PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kristijonas Urlakis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nathan Penn (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.

Urlakis
vs
Penn

185 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kristijonas Urlakis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Nathan Penn!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Matheus Silva and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Urlakis has a takedown stuffed.

Penn decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Urlakis controlling the position well.
It looks like Penn is going to stand back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kristijonas Urlakis wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Urlakis shoots in and gets a takedown into Penn's guard.
Urlakis controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Urlakis thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Penn keeping moving, preventing Urlakis from controlling successfully.
Urlakis is stalling in the full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Urlakis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Urlakis content to stall in guard here.
Urlakis lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Penn looking for a sweep. Not yet Penn, not yet.
Urlakis is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Urlakis stands and steps away. Penn gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Urlakis takes a body punch but keeps moving.

Penn shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Penn trying to control the position from guard on top but Urlakis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Urlakis is pulling down on Penn's head to control his posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Nathan Penn.
Penn digs a good hook to Urlakis's body.
Urlakis fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Urlakis takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Urlakis is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Penn throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Urlakis tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Penn is in Urlakis's guard.
Urlakis manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Penn manages to get himself to full guard.
Urlakis wants to control from the top but Penn keeps moving.

Penn working for a triangle but Urlakis defends it easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Penn looking to hit a scissor sweep but Urlakis is one step ahead there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Urlakis stands and steps away. Penn gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Kristijonas Urlakis will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Penn moves into the clinch.

Penn manages to pull guard.
Penn not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Urlakis's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Penn really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Urlakis. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Penn not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Urlakis won't allow Penn to sweep him here.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Urlakis won't allow Penn to get back to his feet.
Urlakis looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kristijonas Urlakis wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Penn drives through and clinches with Urlakis against the cage.
Urlakis is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Penn lands with a left to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Urlakis has Penn pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Urlakis pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Penn tumbling to the mat - Urlakis dives into Penn's guard.

Urlakis thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Penn is trying to control the position but Urlakis postures up.
Urlakis trying to control the position from guard on top but Penn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Penn wants to get back to his feet but Urlakis is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Urlakis content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Urlakis gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Urlakis gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Penn counters with a nice body kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Penn rushes Urlakis and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Penn working hard to break the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Penn manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Penn tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Urlakis trying to control the position from guard on top but Penn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Penn is trying to keep Urlakis in close.
Urlakis engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Nathan Penn.
Urlakis shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kristijonas Urlakis. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Penn is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Urlakis's half guard.
Penn controlling the pace.
Urlakis tries to roll over but Penn keeps him under control.
Urlakis moves into full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Urlakis keeping moving, preventing Penn from controlling successfully.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Nathan Penn hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Penn fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Urlakis to the ground. Penn is now in Urlakis's guard.
Penn is looking to stand up but Urlakis won't let him.
Penn working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Penn trying to control but Urlakis is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Penn 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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Penn throws a head kick but Urlakis moves out of range.
Urlakis shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Penn defends it nicely.

Penn looking to score a takedown here. Urlakis is defending well but Penn drives through and ends up in Urlakis's guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Urlakis is on top in guard.
Urlakis trying to control but Penn is working from the bottom.
Penn controls Urlakis momentarily but Urlakis frees himself.
Urlakis trying to control the position from guard on top but Penn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Urlakis gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Urlakis closes the distance and clinches up with Penn, looking for a takedown. Urlakis pushes Penn against the cage but Penn circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Penn chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Penn closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Urlakis has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Penn uses from the top position.
Penn wants to stand but Urlakis is controlling his posture from full guard.
Penn is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn trying to control but Urlakis is working from the bottom.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Nathan Penn hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Penn shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Penn trying to pass the guard but Urlakis defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Penn is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Urlakis still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Urlakis has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Penn is trying to get back to half guard.

Urlakis is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Penn has escaped the position, nice work there.
Penn can't do much from the bottom here.
Urlakis creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Urlakis advances to full mount.
The referee warns Penn that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Urlakis trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Penn is trying to escape the mount but Urlakis keeps good control and instead manages to take Penn's back.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Urlakis is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Penn knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Penn for a finish.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Urlakis struggling to keep hold of the position.

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 Kristijonas Urlakis.
I think Urlakis 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:29
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!