PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Arnold Fortez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Rodrigues (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Fortez
vs
Rodrigues

182 cm
26
182 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

183 cm
25
197 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Arnold Fortez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ricardo Rodrigues!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Wesley Smith and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rodrigues tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Fortez manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Fortez lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Fortez.
Rodrigues with a poor takedown

and Fortez counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Rodrigues!
Fortez controlling the position easily from mount.
Rodrigues can't escape the position.
Rodrigues is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Fortez prevents Rodrigues from getting the reversal.
Rodrigues tries to lock up and control but Fortez gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Fortez is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rodrigues is looking to improve his position but Fortez isn't that keen on the idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodrigues tries to hold on but Fortez pushes him away.
Fortez controlling from the full mount.
Fortez looking to ground and pound but Rodrigues is blocking nicely.
Rodrigues is working to get back to half guard.
Rodrigues is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Rodrigues is looking to get to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Fortez trying to control but Rodrigues is having none of it.
Rodrigues is desperately trying to improve his position but Fortez has a good base and remains in mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues wants to control but Fortez is having none of it.
Rodrigues tries to reverse the position but Fortez maintains control.
Fortez controlling the position easily from mount.
Rodrigues tries to control Fortez's body but Fortez pushes him off. Rodrigues squirms to his side and now Fortez has his back!

Fortez is looking for the choke from the back position but Rodrigues is controlling his hands well.
Fortez is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Rodrigues has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Fortez controlling well, preventing Rodrigues from escaping the position.
Rodrigues trying to control the action but Fortez just sinks the hooks in.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rodrigues tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Fortez stuffs the takedown.
Rodrigues with a lazy takedown attempt
and Fortez counters with a nice uppercut.

Fortez bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rodrigues is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Rodrigues is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Rodrigues gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Arnold Fortez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fortez cracks Rodrigues with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Fortez knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rodrigues on the ground.
Rodrigues is trying to reverse the position but instead Fortez has taken his back - oops!

Rodrigues is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rodrigues breaks Fortez's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rodrigues accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Fortez keeping moving, preventing Rodrigues from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues throws a big right hand that misses.
Rodrigues looking to pass the guard.
Rodrigues is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Rodrigues drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Fortez dives on top into guard.

Rodrigues is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Fortez defends well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues looking to control.
Fortez is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Fortez wants to control from the top but Rodrigues keeps moving.
Rodrigues is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Arnold Fortez has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Fortez tries to clinch but Rodrigues moves away

and Rodrigues counters with a single leg into guard. Fortez didn't expect that.
Rodrigues trying to control the position from guard on top but Fortez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rodrigues is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Rodrigues pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Fortez is keeping the position for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rodrigues trying to control the position from guard on top but Fortez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Rodrigues showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Fortez showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rodrigues.
Rodrigues shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Fortez pinned against the cage. Fortez gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Fortez closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Rodrigues did well to prevent Fortez getting side control.
Fortez seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Rodrigues does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Fortez tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Rodrigues missing with punches from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Fortez is trying to work for a kimura but Rodrigues is defending well.
Rodrigues pushes Fortez off looking to stand but Fortez dives back in and keeps control.
Fortez is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Fortez prevents Rodrigues from getting the reversal.
Fortez putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Fortez tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Rodrigues is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Rodrigues tries to control the position but Fortez now has his back.
Fortez has good solid back control here.
Fortez avoiding Rodrigues 's attempts to control his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Fortez has the hooks in. Rodrigues is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Rodrigues turns into Fortez and is now in his guard.
Rodrigues trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Fortez on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Fortez tries to get out of the position.
Rodrigues postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodrigues pushing down on Fortez's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Rodrigues wants to control but Fortez is keeping him busy.

Rodrigues is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! Fortez is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:36 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Ricardo Rodrigues!