PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rodrigo Rios (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Frost (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rios comes to the cage accompanied by Insane in the Membrane. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Rios
vs
Frost

161 cm
22
147 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

196 cm
22
157 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Syndicate Drugs
Blaze Ronin Street Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rodrigo Rios!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, James Frost!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Daniel Cesar and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rios misses with a body kick.
Frost scoring well with a low kick there.

Rios moves into the clinch.
Frost jumps guard but Rios stands there with Frost around his waist. Frost gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Rios misses with a knee strike.
Frost tries to score a body lock takedown but Rios shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Rios with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Frost drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Rios gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Rodrigo Rios has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Frost.
Rios is pressed up against the cage. Frost has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Rios down to the mat. Rios avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Frost misses with a takedown attempt - Rios sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Rios throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Rios scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Rios misses with a wild combination.
Frost moves out of range of the body kick from Rios.
Rios throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Frost goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Frost tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Rios swivels and escapes.
Frost keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Rios keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Frost looks gassed!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Frost closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rios circles away.
Rios misses with a body kick.
Frost tries a low kick but Rios avoids it.
Rios throws a head kick but Frost moves out of range.

Rios takes the fight into the clinch.

Rios escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Frost slips a jab from Rios.
Frost fails to land the takedown.
Frost chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Rios can pounce on him.
Rios throws a sloppy head kick
and Frost makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Rodrigo Rios is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rios on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Frost. Frost obviously looking to wear him down.
Frost looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rios is fending him off so far but Frost persists. Nope, Rios circles away and we're back to standing.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Frost.
Rios lands a jab to the nose.
Frost shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rios throws a head kick that lands with a deafening thwack! The crowd roars as Frost stumbles backwards and falls to the mat. Rios follows into mount!

Frost is rocked!
Rios controlling the pace for now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Frost is looking to get to half guard.
Rios controlling from mount.
Frost tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Frost is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rios controlling from the full mount.

Rios has control of Frost's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Frost regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Frost wants to control but Rios is having none of it.
Rios sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Frost working to try and regain half guard.
Rios tries to control but Frost wriggling away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodrigo Rios 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.

Rios misses with a kick to the body.
Rios pivots, looking for a leg kick but Frost is out of range and Rios settles back down.
Rios swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rios tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Frost paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Frost shoots in but no luck this time.
Frost tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
No luck for Frost with that takedown attempt.
Rios is looking to land body kicks.
Frost closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rios circles away.
Rodrigo Rios has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Frost.
Rios looks to land a combination but Frost avoids it well.
Rios misses with a looping right.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rios moves into the clinch.
Frost tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Rios smiles and moves away.
Frost avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Rios tries a head kick but it misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Frost will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Frost is breathing heavily.
Rios throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rios misses with a few strikes there.
Rios is looking to slow Frost down with leg kicks.
Frost will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rios jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Frost misses with a straight left.

Rios forces Frost back against the cage and clinches.
Rios lands a shoulder strike.

Rios breaks the clinch.
Rios looks to land a combination but Frost avoids it well.
Rios pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Rios's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Rios duly obliges.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rios looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Rios darts in and clinches Frost up against the cage.

Rios breaks the clinch.
Rios misses with a body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rios throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Frost's head.
Frost is still on wobbly legs! Can Rios finish him?
Rios moves in looking to clinch but Frost pushes him off.
Frost seems to have recovered his senses.
Rios tries to land a front kick but Frost steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Frost avoids a punch combination nicely.
Frost fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A head kick misses from Rios.
Rios stuffs the takedown attempt from Frost. Frost gets slowly back to his feet.
Frost closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rios circles away.
Frost scores with a shot to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rios misses with a kick to the body.
Rios throws a predictable looking body shot
and Frost counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Rios is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Rios swinging wilding here.
Frost fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Rios tries to land a front kick but Frost steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rios is looking to slow Frost down with leg kicks.
Frost fails with a takedown attempt.
A head kick lands from Rios that sends Frost to the canvas. Frost tries to scramble back to his feet but Rios brings him back down into side control.
Rios working the head and body with strikes.
You can see the frustration on Frost's face as Rios controls the position.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Rios here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

Rios stands up.
Rios misses with a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rios lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rios looks to throw a body kick
and Frost finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Frost closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rios circles away.
Frost tries for a takedown but Rios sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Rios looks to land a body kick but Frost moved away.
Frost fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Rios attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Frost bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Horrible takedown by Frost or perhaps it was just good defense by Rios which made him look bad.
Frost blocks a head kick by Rios.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rios throws a head kick but Frost moves out of range.
A combination from Rios does no damage.
Frost lands a nice shot to the body.
Some wild striking there from Rios.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodrigo Rios dominated that second round.
That's time! Rios's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Frost misses with a takedown attempt - Rios sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Rios connects with a solid leg kick.
Nice sprawl there from Rios as Frost shoots in.
Rios keeps Frost at a distance using the push kick.
Nice body kick there by Rios.
Rios lands with a thumping leg kick.
Rios swinging wilding here.
Frost fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Rodrigo Rios has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Frost.
Frost looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Frost tries to clinch there but Rios circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rios misses the jab.
Frost plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Rios is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Rios's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Frost tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rios has taken the fight to the clinch.
Rios manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Rios is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Rios breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Frost shoots in looking for a takedown. Rios tries to sprawl out of it but Frost keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rios manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Rios scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Frost fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Frost swats away the attempt to clinch by Rios.

Rios closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Frost drops down looking for an ankle pick but Rios pulls his leg out and moves away.
Rios misses with a few strikes there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Frost shoots in but no luck this time.
Rios tries to clinch there but Frost circles away.
Rios fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rodrigo Rios is winning the standup battle so far.
Frost is looking to clinch.
Frost shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rios but Rios pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Frost fails with the takedown.
Frost avoids a kick to the body.
Rios finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Rios throws the kick towards the body but Frost avoids it.
Frost moves in looking to clinch but Rios pushes him off.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rios looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Frost fails in his attempt to clinch.
Frost shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rios but Rios pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rios misses with an uppercut. Frost saw that one coming.
Rios pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Frost gets a takedown into half guard.
Rios is holding on to half guard well.
Rios won't allow Frost to pass to mount.
Frost is stalling here. Rios is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Frost seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Rios has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Frost tries to bench press Rios off him but Rios keeps the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rios working the body and head with strikes.
Rios in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Frost tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Rios wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
You can see the frustration on Frost's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Frost throws a low kick, looking for Rios's leg but Rios calmly moves out of range.
James Frost has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Frost bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
A shot to the body from Rios misses
and Frost counters with a nice body shot.
A head kick by Rios misses
and Frost makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Rios really felt that one!
A solid leg kick lands there for Frost.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rios blocks the body kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rodrigo Rios showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rios has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rodrigo Rios!