PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between David Tatum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antonio Neto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Tatum might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Time to Play the Game. Antonio Neto is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Tatum
vs
Neto

176 cm
18
202 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, David Tatum!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Antonio Neto!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Taro Takaoka and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tatum tries to clinch up but Neto circles away and keeps his distance.

Tatum darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Neto gets full guard.
Neto controls Tatum momentarily but Tatum frees himself.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tatum controls from within his opponent's guard.
Tatum could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Neto controls Tatum momentarily but Tatum frees himself.
Neto looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Tatum lands a couple of decent looking shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tatum looking to pass the guard.
Tatum is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Neto wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neto is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Neto is pulling down on Tatum's head to control his posture.
Tatum preventing the sweep.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Neto stuffs the takedown attempt from Tatum. Tatum gets slowly back to his feet.

Tatum bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Neto tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Tatum wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Neto sneaks back into half guard.
Neto trying to control from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neto wants to improve his position but Tatum is controlling well.
Neto has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Tatum is working away from the top position though.
Neto looks gassed!
Tatum with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Neto wants to get back to full guard.
Tatum controlling the action here.
Tatum tries to pass the half guard into mount. Neto knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Tatum trying to control the action but Neto is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neto controlling the position for now.
Tatum trying to mount his opponent but Neto defends it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Tatum content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Neto holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Neto is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Tatum tries to pass the half guard into mount. Neto knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Tatum seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Neto does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Tatum is thwarting Neto's attempts to control the position.
Neto moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Tatum trying to control but Neto is working from the bottom.
Neto is trying to control the position but Tatum postures up.
Tatum tries to free his leg and advance position but Neto is retaining full guard.
Tatum won't allow Neto to sweep him here.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Tatum showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Neto.
Neto misses with the combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Tatum dominated 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.

Tatum moves in looking to clinch but Neto pushes him off.
Neto keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
David Tatum is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Tatum is looking to clinch.
Tatum shoots in for a takedown but Neto shows good takedown defense.
Tatum misses with a takedown attempt - Neto sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for David Tatum. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Neto scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

It looks like David Tatum has been cut.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Neto tries to bum rush Tatum with a series of wild strikes but Tatum uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A combination from Neto does no damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neto leaves Tatum with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Antonio Neto is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Neto throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Neto scores with a one two! Tatum had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Neto doesn't manage to clinch there - Tatum circles away.
Tatum throws a left and a right that both miss
and Neto counters with a left to the body.
Neto throws a combination that misses

and Tatum counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Tatum.
Neto is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Neto wants to sweep but no luck.
Tatum slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neto keeping moving, preventing Tatum from controlling successfully.
Tatum preventing the sweep.
Neto pulls Tatum in to control the position.
Neto trying to control the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Some wild striking there from Neto.
Tatum swings away with a body shot that misses
and Neto counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Tatum takes the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neto is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Tatum is keeping busy.
Tatum is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Neto keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Tatum's efforts to push away.
Neto keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Tatum's efforts to push away.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Neto is persisting with his attempts to control the action in the clinch, rather than do any real damage.
Neto gets underhooks to prevent Tatum's takedown attempt.

Tatum has Neto pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Tatum pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Neto tumbling to the mat - Tatum dives into Neto's guard.
Tatum has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Neto has Tatum pulled in close to control his posture.
Neto manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Tatum manages to get himself to full guard.
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 David Tatum will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on David Tatum's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

A punch combination from Neto misses.
David Tatum seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tatum misses with a double jab
and Neto counters with a series of strikes. Tatum will be more careful next time no doubt.
Tatum shoots in but no luck this time.
Tatum with a poor takedown
and Neto counters with a two punch combo.
Tatum avoids a punch combination nicely.
Tatum is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A combination from Neto does no damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neto lands with a nice combination. Tatum backs away looking to recover.
Tatum shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Neto as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for David Tatum. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A combination from Neto does no damage.
Neto throws a series of strikes that have Tatum backpedaling.
Neto throws a left and a right that both miss

and Tatum counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Tatum stands up and waves to Neto to follow him.
Tatum shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tatum misses with a combination
and Neto counters with a series of strikes. Tatum will be more careful next time no doubt.
Tatum throws a left and a right that both miss
and Neto counters with a three punch combo that has Tatum backing up. Tatum nods at Neto to acknowledge the strikes.

Tatum rushes Neto and presses him up against the cage.

Tatum gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Neto looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Tatum is stalling in the full guard.
Neto looking to control.
David Tatum overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tatum is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Tatum has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Tatum trying to control the position from guard on top but Neto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Tatum is really struggling to control Neto but he's trying to hold on to the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Tatum shoots in looking for a takedown. Neto tries to sprawl out of it but Tatum keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Neto manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four 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.
Tatum with a poor takedown
and Neto counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Neto doesn't manage to clinch there - Tatum circles away.
Nice takedown defense from Neto. No joy for Tatum on that attempt.
Neto throws a combination that misses

and Tatum counters with a shoot takedown. Neto fights it but they end up in guard.
Neto is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Tatum is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Neto wants to sweep here but Tatum controlling him for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
David Tatum showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Tatum, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:28
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David Tatum!