PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Julio Vasquel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hammer Handy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vasquel comes to the cage accompanied by N-17-Hail. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Vasquel
vs
Handy

196 cm
23
260 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

190 cm
20
266 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Powerful

BioPharm Nutrition

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 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Julio Vasquel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hammer Handy!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Thiago Cunha and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Handy tries a low kick but Vasquel avoids it.
Handy throws a series of punches but Vasquel avoids them all with ease.
Handy tries to close the distance and clinch up but Vasquel swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Handy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Vasquel misses with an attempted mid kick.
Handy misses with an uppercut. Vasquel saw that one coming.
A lazy left from Vasquel finds it's target.

Handy drives through with a takedown into guard.
Vasquel is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Vasquel 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.
Handy missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Vasquel wants to stand up but Handy is controlling him.

Vasquel manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Handy has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

Vasquel gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Handy is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Vasquel escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Handy changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Vasquel tries to avoid it but Handy manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Vasquel to the ground. Vasquel escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Handy shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Handy showed some decent athleticism there.
Handy looks gassed!
Handy is looking to advance position but Vasquel won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vasquel is looking to escape.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vasquel slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Vasquel pushes Handy off and scrambles back to his feet.
Vasquel lands a nice hook to Handy's body. Handy takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
A punch combination from Vasquel misses.
Vasquel comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

Vasquel closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Vasquel lands a left hand that snaps the head of Handy backwards.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Vasquel.

Vasquel manages to break the clinch.
Vasquel misses with a few strikes there.
Vasquel moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Vasquel!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A head kick misses from Vasquel.
A left and a right from Vasquel both land. Nice combination.
Vasquel works over Handy's head and body with a nice combination.
Vasquel tries to clinch up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel misses with a wild combination.

Handy gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Vasquel is trying to break the clinch but Handy has him pressed against the cage.
Vasquel can't break the clinch.
Vasquel prevents the takedown attempt.
Julio Vasquel has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hammer Handy.
Handy has Vasquel pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Vasquel manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Vasquel breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Handy avoids a punch combination nicely.

Handy scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Handy working away.
Vasquel tries to bench press Handy off him but Handy keeps the position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Handy decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Handy scores with a takedown into Vasquel's guard.
Handy trying to control the position from guard on top but Vasquel is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Handy throwing strikes from guard but Vasquel blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Handy prevents Vasquel from getting back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Handy looking to pass the guard.
Handy trying to control the position from guard on top but Vasquel is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Vasquel has his feet on Handy's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Handy will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Handy is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Vasquel.
Vasquel swats away the attempt to clinch by Handy.
A clash of legs there as Handy blocks the low kick.

Handy shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Vasquel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel is refusing to be controlled, as Handy sits in half guard.
Handy tries to pass to full mount but Vasquel defends it.
Handy is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Vasquel kicks Handy off and gets back to his feet.

Handy tries to keep at a distance but Vasquel has taken the fight into the clinch.
Vasquel lands a body punch.
Handy looking to stall.
Handy throws a punch but it's blocked by Vasquel.

Vasquel breaks from the clinch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Vasquel lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Vasquel fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Handy.
Handy misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Vasquel throws a right and a left that Handy avoids nicely.
Horrible takedown by Handy or perhaps it was just good defense by Vasquel which made him look bad.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Vasquel looks to land a combination. Handy sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Vasquel scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Handy doesn't seem bothered though.
Danga de danga de dang - Vasquel scores with a four punch combination!
Handy throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Vasquel's waist but Vasquel gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Handy off to one side.
Vasquel's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Vasquel duly obliges.
Vasquel lands a jab-cross combination.
Julio Vasquel is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Vasquel!
Some wild striking there from Vasquel.
Vasquel lands a jab-cross combination.
A left and a right from Handy both land. Nice combination.

Handy clinches with his opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

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

Handy shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Handy showed some decent athleticism there.
Handy takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Handy moves into full mount! Vasquel won't be happy about that!

Vasquel bucks Handy off and manages to get back to his feet!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Handy tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Vasquel swivels and escapes.
Vasquel is working the combinations to good effect here.
Handy avoids the head kick by Vasquel.
Vasquel is looking to score with low kicks.
Vasquel works over Handy's head and body with a nice combination.
Handy shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Vasquel pinned against the cage. Vasquel gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Julio Vasquel has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hammer Handy.
Handy wants to clinch.
Vasquel connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
A nice combination there by Vasquel.
Handy lands a nice looking body shot.
Handy fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Handy shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Vasquel pinned against the cage. Vasquel gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Handy tries to bum rush Vasquel with a series of wild strikes but Vasquel uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Vasquel stuffs the takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Vasquel moves into the clinch successfully.

