PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Josh Lenders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brock Letters (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brock Letters has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Lenders
vs
Letters

190 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

173 cm
21
177 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Josh Lenders!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brock Letters!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Paulo Santos and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lenders looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Letters decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Letters looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Letters prevents Lenders from standing back up.

Letters is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Lenders pushes Letters off looking to stand but Letters dives back in and keeps control.

Letters is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Lenders is not content to let Letters control the position.
Lenders pushes Letters off looking to stand but Letters dives back in and keeps control.
Lenders won't allow Letters to pass to mount.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Lenders lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Letters circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Letters shoots in for a double leg but Lenders sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Lenders throws a right and a left that both miss.
Lenders fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Lenders fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Some wild striking there from Lenders.
Lenders is breathing heavily.
Lenders misses with a double jab.
Lenders fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Letters closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Letters prevents Lenders from escaping the position.
Lenders on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Lenders tries to get out of the position.

Letters tries for a kimura but Lenders is defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Letters thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Letters wants to control but Lenders is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Letters tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Lenders is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Letters has just dragged him back down to the mat.

Letters wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Lenders, who protects the arm well.

Letters is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Lenders knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Lenders explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
No joy there for Lenders, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lenders throws a right and a left that both miss.
Lenders lands with a nice combination. Letters backs away looking to recover.
Letters dodges the punch combination from Lenders.

Letters closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Letters lands in his opponent's guard.
Letters distracts Lenders with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Letters's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Lenders wants to stand and escape but Letters is having none of it.

Letters thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Letters prevents Lenders from getting back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Letters thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Letters trying to control but Lenders is working from the bottom.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Lenders looks to land a combination but Letters avoids it well.
Lenders tries to bum rush Letters with a series of wild strikes but Letters uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Letters changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Lenders looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Letters tries to move into full mount but can't pass Lenders's legs.
Sloppy strikes there by Letters.
Letters wants to control but Lenders is keeping him busy.
Lenders is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Letters asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brock Letters dominated that round.
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.

Letters scores with a takedown into Lenders's guard.
Letters chips away with some ground and pound.
Lenders is looking to stand up but Letters isn't so interested in that idea.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Letters postures up in Lenders's guard and throws a big left but Lenders blocks it.
Letters pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lenders is keeping the position for now.
Letters stops Lenders from standing up.
Letters looking to pass the guard.
Lenders wants to stand but Letters is controlling the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Letters bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Lenders is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Letters is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Letters thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Lenders is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

Letters is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Lenders knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Lenders is trying to buck Letters off.
Letters working the ground and pound but Lenders is defending the strikes.
Lenders wants to get back to his feet.

Letters looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Letters tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Letters has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

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.

Letters is trying to get an arm triangle but Lenders is defending well.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Lenders misses with the combination.
Letters slips a jab and a cross from Lenders.
Lenders throws a series of punches but Letters moves out of range.

Letters shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Letters is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Lenders is surviving well by controlling Letters's body position as best he can.

Letters working for a submission but Lenders is keeping him at bay.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lenders is trying to stand.

Letters is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Lenders can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Letters trying to control but Lenders is having none of it.
Lenders holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Letters tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Lenders really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Lenders is trying to stand up.

Letters working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

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.
Letters throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Lenders really wants to buck Letters off and get back to his feet.

Letters looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Lenders tries to buck Letters off but he can't manage it.

Letters looking to secure an arm triangle but Lenders defends it well.
Letters sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Lenders is trying to stand.
Letters lands a big elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brock Letters showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Lenders misses with a series of wild punches.
Lenders misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Letters shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Letters landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Letters wants to pass the guard but Lenders is defending well.
Letters trying to control from half guard but Lenders is working away.
Letters trying to mount his opponent but Lenders defends it.

Lenders manages to escape and get back to his feet!
A punch combination from Lenders misses.
Nice takedown defense from Lenders. No joy for Letters on that attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Letters dodges the punch combination from Lenders.
Lenders stuffs the takedown.
A punch combination from Lenders misses.

Letters darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Letters is trying to control the action in half guard but Lenders is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Lenders wants to get back to his feet.

Lenders pushes Letters off and gets back to his feet.
Lenders misses with the combination.

Letters feints and as Lenders raises his hands in defense, Letters changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Lenders wants to get back to his feet but Letters is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Letters trying to control the position from guard on top but Lenders is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lenders is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Letters trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Lenders wants to stand and escape but Letters is having none of it.
Letters works over Lenders with some ground and pound from guard.
Letters throws a big right hand that misses.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lenders swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Lenders misses with a wild combination.
No joy there for Lenders, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Lenders throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lenders swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Letters shoots in and bounces Lenders off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Letters stops Lenders from standing up.
Letters stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Lenders swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Letters stops Lenders from standing up.
Letters working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Lenders is looking to stand up but Letters isn't so interested in that idea.
Letters has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lenders will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Letters shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Letters working for a submission but Lenders is keeping him at bay.
Lenders is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.

Letters jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Lenders manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Letters advances nicely into full mount.

Letters looking to secure an arm triangle but Lenders defends it well.
Letters scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Lenders?
Josh Lenders has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Brock Letters is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Letters looking to control but Lenders is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

And that's the end of the fight!
Brock Letters comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Letters 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brock Letters!