PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Al an (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sergio Melo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sergio Melo told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

an
vs
Melo

185 cm
28
195 lbs
16 - 7 - 0

186 cm
30
196 lbs
16 - 10 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Very quick

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 16 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Al an!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 10 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sergio Melo!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Chris Downing and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Melo takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
an fails with a takedown attempt.
Melo lands with a good body shot.
Melo misses with a low kick.
an pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
an misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
an misses with a straight right.
Melo attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
an scores with a crisp jab that stopped Melo in his tracks.
an misses with a leg kick
and Melo counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Melo's hands are dropping dangerously low here and an connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Melo scrambles back to his feet.
an tries to score a power double leg takedown but Melo sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten an somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Al an. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melo motions for an to come forward. Melo throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
an wants to slow Melo down by chopping away at his legs.
an scores with a nice right hand.
Melo defends well against a solid takedown attempt from an.
Al an seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
an throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
an takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

Melo lands a big head kick that sends an tumbling to the mat! Melo takes a step backwards and waves an back to his feet - he wants the finish!

an is rocked!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Melo lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Melo throws a head kick that misses.
Sergio Melo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Melo is looking to land body kicks.
Melo moves out of range of the strikes.

an decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
an seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
an wants to take a breather but Melo is having none of it.
Nice strikes from an there.
an slips a nice elbow through Melo's hands, connecting with Melo's forehead.
an is looking to take a break and control but Melo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fighters are battling for position here. Melo manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
an stopping the sweep attempt from Melo.
Melo working a defensive guard but an manages to pass into side control anyway.
an working the head and body with strikes.
an misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
an working the body and head with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
an passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Melo!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Melo is in all sorts of trouble here.
an working Melo over with strikes here.
Melo is looking to improve his position but an isn't that keen on the idea.
an lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Melo sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
an thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Melo's head.
an is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
an scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Melo is pressing down on an's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
an throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
an working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Melo's head.
Melo wants to sweep here but an controlling him for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Melo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
an with a flurry of punches that miss.
an postures up and lands a big shot to Melo's brow.
an with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
an postures up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells an's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
an throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Melo throws his legs up looking for a submission but an uses it to pass to side control.
an lands some shots froms side control.
Melo looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Melo manages to work his way to half guard, despite an's best efforts.
an lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
an throwing shots but Melo is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Al an dominated that round.
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.

an pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Melo gets caught flat footed, as an shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
an working some strikes from top position.
Melo is pulling down on an's head. It's preventing any offense from an, at least for the moment.
an lands a couple of elbows.
an preventing the sweep.
Melo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
an distracts Melo with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
an distracts Melo with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
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!
Melo working a defensive guard but an passes into half guard.
an working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Melo's thigh. Melo counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Melo looking to hit a scissor sweep but an is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melo is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Melo looking for a sweep. Not yet Melo, not yet.
Melo is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Al an overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Melo working a defensive guard but an passes into half guard.
an thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
an is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melo works his way to full guard. Good work.
an with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Melo is trying to control the position but an postures up.
an is working Melo over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Melo working a defensive guard here.
Melo bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in an's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
an keeping full guard, as Melo tries to pass.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Melo accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Melo looking to pass the guard.
an seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Melo throws a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as an works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
an bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Melo's guard.
Melo wants to get back to his feet but an is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Melo seems keen to control an's posture.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Melo is on top in guard.
Melo throwing strikes but missing.
an is trying to control the position but Melo postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melo looking to sit in guard and control but an gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Melo working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from an.
Melo trying to control the position.
an is in close to Melo's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Melo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as an accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
an trying to control but Melo is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

an got a little sloppy there for a moment and Melo has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, an has managed to get both his arms back between Melo's legs - danger averted.
an working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Melo's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Al an dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

an drives through with a takedown into Melo's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
an with a flurry of punches that miss.
an stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Melo swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Melo is looking for a triangle here but an uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Melo parries the strikes from an easily there. an is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Melo to escape.
an landing a few strikes.
Melo gets back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
an blocks the strikes from Melo.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
an lands strikes from half guard.
Melo gets full guard.
Melo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melo controls an momentarily but an frees himself.
an scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Melo avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
an is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Melo is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
an postures up in Melo's guard and throws a big left but Melo blocks it.
an is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Melo looking for a guillotine here but an defends easily.
an chips away with some ground and pound.
Sergio Melo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish 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.
Melo is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Melo preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Melo is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Melo has his foot on an's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. an works his way back into a safe position though.
an scoring with some ground and pound.
an postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Melo holds on and takes a little breather.
Melo wants to stand but an is controlling the position.

Melo looking for submissions from the bottom but instead an passes into side control.
Melo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Melo struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
an 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 is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked an off and has taken his back!
an trying to control but not successfully.
an breaks Melo's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
an postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
an sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Melo is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. an is aware though and is defending well.
an looking to pass the guard.
an works a leg free and moves into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Melo is not content to let an control the position.
an takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Melo is looking to improve his position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Melo wants to control but an is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Melo wants to improve his position but an is controlling well.
an looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Al an showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for an, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Al an!
Al an spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.