Vasquel escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Horrible takedown by Handy or perhaps it was just good defense by Vasquel which made him look bad.
Danga de danga de dang - Vasquel scores with a four punch combination!
Vasquel scores with a one two! Handy had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Vasquel avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Vasquel stalks Handy and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Handy's face. Handy staggers backwards, shaken.
Vasquel cracks Handy with an open hand slap.

Handy fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Vasquel, pushing him back against the cage.
Vasquel lands a body punch.
Handy looking for a takedown.

Vasquel manages to break the clinch.
Julio Vasquel is winning the standup battle so far.
Handy wants to clinch.
Vasquel scores with a shot to the body.

Handy drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Vasquel throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Vasquel avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Handy loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Handy throwing strikes but missing.

Handy thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Vasquel is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Vasquel pushes Handy off and scrambles back to his feet.
Handy tries to clinch up.
Handy moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Handy will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Handy fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Julio Vasquel is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Handy shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Handy misses with a wild body shot.
Nice uppercut there from Vasquel.
Handy avoids a kick to the body.
Handy changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Vasquel tries to avoid it but Handy manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Vasquel to the ground. Vasquel escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Handy wants to clinch up but Vasquel keeps it at a distance.
Vasquel stuffs the takedown attempt from Handy. Handy gets slowly back to his feet.
No joy there for Vasquel, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Vasquel lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Vasquel.
Handy tries to clinch but Vasquel is having none of it.
Handy has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Handy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Handy lands a nice hook to Vasquel's body. Vasquel takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Vasquel moves into range and connects with a jab.

Handy tries to keep at a distance but Vasquel has taken the fight into the clinch.

Vasquel manages to break the clinch.
Handy tries to clinch but Vasquel is having none of it.
Vasquel circles away from the clinch attempt.
Vasquel looking to land some kicks to the body here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vasquel throws a head kick that misses.
Handy shoots for a takedown but Vasquel saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A combination from Vasquel does no damage.
Vasquel motions for Handy to come forward. Vasquel throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Handy avoids a kick to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Julio Vasquel dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Handy swinging wilding here.
Vasquel scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Vasquel lands a nice leg kick that just misses Handy's sensitive parts.
Vasquel lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Vasquel scores with a three punch combo!
Vasquel throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Vasquel lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Handy takes a swing at Vasquel's ribcage but misses.
Handy tries to move into range but Vasquel moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Vasquel scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Handy shoots in for a double leg but Vasquel sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Handy is looking to clinch.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Handy.
Handy lands an elbow.

Handy thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Handy sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Vasquel is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Handy working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Vasquel struggling a bit here.

Handy tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Handy has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Vasquel is trying to buck Handy off.
Handy is working Vasquel over with some ground and pound from side control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Vasquel looks to land a combination. Handy sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Handy gets the takedown into side control.

Handy wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Vasquel, who protects the arm well.
Handy throws a strike aimed at the side of Vasquel's head but Vasquel avoids it well.
Hammer Handy has got the better of the ground game so far.
Vasquel regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Vasquel is not content to let Handy control the position.
Vasquel blocking the ground and pound attempt from Handy.

Handy is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Vasquel slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Handy wants to stand but Vasquel has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Handy must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Handy wants to pass the guard but Vasquel is keeping the position.
Handy is working Vasquel over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Vasquel scores with a jab to the body.
Vasquel throws a head kick that misses.
Vasquel tries to bum rush Handy with a series of wild strikes but Handy uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Handy looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Vasquel is fending him off so far but Handy persists. Nope, Vasquel circles away and we're back to standing.
Julio Vasquel has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hammer Handy.
Handy has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

Handy gets a takedown into half guard.
Handy seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Vasquel is refusing to be controlled, as Handy sits in half guard.
Handy sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Vasquel defending well though.
Julio Vasquel is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Vasquel is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Handy's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Handy's back!
Handy tries to escape the position.
Vasquel has good solid back control here.
Handy is really stuck here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vasquel has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Handy's body.
Handy tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Vasquel wants to control the pace but Handy is squirming around nicely.
Vasquel unloads with some shots from mount but Handy bucks and avoids them well.
Handy can't escape the position.
Vasquel controlling the position easily from mount.
Handy keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

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 Julio Vasquel.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Vasquel, 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Julio Vasquel!