PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Leandro Alves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Doug Graves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Alves comes to the cage accompanied by Thin Lizzy - Angel of Death. Graves has chosen Alvarez as his entrance music. Doug Graves 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!

Alves
vs
Graves

195 cm
34
217 lbs
27 - 17 - 0

190 cm
30
205 lbs
21 - 12 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Affordable Quality + Reliable Laundry

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 27 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Leandro Alves!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Doug Graves!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Graves misses with a body shot.
Alves ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Graves throws a nice inside leg kick.
Alves seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Alves shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Graves sprawls well. Graves wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Alves gets slowly back to his feet.
Alves checks a leg kick nicely.
Graves will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Alves lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Alves misses with a two punch combination.
Graves fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Alves has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Alves throws a hook to the side of Graves's head but Graves sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Graves throws a lazy right hand but Alves sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alves misses with a wild body shot.
Graves throws a hook to the side of Alves's head but Alves sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Graves connects with a body shot.
Graves buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Alves staying out of range there.
Graves fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Alves checks it well.
Graves pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Graves throws a quick inside leg kick.
Alves connects with a nice looking jab.

Graves gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graves can't break the clinch.
Graves is pushing Alves up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Alves tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Graves's elbow.
Graves misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Graves.
Graves lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Alves.
Graves scores with a hook to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Alves creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Graves takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Alves struggles to land a body shot inside as Graves controls his hands.
Alves is trying to pull guard but Graves turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Alves jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Graves walks away with a smile on his face. Alves gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leandro Alves. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Graves fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Alves manages to avoid it.
Alves shoots in for a takedown but Graves shows good takedown defense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alves tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Graves is able to avoid easily.
Alves walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Doug Graves seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Graves fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Alves.
Graves pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Alves lands with an uppercut that bounces Graves off the cage and back into range.
Alves on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Graves. Graves obviously looking to wear him down.
Alves lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Alves misses with an uppercut. Graves saw that one coming.
Alves takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Alves slips under a jab from Graves.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Alves.
A nice leg kick lands there from Graves.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Graves is looking to slow Alves down with leg kicks.
Graves thows a left - swing and a miss!
Graves goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Alves shoots for a double leg takedown but Graves sprawls well. He's pushed Alves's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Graves throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Graves connects with a crisp jab.
Graves throws out a powerful jab.
Graves on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Doug Graves dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Alves pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Graves is looking to land body kicks.
Alves fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Graves checks it well.
Alves checks a leg kick.
Alves is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Alves throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Graves cracks the inside of Alves's front leg.
Doug Graves seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Graves connects with a right hand. Alves shakes it off.
Alves misses the shot to the body.
Graves thows a left - swing and a miss!
Graves throws a chopping leg kick but Alves manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Graves jabs at Alves's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alves throws a body punch but Graves moves out of range.
Alves walks into a left hand.
Graves feints and then cracks Alves's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Alves down.
Graves lands a right hook to the body.
Graves bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Alves's head.

Graves rushes Alves and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Graves misses with some punches.
Alves misses with a punch on the inside.
Alves looking for a takedown.
Graves lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Alves backwards.
Graves putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Alves in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Graves landing knees to the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Graves is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alves swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Graves holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Graves blocking some punches.
Graves stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Graves is leaning against Alves and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Alves blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Graves lands a body shot in the clinch.
Alves blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Graves with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Graves is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Alves is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leandro Alves. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Graves tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Graves tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Graves pressing his opponent against the cage.
Alves tries to pull guard but Graves holds him up against the cage and eventually Alves drops back down to his feet.
Alves goes for a takedown attempt but Graves pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Graves lands with a nice body punch.
Graves with a jab.
Graves fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Alves fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alves wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
A jab lands there for Alves.
Alves on the wrong end of a nice jab.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Alves. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Alves tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Alves moves out of range of the strikes.
Graves throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Graves uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Alves.
Graves connects with a nice looking jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Alves throws a low kick, looking for Graves's leg but Graves calmly moves out of range.
Doug Graves is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Graves lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Alves attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Doug Graves 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. This is the final round!

Alves checks a leg kick.
Graves moves into range and connects with a jab.
Graves uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Alves.
Graves throws a hook but Alves avoids it easily.
Graves throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Graves has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Nice shot lands for Graves.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Graves enables Alves to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Graves manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Graves working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Alves.
Alves throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Graves works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Alves trying to move into half guard but instead Graves has managed to sweep!

Alves is looking for a triangle but Graves pushes his legs off easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alves pulls Graves in to control the position.
Alves keeping moving, preventing Graves from controlling successfully.

Alves throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Graves slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Leandro Alves has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Doug Graves wasn't active enough on the ground.
Graves looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Alves blocks a jab.
Doug Graves is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Graves tries to close the distance and clinch up but Alves swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Graves fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Alves is out of range.
Alves throws a lazy head kick

and Graves counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Graves blocks a body shot from Alves.
Alves is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Doug Graves seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Alves has had enough of the clinch but Graves keeps him there for the moment.
Alves tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Graves lands a shoulder strike.
Alves tries to pull guard but Graves won't allow it.
Graves looking to slow down the pace here.
Graves swings wildly with an uppercut but Alves uses good head movement to avoid it.

Alves breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Graves with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Alves takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Graves throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Jab from Graves.

Alves looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Graves!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Alves thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Alves goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Graves rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Alves's guard! Nice work there by Graves!

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 Leandro Alves.
I think Graves has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Doug Graves!
During a confident post fight interview, Doug Graves thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
Leandro Alves was interviewed post fight and said '#@@&^%$!!!'.