PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between DeAngelo White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Wanderlei Watanabe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). White comes to the cage accompanied by Headstrong. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

White
vs
Watanabe

195 cm
19
200 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

177 cm
26
185 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, DeAngelo White!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Wanderlei Watanabe!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, George Francis and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some wild striking there from White.
White throws a hook but Watanabe blocks it.
White misses with a two punch combination.
Watanabe avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
DeAngelo White seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
White loads up on a big right hand but Watanabe slips the punch.
A chopping leg kick lands by Watanabe.
White throws a hook to the side of Watanabe's head but Watanabe sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nice body punch from White.
White misses with a looping right.
Watanabe throws a solid leg kick but White takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Watanabe.
Watanabe misses with a leg kick.
A jab from White misses.
Watanabe fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but White is out of range.
Good standup being displayed there by White as he connects with a hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
White swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Watanabe counters with a thumping low kick.

White feints and as Watanabe raises his hands in defense, White changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
White postures up in Watanabe's guard and throws a big left but Watanabe blocks it.
White scoring with punches to the head and body.
Watanabe not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Watanabe preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
White controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Watanabe is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Watanabe is trying to control the position from the bottom.
White will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Wanderlei Watanabe has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
White throws a looping overhand right but Watanabe ducks down to avoid it.
Watanabe does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
White misses with a left hand
and Watanabe counters with a leg kick.
Watanabe looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
A big left from White misses.
Watanabe scoring well with a low kick there.
White missing with a left hand there. Watanabe was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
White misses with a series of wild punches.
A good leg kick by Watanabe.
Wanderlei Watanabe is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Watanabe ducks under a wild hook from White.
Watanabe finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
White checks a low kick from Watanabe.
A slow jab from White misses its intended target.
Watanabe is looking to chop away at White's legs.
White misses with a straight right.
White throws an overhand right that lands on Watanabe's shoulder, as Watanabe tries to avoid the shot.
White throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A slapping leg kick lands for Watanabe.
Watanabe keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Watanabe defending well as White loads up on a big left hand.
White throws a series of punches but Watanabe moves out of range.
Watanabe misses with a low kick.
White on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White checks a low kick from Watanabe.
White throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
White stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Watanabe.

White shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Watanabe not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Watanabe looking to hit a scissor sweep but White is one step ahead there.
White postures up.
White stands and throws Watanabe's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Watanabe is not content to let White control the position.
White scores with a couple of short elbows.
White scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Watanabe to see if he's OK.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
White working the ground and pound from side control.
White working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
White creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Watanabe is trying to get back to half guard.

White thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Watanabe sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
White looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Watanabe with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Watanabe has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. White is working away from the top position though.
White is keen to just control but Watanabe is a slippery customer.
White working over Watanabe with some ground and pound. Watanabe looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
White controlling the action here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

DeAngelo White 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.

Watanabe connects with a solid leg kick.
Watanabe throws a chopping leg kick but White manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Watanabe cracks the inside of White's front leg.
White waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Watanabe.
Watanabe keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from White.
White loads up on a big right hand but Watanabe slips the punch.
Watanabe blocks a jab.
White throws the left hand but Watanabe avoids the punch easily.
White rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Watanabe moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
White is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
White throws out a loose jab but Watanabe uses good head movement to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Watanabe keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A big left from White misses.
Nice defenses there by Watanabe.
White is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
White misses with a hook.
Watanabe is looking to chop away at White's legs.
White chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Watanabe can pounce on him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe moves out of range as White strikes.
Watanabe throws a low kick but White moves out of range easily.
White misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
White misses with the combination.
White misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Watanabe.
Watanabe throws a low kick but White avoids it.
White missing with a left hand there. Watanabe was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Donk. White catches Watanabe right on the button with a cross.
Watanabe throws a nice outside leg kick.
Watanabe throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
White misses with a wild combination.

White shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Watanabe is trying to defend but White finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Watanabe pushes White off looking to stand but White dives back in and keeps control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Watanabe with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Watanabe wants to control but White is keeping busy.
White scoring with strikes to the body and head.
White thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
White winds up and cracks Watanabe with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
White trying to pass the guard but Watanabe defending well.
White not landing any meaningful shots this time.
White working the head and body with strikes.
White working Watanabe over with strikes.
Watanabe avoiding damage under a succession of punches from White.
White throwing shots but Watanabe is blocking nicely.
Watanabe pushes White off looking to stand but White dives back in and keeps control.
White landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Watanabe is trying to maintain the position but White is very close to passing his half guard.
White prevents Watanabe from improving his position.
Watanabe on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Watanabe is not content to let White control the position.
Ground and pound from White.
White missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
White sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Watanabe defending well though.
Watanabe tries to kick White off but White keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
White missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
White missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
White slips a nice elbow through Watanabe's hands, connecting with Watanabe's forehead.

White is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Watanabe doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time White.
White lands strikes from half guard.
White takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Watanabe is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Watanabe on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
White looks to land a strike but Watanabe avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
White is looking to work some ground and pound but Watanabe has wrist control.
Watanabe utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

DeAngelo White dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

A chopping leg kick lands by Watanabe.
White throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Watanabe counters with a nice low kick that buckles White's knee momentarily.
Watanabe blocks a jab.
Watanabe looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
White checks a leg kick.
Watanabe will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Watanabe misses with a low kick as White jumps back.
Watanabe slips under a jab.
Watanabe attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
White chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Watanabe can pounce on him.
A good leg kick by Watanabe.
White throws the left hand but Watanabe avoids the punch easily.
No joy there for White, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Watanabe walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. White checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Watanabe, right into the meat.
Watanabe displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as White throws out the jab.
Watanabe takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watanabe throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
The fighters circling - White throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Watanabe looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Watanabe misses with a low kick.
Watanabe buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Watanabe throws a nice inside leg kick.
White is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Watanabe throws a nice outside leg kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
White rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Watanabe moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

White closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Watanabe to the mat! Watanabe manages to get full guard.
White postures up.
Watanabe is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
White is trying to control but Watanabe passes into side control!
DeAngelo White is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
DeAngelo White overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watanabe has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Watanabe looking to control but White is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
White keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White wants to hold on but Watanabe pushes him away.
Watanabe is looking to work his way around to White's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.
White tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Watanabe can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as White is looking to escape.

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.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Watanabe is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Wanderlei Watanabe comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think White 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... DeAngelo White!