PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Juan De Rio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and TONG POE (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Rio comes to the cage accompanied by somos de calle. POE has chosen DJ Hype & DJ Zinc - Disappear as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

De Rio
vs
POE

199 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

199 cm
22
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Deadly Clothing

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 Rio de Janeiro, Juan De Rio!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, TONG POE!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Matheus Silva and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Rio fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
De Rio blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
De Rio has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. POE is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
De Rio managing to block the knees to the body from POE.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
POE missing with knees to the body.
De Rio has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
De Rio is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

De Rio breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

POE closes the distance and clinches.
POE misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from De Rio.
POE prevents the takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Rio 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 Juan De Rio. That's going to take a lot out of him.
De Rio jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as POE walks away with a smile on his face. De Rio gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
TONG POE is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
POE darts in trying to clinch

and De Rio counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for POE!
De Rio controlling his opponent.
POE is squirming around, avoiding De Rio's attempts to control the action.
De Rio prevents POE from getting the reversal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
POE wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
De Rio thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
POE is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
De Rio throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
De Rio can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as POE is looking to escape.
POE wants to control but De Rio is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Rio looking to ground and pound but POE is blocking nicely.
De Rio controlling from the full mount.
De Rio looking to control but POE is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
De Rio throwing strikes here but POE is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.

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.
De Rio scoring with strikes but POE is staying in there.
De Rio throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
POE holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as De Rio tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
De Rio tries to control but POE wriggling away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
POE tries to buck De Rio off but he can't manage it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

POE tries to clinch but De Rio moves away

and De Rio counters with a nice double leg into guard.

POE kicks De Rio off and gets to his feet.
De Rio circles away from the clinch attempt

and De Rio counters with a nice double leg into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
De Rio trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
POE is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
De Rio stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. POE swivels though and keeps the full guard.

POE is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

That's one minute gone in the round.
POE stops a takedown attempt from De Rio.
De Rio lands with a short head shot on the inside.
De Rio can't break the clinch.
De Rio tries to break the clinch but POE is controlling the position.
De Rio on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
POE prevents De Rio from breaking the clinch.
De Rio on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
POE is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
De Rio tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

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.
De Rio changes levels and goes for a takedown here. POE fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Juan De Rio. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

De Rio clinches with his opponent.
De Rio is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
De Rio has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. POE is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
De Rio drops down looking for an ankle pick but POE pulls his leg out and moves away.

POE clinches with his opponent.
De Rio wants a takedown.
POE landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
De Rio takes a knee to the side of the body.
POE tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and De Rio avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Rio is trying to break the clinch but POE has him pressed against the cage.
De Rio on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
De Rio jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as POE walks away with a smile on his face. De Rio gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

POE darts in and clinches De Rio up against the cage.
POE misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from De Rio.
POE is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. De Rio is defending well for now.
POE misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from De Rio.
De Rio managing to block the knees to the body from POE.
De Rio fails to pull guard.
De Rio looking for a takedown.
POE tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and De Rio avoids it.
POE looking to throw knees to the head but De Rio is blocking nicely.
Knees in the clinch landing for POE.

That's four 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.
POE landing knees to the body.
POE using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
POE missing with knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for POE.
De Rio managing to block the knees to the body from POE.
De Rio avoiding damage as POE throws knees to the body.
POE missing with knees to the body.
POE scores a nice knee to the body.
POE gets underhooks to prevent De Rio's takedown attempt.
POE unloads a knee to the mid-section. De Rio lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
POE tries to land knees in the clinch but De Rio avoids the damage to the body.
POE lands a nice knee to the body.
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 Juan De Rio will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

POE tries to clinch but fails miserably
enabling De Rio to counter with a crisp jab.
POE tries to clinch there but De Rio circles away.
De Rio moves in looking to clinch but POE pushes him off.
POE closes the distance but De Rio moves to the side

and De Rio decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in POE's guard.
De Rio looking to sit in guard and control but POE gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

POE stands up and waves to De Rio to follow him.
POE tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and De Rio counters with a shoot takedown. POE fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
POE keeping moving, preventing De Rio from controlling successfully.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
POE wants to stand up but De Rio is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Rio controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

POE manages to escape and get back to his feet.
POE tries to clinch up
and De Rio makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
POE wants to clinch

and De Rio counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in POE's guard now.
POE wants to stand and escape but De Rio is having none of it.
De Rio working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
De Rio trying to control but POE is working from the bottom.
De Rio tries to free his leg and advance position but POE is retaining full guard.

POE pushes De Rio off and gets back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
POE tries to clinch up
and De Rio counters with a right hand to the body.
POE tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but De Rio paws at him with a jab and circles away.
POE fails in his attempt to clinch.
POE tries to clinch up but De Rio circles away and keeps his distance.
Juan De Rio is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
De Rio throws a low kick but it's checked well by POE.
POE tries to clinch but De Rio moves out of range.
POE wants to clinch but De Rio slips to the side

and De Rio decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in POE's guard.
POE manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. De Rio manages to get himself to full guard.

De Rio is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
De Rio stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Rio tries to circle away but POE has him pinned against the cage.
POE lands a knee to the body.
De Rio working hard to break the clinch.
POE connects with a nasty looking knee right to De Rio's face.
De Rio wants to get back to striking at distance but POE won't allow it.
POE keeps the fight in the clinch, despite De Rio's efforts to push away.
POE is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. De Rio is defending well for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De Rio blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
TONG POE has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Juan De Rio is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
POE landing some nice looking knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Juan De Rio showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for De Rio, 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Juan De Rio!