PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Danilo Rowland (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Carlos Tavares (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rowland
vs
Tavares

175 cm
18
161 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

165 cm
18
164 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Danilo Rowland!
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, Carlos Tavares!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Paulo Santos and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rowland pushes Tavares up against the cage in a clinch.
Tavares jumps guard but Rowland turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Tavares jumps guard but Rowland turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Tavares leaning his opponent against the cage.

Tavares manages to break the clinch.
Carlos Tavares seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Tavares tries to keep at a distance but Rowland has taken the fight into the clinch.

Tavares's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Rowland forces Tavares back against the cage and clinches.
Rowland stalling in the clinch but Tavares improves position.
Tavares blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tavares takes a knee right on the jaw!
Rowland fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rowland will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Tavares up against the cage.
Rowland working aggressively here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tavares keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rowland's efforts to push away.
A short right from Tavares.

Tavares pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Tavares throws a series of punches but Rowland moves out of range.
Rowland moves out of range of the body kick from Tavares.
Rowland is looking to clinch.
Rowland tries to clinch up but Tavares circles away and keeps his distance.
Tavares misses with a takedown
and Rowland counters with a right hand to the body.
Danilo Rowland has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Carlos Tavares.
Tavares throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Some wild striking there from Tavares.
Rowland shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Tavares as he avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tavares fails with a takedown attempt.
Tavares with a lazy takedown attempt

and Rowland counters with a nice double leg into side control. Tavares won't be happy with that.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Sloppy strikes there by Rowland.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tavares wants to control but Rowland postures up.

Rowland tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Tavares is trying to control Rowland's posture but Rowland avoids it.
Rowland working the ground and pound from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rowland tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Tavares tries to bench press Rowland off him but Rowland keeps the position.
Rowland scoring with punches and elbows.
Tavares wants to control but Rowland postures up.

Rowland is trying to get an arm triangle but Tavares is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tavares tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Tavares looks winded!
Tavares misses with an elbow from the bottom.

Rowland is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Tavares is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Rowland lands some shots froms side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tavares manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danilo Rowland dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

No joy there for Tavares, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Tavares wants to clinch up but Rowland keeps it at a distance.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Tavares looking to slow down the pace here.
Rowland struggles to land a body shot inside as Tavares controls his hands.
Tavares tries to stall but Rowland uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Tavares struggles to land a body shot inside as Rowland controls his hands.
Tavares blocks an uppercut.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Tavares as Rowland tries to tie him up.
Tavares blocks a body shot from Rowland.
Tavares stalling in the clinch but Rowland improves position.
Tavares should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Tavares controlling the action here for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rowland tries to circle away but Tavares has him pinned against the cage.
Rowland throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tavares blocks it with crossed arms.
Tavares takes a shot to the head.
Rowland is pressed up against the cage. Tavares has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Rowland down to the mat. Rowland avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Horrible takedown attempt by Rowland or perhaps it was just good defense by Tavares, which made it look bad.
Rowland displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Tavares.
Tavares tries to clinch but Rowland moves out of range.
Tavares will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Danilo Rowland has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Carlos Tavares.
Tavares tries to close the distance and clinch but Rowland swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tavares throws a series of punches but Rowland moves out of range.
Tavares is breathing heavily.
Rowland slaps away a takedown attempt from Tavares, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Rowland shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Tavares's guard.
Rowland is working Tavares over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Rowland loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Rowland postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Tavares is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Rowland, into his guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Tavares trying to control the position from guard on top but Rowland is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Rowland is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rowland lands a right hand.
Rowland misses with an elbow strike.
Rowland has a couple of punches blocked by Tavares.
Tavares changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Rowland fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Rowland looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Tavares manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Rowland is working Tavares over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Rowland lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rowland drops back looking for a leg! Tavares is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Tavares manages to kick Rowland off! Rowland jumps back into Tavares's guard.
Rowland keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Tavares's head.
Tavares is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Rowland drops back, looking for a kneebar! Tavares looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Tavares looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Tavares!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rowland tries to escape but Tavares is in control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danilo Rowland dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Nice sprawl there from Rowland as Tavares shoots in.

Tavares tries to sprawl but Rowland drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Tavares wants to control but Rowland is keeping busy.
Tavares keeping hold of Rowland's head, controlling as best he can.
Tavares wants to get back to his feet.
Rowland is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Tavares wants to control but Rowland is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Tavares takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rowland takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Tavares trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Rowland manages to pass to mount!
Rowland scoring with strikes but Tavares is staying in there.
Rowland with shots to the head and body - Tavares looks very uncomfortable down there.
Tavares wants to hold on but Rowland pushes him away.
Rowland unloading with bombs!
Rowland is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Tavares keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rowland connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

Rowland is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Tavares can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tavares really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Rowland working the ground and pound effectively.
Rowland cracks Tavares with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tavares is in all sorts of trouble here.

Rowland has control of Tavares's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Tavares regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Rowland with the ground and pound from mount.
Tavares regains half guard.
Rowland thows a huge punch but Tavares dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rowland is thwarting Tavares's attempts to control the position.
Tavares tries to kick Rowland off but Rowland keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Rowland lands with a punch from half guard.
Rowland working over Tavares with some ground and pound. Tavares looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Rowland working Tavares over with strikes.
Rowland drops an elbow to the side of Tavares's head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rowland takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tavares trying to control but Rowland postures up.
Carlos Tavares has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Danilo Rowland is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rowland lands with a punch from half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Danilo Rowland showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rowland, 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 30:27
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Danilo Rowland!