PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Abbe Faria (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dominic Manucci (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Faria's entrance music is My Own Summer. A fine choice. On his way into the cage it seems that Abbe Faria has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Abbe Faria seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Faria
vs
Manucci

195 cm
24
265 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

194 cm
22
285 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Dangerous knees
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Abbe Faria!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Dominic Manucci!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Edson Gomes and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Faria throws a series of punches but Manucci avoids them all with ease.
Faria moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

It looks like Dominic Manucci has been cut.
Dominic Manucci seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Manucci misses with a wild body shot.
Manucci throws a one two combo.

It looks like Abbe Faria has been cut.
Manucci looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Faria throws a series of punches but Manucci avoids them all with ease.
Faria comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Faria dodges the punch combination from Manucci.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Manucci circles away from the clinch attempt.
Faria avoids the head kick by Manucci.
Manucci has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Manucci there as he acknowledges the shot.
Faria throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Manucci throws a series of punches but Faria avoids them all with ease.

Faria rushes Manucci and presses him up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Faria lands a knee to the head.
Manucci missing with knees to the body.
Manucci blocks a body shot from Faria.
Faria lands a good knee to the midsection. Manucci won't want to take too many of those.
Manucci is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Faria jumps guard.
Faria is pulling down on Manucci's head to control his posture.
Manucci won't allow Faria to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faria pulls Manucci in close to prevent any damage.
Faria tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Manucci is looking to stand up but Faria won't let him.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Faria wants to sweep but no luck.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Faria with a hook.
Faria throws a right and a left that Manucci avoids nicely.
Manucci swinging wildly here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manucci ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Faria moves away.
Manucci pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A slapping leg kick lands for Manucci.
Manucci throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Faria throws a nice looking combination but Manucci bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Faria scores with a jab to the body.
Manucci misses with a two punch combination.

Faria moves into the clinch successfully.
Manucci looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Faria lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Manucci wants to stall.
A knee to the head by Faria.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manucci blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Faria goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Faria stalling the fight.
Manucci prevents a body shot from Faria.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Manucci blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Faria tries a knee to the head but Manucci blocks it.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Manucci as Faria tries to tie him up.
Faria goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Faria misses with a punch on the inside.
Faria has Manucci pushed against the cage.
Manucci wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Faria has him pressed against the cage.
Manucci is trying to break the clinch but Faria has him pressed against the cage.
Manucci is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abbe Faria dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A looping hook to the body misses from Manucci. Faria does a little dance to reset his feet.
Manucci throws a head kick but Faria moves out of range.
Manucci throws a low kick but it's checked well by Faria.
Manucci lands with a shot to the body.
Some wild striking there from Faria.
Faria is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Manucci can do to turn this around?
Manucci keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Manucci pulls out of a head kick attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch combination from Manucci misses.
Dominic Manucci seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Manucci throws a series of punches but Faria moves out of range.
Manucci throws a head kick that misses

and Faria counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Faria.
Faria misses with a knee to the head.
Faria misses with a knee strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faria throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Manucci blocks it with crossed arms.
Manucci wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Faria looking to slow down the pace here.
A short uppercut from Faria.
Faria tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Faria pushes Manucci back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Faria swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Manucci is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Faria lands a good knee to the midsection. Manucci won't want to take too many of those.
A short left from Faria.
Still in the clinch, Manucci scores with a nice short uppercut.
Abbe Faria has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Faria lands a body shot in the clinch.
Manucci is breathing heavily.
Faria makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Faria landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faria using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Manucci has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Manucci is trying to push Faria away but Faria has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Faria's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Manucci looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Faria tries to throw a body punch but Manucci avoids it by throwing Faria back against the cage.
Faria lands a hook that snaps the head of Manucci backwards.
Faria has Manucci pressed against the cage, preventing Manucci from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Faria is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Faria throws a punch but it's blocked by Manucci.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Manucci.
Faria connects with a nasty looking knee right to Manucci's face.
Faria tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Faria pulls guard successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Manucci is fighting to break Faria's control of his arms but Faria is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Faria tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Faria is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Manucci wants to stand but Faria has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Manucci trying to control the position from guard on top but Faria is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Faria is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Manucci is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Faria wants to pass the guard but Manucci is defending well.
Manucci is trying to control but can't.
Faria throwing shots but Manucci is blocking nicely.
Faria passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Manucci!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abbe Faria dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Manucci showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Faria.
Manucci throws an overhand right that lands on Faria's shoulder, as Faria tries to avoid the shot.
Faria throws a right hand that Manucci ducks under and follows up with a left that Manucci also avoids with ease.
Manucci throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Faria tries to clinch up but Manucci circles away and keeps his distance.
Faria avoids the body shot from Manucci.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manucci slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Manucci throws a sloppy head kick and Faria moves out of range easily.
Faria has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Faria misses with a two punch combination.
Faria keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Manucci.
Faria keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faria wants to clinch.
Manucci throws a combination. Faria tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Manucci tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Faria was well out of range. Poor timing from Manucci.
Faria is looking to clinch.
Manucci throws a right hand that Faria ducks under and follows up with a left that Faria also avoids with ease.

Manucci moves into the clinch.
Faria misses with some punches.
Faria misses with a short punch on the inside.
Faria swings wildly with an uppercut but Manucci uses good head movement to avoid it.
Manucci is trying to break free.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manucci working hard to break the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Faria.
Manucci wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Faria takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Faria throws a punch but it's blocked by Manucci.
Faria throws a knee to the head but misses.
Faria prevents Manucci from breaking the clinch.
Come on Faria - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Manucci tries to break the clinch but Faria is controlling the position.
Faria makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Faria crunches a lovely knee into Manucci's ribcage.
Manucci takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Faria lands a good knee to the midsection. Manucci won't want to take too many of those.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Faria lands a shoulder strike.
Manucci managing to block the knees to the body from Faria.
Faria struggles to land a body shot inside as Manucci controls his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A shot in the inside from Faria.
Faria lands a good knee to the midsection. Manucci won't want to take too many of those.
Faria lands a hook to the side of the head.
A left hand lands to the body for Faria.
Faria avoiding damage.
Faria tries to land a knee to the head but Manucci blocks with his arms.
Faria digs a right hand into Manucci's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Manucci's gas tank.
Faria lands with a short shot to the head.
Faria is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Faria lands a body shot in the clinch.
Faria effectively controlling the action here.
Faria working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faria looking to throw knees to the head but Manucci is blocking nicely.
The referee is keeping an eye on Faria - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Faria tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Faria misses with a shot to the kidneys.

Manucci breaks the clinch.
Faria throws a right and a left that both miss.
Faria tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Manucci manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Abbe Faria is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Manucci scores with the left hand. Faria knows he should have avoided that one.
Dominic Manucci has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A head kick misses from Manucci.
Manucci scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Manucci throws a hook to the side of Faria's head but Faria sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Manucci cracks Faria with a good jab.

Abbe Faria's cut is getting worse.
Manucci tries a head kick but it misses.

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 Abbe Faria.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Faria, 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abbe Faria!
As Abbe Faria got his breath back, he grabbed the microphone and managed to blurt out the following: I'm hungry.'.