PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rich Harew (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jose Aldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Harew
vs
Aldo

169 cm
22
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
22
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Rich Harew!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jose Aldo!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Wagner Zegers and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harew swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Harew defending well as Aldo loads up on a big left hand.
Aldo has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Aldo lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Harew looks to land a combination. Aldo sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Aldo wants to clinch.

Harew darts in and clinches Aldo up against the cage.
Aldo is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Aldo is trying to stall.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Harew will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Aldo up against the cage.

Aldo successfully pulls guard.
Harew sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

Harew decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Aldo misses with a double jab.
Aldo shoots in and drives through. Harew sprawls well.
Harew lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Harew lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Aldo circles away quickly and effectively.
Harew tries to close the distance and clinch but Aldo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Aldo misses with a wild combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Harew darts in and clinches Aldo up against the cage.
Aldo tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Harew slows down the pace here.
Harew has Aldo pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Aldo manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A frustrated look appears on Aldo's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Harew is trying to push Aldo away but Aldo has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Aldo jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Harew walks away with a smile on his face. Aldo gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Rich Harew has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jose Aldo.
Harew lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Aldo circles away quickly and effectively.
Aldo swinging wildly here.
Harew swinging wildly here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harew throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Harew throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Aldo.
Harew defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Aldo.
Aldo looks gassed!

Harew moves into the clinch.
Harew tries for a takedown. No joy.
Aldo tries to pull guard but Harew won't allow it.
Aldo is pressed up against the cage. Harew has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Aldo down to the mat. Aldo avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Harew throws a nice looking combination but Aldo bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Aldo looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Harew is fending him off so far but Aldo persists. Nope, Harew circles away and we're back to standing.
Harew connects with a right hand. Aldo shakes it off.
Aldo fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Aldo misses with a few strikes there.

Harew drives through and clinches with Aldo against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Harew.
Harew tries to pull guard but Aldo won't allow it.
Aldo is looking to take this one to the mat.
Aldo is trying to break free.
Aldo fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Harew has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aldo has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Harew after a bit of a struggle.
Harew is looking to break free of the clinch but Aldo has double underhooks.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Harew manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Harew uses the cage to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rich Harew dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Harew closes the distance and clinches.
Harew drops down looking for an ankle pick but Aldo pulls his leg out and moves away.
Harew tries to bum rush Aldo with a series of wild strikes but Aldo uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Harew tries to bum rush Aldo with a series of wild strikes but Aldo uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Harew leaves Aldo with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Harew closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Harew blocks an uppercut.
Harew fails to pull guard.
Harew is trying to pull guard but Aldo turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rich Harew. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Aldo fails to pull guard.
Harew has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harew is trying to push Aldo away but Aldo has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Aldo manages to break the clinch.
Aldo misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Harew stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Harew wants it to stay on the feet.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Aldo.
A punch combination from Harew misses.
Harew cracks a nice hook into Aldo's ribs.

Harew moves into the clinch.
Aldo is pressed up against the cage. Harew has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Aldo down to the mat. Aldo avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Harew throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Aldo.
Horrible takedown by Aldo or perhaps it was just good defense by Harew which made him look bad.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Harew closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Aldo tries to break free but Harew pushes him back against the cage.
Aldo tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Harew just stands there and leans against the cage.

Aldo escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Aldo on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Aldo shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Harew as he jumps to the side.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harew lands a two punch combo.
A left and a right from Harew both land. Nice combination.

Harew moves into the clinch.
Harew effectively controlling the action here.
Harew gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Aldo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harew working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Aldo has Harew pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Harew manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Harew is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Harew pulls guard effortlessly.
Aldo postures up.

Harew looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Aldo stopping the sweep attempt from Harew.

Harew is working an open guard so Aldo takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Aldo instigates a clinch.
Harew has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Aldo avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Aldo tries for a takedown. No joy.
Rich Harew has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Aldo breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Aldo moves in looking to clinch but Harew pushes him off.
Aldo tries to close the distance and clinch up but Harew swats him away and circles back towards the center.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Harew has managed to clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Aldo breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Harew throws a series of strikes that have Aldo backpedaling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rich Harew dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Harew misses the shot to the body.
Harew misses with a two punch combination.
Harew misses with a two punch combination.
Aldo tries to clinch but Harew is having none of it.
Aldo misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Aldo misses with a takedown attempt - Harew sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Rich Harew is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Harew lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Aldo backs up against the cage.

Harew clinches up against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Aldo.
Harew is trying to pull guard but Aldo turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Aldo is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The referee is keeping an eye on Harew - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Harew is looking to break free of the clinch but Aldo has double underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Aldo breaks the clinch.
Harew tries to clinch but Aldo moves out of range.
Harew tries to bum rush Aldo with a series of wild strikes but Aldo uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Aldo keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Harew is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Aldo tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Harew paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Aldo has a takedown stuffed.
Harew digs a good hook to Aldo's body.

Aldo gets the takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aldo working away.
Aldo wants to stand but Harew has his arm trapped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aldo throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
You can see the frustration on Harew's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Aldo stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Rich Harew is winning the standup battle so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Harew misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harew avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Aldo shoots in and bounces Harew off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Aldo has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Harew is proving hard to escape from.
Harew will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Harew looking to hit a scissor sweep but Aldo is one step ahead there.
Harew has a closed guard, preventing Aldo from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo preventing the sweep.

Harew is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Jose Aldo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harew has a closed guard, preventing Aldo from standing up.
Harew keeping moving, preventing Aldo from controlling successfully.
Rich Harew is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Aldo throws a strike but Harew rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Jose Aldo.
I think Harew 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rich Harew!