Clement circles away from the clinch attempt.
Clement fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

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.
Clement looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jemaine Clement. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Clement is breathing heavily.
Clement shoots for a takedown but Belfort saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Belfort stuffs the takedown.
Vitor Belfort is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Clement.

Belfort drives through and clinches with Clement against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Belfort.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Vitor Belfort.
Clement swats away the attempt to clinch by Belfort.
Nice takedown defense from Belfort. No joy for Clement on that attempt.
Belfort tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Belfort is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Clement shoots in for a takedown but Belfort shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

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.

Belfort fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Clement, pushing him back against the cage.
Belfort pressing his opponent against the cage.
Clement managing to block the knees to the body from Belfort.
Belfort controlling the action here for a moment.
Belfort continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Vitor Belfort.
Belfort circles away from the clinch attempt

and Belfort counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Belfort.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Clement tries to pull guard but Belfort holds him up against the cage and eventually Clement drops back down to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitor Belfort dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Belfort is looking to clinch.
Clement misses with a takedown attempt

and Belfort counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Clement fails to pull guard.
Belfort has Clement pressed against the cage.
Clement tries to pull guard but Belfort holds him up against the cage and eventually Clement drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jemaine Clement. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Belfort is pressed up against the cage. Clement has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Belfort down to the mat. Belfort avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Clement shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Belfort holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Clement tries to pull guard but Belfort holds him up against the cage and eventually Clement drops back down to his feet.
Clement tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Belfort smiles and moves away.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Belfort clinches up with Clement and pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Belfort.
Clement has Belfort pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Belfort manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Clement letting Belfort take a breather here.
Clement avoiding damage as Belfort throws knees to the body.
Belfort leaning his opponent against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Vitor Belfort.
Belfort tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Clement paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Belfort is looking to clinch.

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.
Clement tries for a takedown but Belfort circles away easily

and Belfort counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
The is referee keeping an eye on Belfort - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Belfort stops a takedown attempt from Clement.
Belfort will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Clement up against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Vitor Belfort.
Belfort is looking to clinch.

Belfort fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Clement, pushing him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clement is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Belfort pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Belfort manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Clement has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Belfort uses from the top position.

Belfort gets to his feet - Clement follows without any prompting.
Clement tries to clinch but Belfort moves away

and Belfort counters by clinching up.
Belfort is struggling to control the position.
Clement is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Belfort pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Belfort is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Vitor Belfort.

Belfort pushes Clement up against the cage in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belfort is trying to stall.
Clement goes for a takedown attempt but Belfort pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Belfort tries to clinch up but Clement circles away and keeps his distance.
Clement has his takedown stuffed

and Belfort counters by moving into the clinch.
Belfort gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Clement.
A bit of stalling here from Belfort.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitor Belfort showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Clement has his takedown stuffed

and Belfort holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Clement is trying to drag Belfort to the mat but Belfort just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Belfort effectively controlling the action here.
Clement tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jemaine Clement. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Belfort wants to stall.
Belfort controlling the action here for a moment.

Clement lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Clement is trying to control. Belfort wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Belfort tries to kick Clement off but Clement keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clement seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Belfort does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Clement is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Belfort is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Clement is looking for a kimura but Belfort is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Clement to get the leverage.
Clement wants to control but Belfort is keeping him busy.
Belfort is looking to escape.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Clement shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Belfort counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Belfort.
Clement managing to block the knees to the body from Belfort.
Belfort pressing his opponent against the cage.
Clement fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Belfort tries to stall but Clement uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Clement tries for a takedown but Belfort manages to get underhooks.
Clement fails to pull guard.

That's two 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.
Clement fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Clement tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Belfort just stands there and leans against the cage.
Clement tries to pull guard but Belfort won't allow it.
Clement drops down looking for an ankle pick but Belfort pulls his leg out and moves away.
Clement misses with a takedown

and Belfort counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Belfort.
Clement jumps guard but Belfort stands there with Clement around his waist. Clement gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Belfort just leaning against Clement, taking a breather.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Clement as Belfort tries to tie him up.
Clement tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Belfort just stands there and leans against the cage.
Clement trying to land knees to the body.
Clement jumps guard but Belfort stands there with Clement around his waist. Clement gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Clement jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Belfort walks away with a smile on his face. Clement gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Belfort darts in trying to clinch

and Clement counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belfort tries to kick Clement off but Clement keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Belfort is defending against the submission attempts here by Clement.
Clement is trying to control the action in half guard but Belfort is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Belfort is trying to stand up here but Clement is controlling him well.
Jemaine Clement has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Belfort is in trouble now - Clement has advanced to mount!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Belfort squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

Clement goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Belfort is on top in guard.

Belfort gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Clement swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Belfort counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Belfort stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Clement misses with an elbow over the top.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Vitor Belfort.
I've got Belfort winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vitor Belfort!