PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vitor Magalhaes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Josh Luke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Josh Luke has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Magalhaes
vs
Luke

189 cm
25
265 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

199 cm
25
265 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Vitor Magalhaes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Josh Luke!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Edson Gomes and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Luke shoots and misses

and Magalhaes counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Luke!
Luke is trying to get back to half guard.
Luke is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Luke is trying to stand back up but Magalhaes is controlling him
Luke tries to roll over but Magalhaes keeps him under control.
Magalhaes seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Luke does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Magalhaes takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Luke wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Vitor Magalhaes wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Magalhaes tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Magalhaes tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Luke shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Magalhaes manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Luke trying to control but Magalhaes is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Luke drops back looking for a leg! Magalhaes is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Magalhaes manages to kick Luke off! Luke jumps back into Magalhaes's guard.

Magalhaes is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Luke defends well.
Magalhaes throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Magalhaes could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Magalhaes is on top in guard.
Magalhaes wants to pass the guard but Luke is keeping the position.
Luke controls Magalhaes momentarily but Magalhaes frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Magalhaes avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Magalhaes showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Luke trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Luke is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Luke is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Magalhaes defends it well.

Luke is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Magalhaes has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luke is trying to control. Magalhaes wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Luke is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Luke looks winded!

Luke is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Magalhaes defends it well.

Luke is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Magalhaes is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Magalhaes keeps control of the position for the meantime.

Luke is trying to work for a kimura but Magalhaes is defending well.
Luke is trying to control the action in half guard but Magalhaes is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Luke tries to pass the half guard into mount. Magalhaes knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Luke is working for a kimura but Magalhaes is defending it quite comfortably.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Josh Luke will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Luke gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Magalhaes counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Magalhaes trying to control but Luke is working from the bottom.
Magalhaes is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Luke is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Magalhaes avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Magalhaes tries to free his leg and advance position but Luke is retaining full guard.

Magalhaes got a little sloppy there for a moment and Luke has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Magalhaes has managed to get both his arms back between Luke's legs - danger averted.
Magalhaes trying to control the position from guard on top but Luke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Vitor Magalhaes just wasn't active enough.
Magalhaes scores with a spinning back kick!
Luke is breathing heavily.
Luke shoots and misses

and Magalhaes counters with a takedown into side control.
Magalhaes advances to full mount.
Luke is trying desperately to improve position.
Magalhaes looking to control and managing it successfully.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Magalhaes stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Magalhaes clinches up with Luke and pushes him back against the cage.
Magalhaes wants to break the clinch but can't.
Magalhaes wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Luke has him pressed against the cage.

Luke successfully pulls guard.
Magalhaes controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Luke wants to sweep but no luck.
Magalhaes wants to control from the top but Luke keeps moving.
Magalhaes controlling from the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Vitor Magalhaes just wasn't active enough.
Luke fails with a takedown attempt.
Vitor Magalhaes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Josh Luke.
Luke tries for a takedown but Magalhaes circles away easily

and Magalhaes counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Luke!
Magalhaes trying to control the position but Luke is working away.
Magalhaes is working Luke over with some ground and pound from side control.
Magalhaes lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Luke down.

Magalhaes is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Luke is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Luke is looking to get back to his feet here but Magalhaes is keeping cool and he's managed to take Luke's back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Magalhaes trying to control.
Magalhaes biding his time, looking for the opening.

Magalhaes working for a choke but Luke is defending well.
A lull in the action here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Magalhaes working for a choke but Luke is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitor Magalhaes dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Luke throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Magalhaes's waist but Magalhaes gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Luke off to one side.
Nice takedown defense from Magalhaes. No joy for Luke on that attempt.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Luke is defended easily by Magalhaes.
Vitor Magalhaes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Josh Luke.
Luke doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Magalhaes counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Luke!

Magalhaes is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Luke knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Magalhaes looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Luke takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Magalhaes lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luke is not content to let Magalhaes control the position.
Magalhaes remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Magalhaes works to advance to full mount. Luke defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Magalhaes lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Luke wants to hold on but Magalhaes pushes him away.
Luke can't escape the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Luke squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Luke that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Magalhaes with shots to the head and body - Luke looks very uncomfortable down there.
Magalhaes controlling from the full mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Luke is squirming around, avoiding Magalhaes's attempts to control the action.
Magalhaes controlling the position easily from mount.
Luke tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Magalhaes avoids the attempt from Luke to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magalhaes content just to control the position here.
Luke wants to control but Magalhaes is having none of it.
Magalhaes in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Luke takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Magalhaes wants to control the pace but Luke is squirming around nicely.
Magalhaes lands a couple of good shots and Luke has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Luke rolls, trying to escape but Magalhaes keeps control of the position.
Oooh a big shot gets through from Magalhaes. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Luke defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Magalhaes's arms.
Luke is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Vitor Magalhaes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Luke is trying to get back to his feet but Magalhaes has full control of the position and if anything, Luke has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Luke wants to escape the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vitor Magalhaes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Magalhaes 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 29:28
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vitor Magalhaes!