PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Guilherme Fonseca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cesar James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cesar James struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 186.7lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Fonseca
vs
James

185 cm
22
185 lbs
8 - 6 - 1

188 cm
24
200 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
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 8 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Guilherme Fonseca!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Cesar James!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Saam Ante and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fonseca shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. James defends it nicely.
Fonseca is trying hard to land a takedown here. James sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Fonseca tries to score a power double leg takedown but James sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Fonseca somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Guilherme Fonseca. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Fonseca shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Fonseca working the head and body with strikes.
James trying to control from the bottom.
Well, if Fonseca is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
James on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fonseca lands with a punch from half guard.
Fonseca looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks James with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Fonseca has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Fonseca controlling the action here.
Fonseca working James over with strikes.
Fonseca with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Guilherme Fonseca wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Fonseca shoots in for a double leg but James sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
No luck for Fonseca with that takedown attempt.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Fonseca dives in and grabs James's left leg, looking for a takedown. James pushes down on Fonseca's head and hops out.
James throws a right and a left that both miss.
Fonseca shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as James sprawls well. James wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Fonseca gets slowly back to his feet.
No luck for Fonseca with that takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Fonseca shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Fonseca showed some decent athleticism there.
Fonseca slips a nice elbow through James's hands, connecting with James's forehead.
James is looking to control Fonseca's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can James avoid being mounted?
Fonseca slows the pace down in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Fonseca feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
James wants to stand and escape but Fonseca is having none of it.
Fonseca sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
James looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Fonseca is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Guilherme Fonseca dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Fonseca is defended easily by James.
Fonseca shoots in for a double leg but James sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Fonseca fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Guilherme Fonseca. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Left hook, right uppercut from James.
Fonseca shoots for a takedown but James saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
James getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Fonseca avoids a kick to the body.
Fonseca shoots in looking for a takedown. James tries to sprawl out of it but Fonseca keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. James manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Fonseca shoots in but James avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Guilherme Fonseca seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Fonseca throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around James's waist but James gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Fonseca off to one side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Fonseca fails with a takedown attempt.

Fonseca scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
James tries to bench press Fonseca off him but Fonseca keeps the position.
Fonseca controlling from side mount.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if James can do anything to dispel that myth.
James tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Fonseca presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Fonseca working the ground and pound effectively.
Fonseca with good strikes from the mount here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
James wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
BOOM! Fonseca connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Fonseca landing strikes from the mount and James is in trouble!
James is wriggling around trying to escape.
Guilherme Fonseca overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fonseca landing strikes from the mount and James is in trouble!
Fonseca trying to control but James is having none of it.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
James is really trying hard to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fonseca lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

James is rocked!
James takes a big shot to the dome and his eyes have rolled back in his head! Fonseca's killer instinct has kicked in as he finishes the fight with more strikes. Impressive finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:34 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Guilherme Fonseca!
An out of breath Guilherme Fonseca thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.