PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Giba Negrao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pedro Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Negrao
vs
Santos

198 cm
26
204 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

180 cm
19
202 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

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 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Giba Negrao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pedro Santos!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Marco Blurström and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Santos misses with a takedown
and Negrao counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Negrao scores with a takedown into Santos's guard.
Santos pulls Negrao in close to his closed guard and prevents Negrao from doing any damage or advancing position.
Negrao will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Negrao pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Santos is keeping the position for now.
Santos is trying to control the position but Negrao postures up.
Santos keeping moving, preventing Negrao from controlling successfully.
Negrao lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Negrao trying to control but Santos is working from the bottom.
Negrao trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Negrao postures up.
Negrao has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Negrao preventing the sweep.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Santos misses with a takedown attempt

and Negrao counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Santos tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Negrao sitting in guard here, content to control.
Negrao loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Negrao looking to sit in guard and control but Santos gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Santos got a little sloppy there for a moment and Negrao has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Santos has managed to get both his arms back between Negrao's legs - danger averted.
Negrao utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Negrao working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Santos.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Santos is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Negrao looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Santos preventing the sweep.
Santos looking to pass the guard.
Negrao utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Santos with a flurry of punches that miss.
Negrao keeping full guard, as Santos tries to pass.

Negrao is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Negrao has his foot on Santos's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Santos works his way back into a safe position though.
Santos throws a big right hand that misses.
Santos wants to control from the top but Negrao keeps moving.
Negrao pulls Santos in close to his closed guard and prevents Santos from doing any damage or advancing position.

Negrao has his foot on Santos's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Santos works his way back into a safe position though.
Santos throwing strikes but missing.
Santos throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos wants to control from the top but Negrao keeps moving.
Santos throwing strikes from guard but Negrao blocks nicely.
Santos trying to control but Negrao is working from the bottom.
Santos lands a couple of elbows.
Santos working some strikes from top position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Santos wants to pass the guard but Negrao is keeping the position.
Santos scoring with punches to the head and body.

Negrao working for a triangle but Santos defends it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Giba Negrao dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Negrao shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Negrao scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Santos is trying to get back to full guard.
Negrao lands strikes from half guard.
Santos really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Negrao. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Santos trying to control from the bottom.
Negrao missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Santos is staying active underneath Negrao, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Santos is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos blocking the ground and pound attempt from Negrao.

Santos pushes Negrao off and gets back to his feet.

Santos closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Negrao quickly recovers to half guard.
Negrao manages to get to full guard.
Santos postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Santos stays in close to Negrao's body and controls the position.
Santos stands and throws Negrao's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Negrao managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Santos.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Negrao is trying to control Santos's posture but Santos avoids it.
Santos trying to control the position but Negrao is working away.
Negrao manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

Santos looking for submissions off his back.
Giba Negrao overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Santos punching from the bottom.
Ground and pound from Negrao.
Negrao throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Negrao missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos tries to roll over but Negrao keeps him under control.
Negrao throws a strike but Santos avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Negrao working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Negrao pushing down on Santos's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Negrao is nestled in close to Santos, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Negrao trying to control from half guard but Santos is working away.
Santos tries to get to full guard but Negrao has control of the leg.
Negrao wants to lay and pray for a moment but Santos keeps working.
Negrao working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Negrao wants to free his trapped foot but Santos is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Santos is looking for a sweep. Negrao is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Santos holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Santos trying to control from the bottom.
Santos blocking the ground and pound attempt from Negrao.
Negrao thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Santos's head.
Negrao lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Santos tries to roll over but Negrao keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Giba Negrao dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Negrao misses with a takedown attempt

and Santos counters with a takedown into side control.
Negrao is not content to let Santos control the position.
Santos lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Negrao throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.
Negrao is looking to regain half guard here but Santos keeps moving and retains side control.
Santos working the ground and pound from side control.
Negrao tries to improve position but can't.
Check out the look on Santos's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Negrao manages to get back to half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Santos misses with a head shot. Negrao uses the momentum to regain guard.
Santos passes into half guard.
Santos with the ground and pound but Negrao uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Santos trying to control but Negrao is working from the bottom.
Negrao is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Negrao working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Santos doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Santos manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Negrao is trying to control the position but Santos postures up.
Santos throws and elbow that misses. Negrao uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Santos's guard. Nice move by Negrao!
Negrao advances position into side control!
Negrao working the head and body with strikes.
Santos keeps Negrao under control for a moment.
Santos is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Negrao off and has taken his back!

Santos looking to break Negrao's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Negrao remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Santos will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos is looking to control Negrao but Negrao is wriggling around and keeping busy.

Negrao preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Santos.
Negrao manages to reverse the position and now he's in Santos's guard. Nice work there by Negrao.

Negrao thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Santos striking from the bottom.
Negrao forces his way into half guard.
Negrao prevents Santos from improving his position.

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.
Santos is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Negrao's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Negrao's back!
Negrao is trying to remain composed but Santos is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Negrao covering up well and avoiding damage.
Santos lands strikes to the head.
Negrao manages to reverse the position and now he's in Santos's guard. Nice work there by Negrao.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Negrao postures up in Santos's guard and throws a big left but Santos blocks it.
Pedro Santos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Giba Negrao is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Santos throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pedro Santos comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Negrao has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Giba Negrao!