PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Efrain Vasquez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gray Maynard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maynard has chosen Madcon Beggin as his entrance music. Gray Maynard is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Vasquez
vs
Maynard

170 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

173 cm
23
155 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight 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, Efrain Vasquez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Gray Maynard!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Edson Gomes and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Maynard closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Vasquez is letting Maynard control him for a moment.
Maynard in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Maynard landing a few strikes.
Vasquez tries to buck Maynard off but Maynard is having none of it.
Maynard lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Vasquez down.
Vasquez prevents Maynard from moving into mount.
Vasquez sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Vasquez trying to control from the bottom.
Vasquez taking some punishment here, with Maynard in his half guard.
Vasquez avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Maynard.
Maynard working the head and body with strikes.
Maynard not doing much here.
Maynard stops Vasquez from getting back to his feet.
Vasquez wants to control but Maynard is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vasquez is looking for a sweep. Maynard is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Maynard is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Maynard trying to control the action but Vasquez is working from the bottom.
Vasquez keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Maynard seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Vasquez wants to improve his position but Maynard is controlling well.
Still in half guard, Maynard seems content to control.

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.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gray Maynard.
Vasquez stuffs the takedown.
Gray Maynard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Vasquez has his takedown stuffed

and Maynard decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Vasquez's guard.
Maynard sitting in guard here, content to control.
Maynard in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Vasquez wants to sweep but no luck.
Maynard controlling from the top position.
Vasquez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vasquez keeping moving, preventing Maynard from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vasquez can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Maynard controls the pace.
Maynard really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Vasquez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gray Maynard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vasquez is adopting a defensive guard.
Maynard stopping the sweep attempt from Vasquez.
Vasquez is breathing heavily.
Vasquez is trying to control the position but Maynard postures up.
Maynard wants to control from the top but Vasquez keeps moving.
Maynard showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Maynard stands up over Vasquez, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Maynard is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gray Maynard dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Vasquez throws a series of punches but Maynard avoids them all with ease.

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

Vasquez turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Vasquez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Maynard keeps working.

Vasquez is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Maynard knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Maynard holding on.
Maynard can't do much from the bottom here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Vasquez working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maynard struggling a bit here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Maynard shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Maynard keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Maynard is nestled in close to Vasquez, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Maynard thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Maynard not doing much here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Maynard has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Maynard takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Maynard in particular looking to stall.
Vasquez is trying to control but can't.
Maynard controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gray Maynard.

Maynard feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Maynard working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Maynard content to stall in guard here.
Maynard wants to control from the top but Vasquez keeps moving.
Maynard is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Gray Maynard has got the better of the ground game so far.
Maynard prevents Vasquez from getting back to his feet.
Maynard controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maynard trying to control but Vasquez is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gray Maynard.
Vasquez looks for the body kick but Maynard saw that one coming.
Efrain Vasquez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Vasquez gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Maynard counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Vasquez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vasquez wants to stand and escape but Maynard is having none of it.
Maynard is stalling in the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gray Maynard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Vasquez gets caught flat footed, as Maynard shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Maynard not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Maynard postures up in Vasquez's guard and throws a big left but Vasquez blocks it.
Maynard controls from within his opponent's guard.
Vasquez looking for a sweep. Not yet Vasquez, not yet.
Vasquez working a defensive guard here.
Maynard showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gray Maynard.
Maynard dives in and grabs Vasquez's left leg, looking for a takedown. Vasquez pushes down on Maynard's head and hops out.

Vasquez gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Maynard postures up in Vasquez's guard and throws a big left but Vasquez blocks it.
Maynard must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Vasquez had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Maynard defends it easily.
Maynard missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Maynard postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maynard distracts Vasquez with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Vasquez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Maynard throwing strikes but missing.
Maynard sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Maynard trying to control but Vasquez is working from the bottom.
Vasquez looking for a sweep. Not yet Vasquez, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maynard's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Vasquez looking to control.
Maynard controlling from the top position.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gray Maynard.

Maynard closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Vasquez to the mat! Vasquez manages to get full guard.
Maynard sitting in guard here, content to control.
Vasquez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Maynard content to stall in guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maynard is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Maynard lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Maynard is in close to Vasquez's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Maynard postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Maynard is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Maynard is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Maynard controls from within his opponent's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gray Maynard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Maynard 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gray Maynard!