PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luiz Machado (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Smith
vs
Machado

178 cm
29
196 lbs
15 - 7 - 0

180 cm
24
200 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Experienced

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 15 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Luiz Machado!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Nard Betker and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Machado tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Smith paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Machado tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Smith counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
The fight stays on the outside here - Machado looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Smith swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Machado counters with a slapping leg kick.
Smith uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Machado.

Machado gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Smith looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Machado landing knees to the body.
Machado with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Smith is trying to force a seperation but Machado has the dominant position.
Machado pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Machado keeps control of Smith as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Smith is trying to break the clinch but Machado is controlling him.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smith wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Machado is trying to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith is trying to break the clinch but Machado has him pressed against the ropes.

Machado's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Smith punishes Machado's body with a nice straight punch.
Luiz Machado seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Machado moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Smith swats away the attempt to clinch by Machado.
Machado tries to clinch there but Smith circles away.

Machado takes the fight into the clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Machado obliges.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Machado connects with a nasty looking knee right to Smith's face.
Smith working hard to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Machado creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
I was talking to Smith's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Machado keeps control of Smith as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Machado unloads a knee to the mid-section. Smith lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Smith is breathing heavily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smith is trying to break the clinch but Machado has him pressed against the ropes.
Machado keeps control of Smith as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Still in the clinch, Machado scores with a nice short uppercut.
Machado keeps control of Smith as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Machado utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Machado is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Smith takes a knee right on the jaw!

It looks like John Smith has been cut.
Smith has had enough of the clinch but Machado keeps him there for the moment.
Machado keeps control of Smith as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Machado scores with a shot to the side of Smith's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice right hand lands inside from Machado.

Smith is rocked!
Smith is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Machado lands a knee to the body.
Machado connects with a nasty looking knee right to Smith's face.
Oh Smith is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Machado has the Thai clinch. He lands a big knee to the head that stumbles Smith - he's in trouble! Another big knee to the head from Machado, and another! Smith is out on his feet - the ref jumps in to save him and ends the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:24 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Knees). Luiz Machado!
Luiz Machado was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.