PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sergio Melo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Taken Ya Down (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Melo
vs
Ya Down

186 cm
23
196 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

190 cm
29
201 lbs
11 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Charlie Wang's Tattered Rags & 95% Laundry

- - - - - All Nutrients 160 - - - - -

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 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Sergio Melo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Taken Ya Down!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Yves DeLean and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Melo misses with a body shot.
Melo walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Ya Down checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Ya Down throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Ya Down is defended easily by Melo.
Melo throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Ya Down on the side of the head.
Melo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ya Down.
Melo moves away from the strike by Ya Down.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ya Down.
Ya Down takes one on the button.
Melo stuffs the takedown.
Sergio Melo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Taken Ya Down.
Nice jab there from Ya Down.
Ya Down throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Melo counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Taken Ya Down seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ya Down looks to score with a jab to the body but Melo is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melo misses with a straight right.
Melo tries to land a front kick but Ya Down steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Sergio Melo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Melo lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A combination from Melo does no damage.
Melo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ya Down looks to land a left hand but Melo moved out of range nicely.
Melo ducks under a wild hook from Ya Down.
Melo buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Ya Down dips to his left and cracks Melo with an uppercut!
Ya Down throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Melo throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ya Down sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Melo throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Ya Down throws a body punch but Melo moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melo staying out of range there.
Ya Down throws out a loose jab but Melo uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ya Down looks to score with a jab to the body but Melo is just out of range.
Melo throws a body punch but Ya Down moves out of range.
Ya Down swings for the body but Melo moves out of range.
Ya Down blocks a leg kick.
Ya Down waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Melo.
Ya Down on the wrong end of a nice hook.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ya Down misses with the combination.
Ya Down lands a slapping body shot.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Ya Down.
Melo avoids the body shot from Ya Down.
Ya Down looks to score with a jab to the body but Melo is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melo throws a leg kick but Ya Down moved away.
Ya Down misses the shot to the body.

Ya Down scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Melo is controlling Ya Down's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Ya Down trying to control from half guard but Melo is working away.
Melo is trying to maintain the position but Ya Down is very close to passing his half guard.
Melo is refusing to be controlled, as Ya Down sits in half guard.
Ya Down prevents Melo from improving his position.
Melo trying to control from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sergio Melo has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Ya Down swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
No joy there for Ya Down, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Melo scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Ya Down doesn't seem bothered though.
Melo throws a leg kick but Ya Down sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Melo misses with a right hand
and Ya Down counters with a left to the body.
Melo takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Melo showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ya Down.
Melo keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ya Down fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Ya Down is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Melo rather than just go for the knockout.
Melo ducks under a wild hook from Ya Down.
Melo 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Taken Ya Down will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ya Down swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Taken Ya Down seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Melo throws a leg kick that is checked
and Ya Down counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A bone on bone clash there as Ya Down blocks the leg kick.
Melo pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Melo throws a shot from downtown. Ya Down moves away and avoids it.
Ya Down swings for the body but Melo moves out of range.
Ya Down misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Melo counters with an inside leg kick.

Ya Down shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Ya Down throws an elbow that misses. Melo uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ya Down's guard. Nice move by Melo!
Melo being controlled here momentarily.
Melo controlling from the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ya Down not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Melo drops back, looking for a kneebar! Ya Down looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Ya Down looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Ya Down!
An elbow from Ya Down crashes against the mat.
Ya Down working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Ya Down are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Melo is trying to control Ya Down's posture but Ya Down avoids it.
Ya Down misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Melo is looking to reverse the position.
Ya Down lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Ya Down working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Ya Down tries to move into full mount but can't pass Melo's legs.
Ya Down working the ground and pound but Melo is defending the strikes.
You can see the frustration on Melo's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Ya Down are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Ya Down postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Melo wants to control but Ya Down postures up.
Melo on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Ya Down scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Melo to see if he's OK.
Melo has one of Ya Down's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.
Ya Down is looking to take a break and control but Melo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
You can see the frustration on Melo's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melo takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Melo is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ya Down thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Melo's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ya Down working Melo over with strikes.
Melo preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Ya Down looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Melo with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ya Down is looking to take a break and control but Melo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ya Down thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Melo's head.
Ya Down not doing much here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Taken Ya Down showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Ya Down swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ya Down takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Melo blocks a jab.
A big left from Ya Down misses.
Melo tries to land a leg kick but Ya Down saw it coming and moves away.
A slow jab from Melo misses its intended target.
Ya Down connects with a body shot that sends Melo's belly button to the back.
Ya Down just misses with a punch to the body.
Ya Down misses with a wild body shot.
Ya Down cracks Melo with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Ya Down swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ya Down connects with a nice looking jab.
Ya Down blocks a jab.
Ya Down throws an overhand right that lands on Melo's shoulder, as Melo tries to avoid the shot.
Melo throws a low kick but Ya Down moves out of range easily.
Ya Down throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Melo's waist but Melo gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ya Down off to one side.
Melo delivers a nice body kick.
Melo throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Melo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Melo keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ya Down on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Melo. Melo obviously looking to wear him down.
Melo avoids the body shot from Ya Down.
Melo throws a leg kick but Ya Down sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Melo throws a leg kick which misses Ya Down's front leg but catches the back leg as Ya Down tries to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ya Down shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Melo manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Melo trying to control the position.
Taken Ya Down has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ya Down loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ya Down looking to sit in guard and control but Melo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Ya Down keeping moving, preventing Melo from controlling successfully.
Ya Down has a closed guard, preventing Melo from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ya Down wants to sweep here but Melo controlling him for the moment.
Ya Down is striking but Melo is not phased and passes to half guard.

Melo is looking for a kimura but Ya Down is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Melo to get the leverage.

Melo is working for a submission of some sort.
Melo prevents Ya Down from improving his position.
Sergio Melo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Melo is looking for a kimura here.
Ya Down is staying active underneath Melo, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Taken Ya Down is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ya Down tries to roll over but Melo keeps him under control.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Sergio Melo.
Well Ya Down has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 29:29
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Taken Ya Down!