PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Joao De Santo Cristo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Takeshi Naoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Santo Cristo's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Que país é esse?. 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.

De Santo Cristo
vs
Naoki

174 cm
33
171 lbs
19 - 19 - 1

182 cm
38
179 lbs
30 - 12 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

King of Clothes

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 19 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joao De Santo Cristo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 30 - 12 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Takeshi Naoki!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Santo Cristo lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Naoki backs up against the cage.

It looks like Takeshi Naoki has been cut.
De Santo Cristo throws a low kick but Naoki avoids it.
We've been informed that Naoki has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
De Santo Cristo keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Naoki.
De Santo Cristo shoots in for a double leg but Naoki sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
De Santo Cristo fails with a takedown attempt.
De Santo Cristo scoring well with a low kick there.
De Santo Cristo keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Naoki.
De Santo Cristo cracks the inside of Naoki's front leg.
Naoki connects with a right hand. De Santo Cristo shakes it off.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

De Santo Cristo scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Naoki tries to get to full guard but De Santo Cristo has control of the leg.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Naoki has hold of De Santo Cristo's hands but De Santo Cristo slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo prevents Naoki from standing back up.
De Santo Cristo is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
De Santo Cristo winds up and cracks Naoki with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Naoki tries to get to full guard but De Santo Cristo has control of the leg.
De Santo Cristo is thwarting Naoki's attempts to control the position.
De Santo Cristo working the head and body with strikes.
De Santo Cristo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Naoki avoiding damage under a succession of punches from De Santo Cristo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo working the head and body with strikes.
Naoki is pressing down on De Santo Cristo's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Naoki holds on and takes a little breather.
De Santo Cristo controls from within his opponent's guard.
De Santo Cristo preventing the sweep.
De Santo Cristo showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Naoki is trying to hold De Santo Cristo in close to prevent damage but De Santo Cristo has managed to pass into half guard.
Naoki wants to improve his position but De Santo Cristo is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo wants to take a breather but Naoki is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Naoki looks like he's trying to stand up.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. De Santo Cristo connects with a nice short shot to Naoki's temple.
De Santo Cristo wants to control but Naoki is keeping him busy.
De Santo Cristo working over Naoki with some ground and pound. Naoki looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Naoki is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of De Santo Cristo's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take De Santo Cristo's back!
De Santo Cristo tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Naoki avoids the attempt from De Santo Cristo to control.
De Santo Cristo can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Naoki lands a couple of good shots and De Santo Cristo has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Naoki avoiding De Santo Cristo 's attempts to control his hands.
Naoki scores with punches to the body.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Naoki controlling well, preventing De Santo Cristo from escaping the position.
Naoki just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
De Santo Cristo wants to escape the position but for the time being he's just trying to control the pace.
Naoki avoiding De Santo Cristo 's attempts to control his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Joao De Santo Cristo will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Takeshi Naoki's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

De Santo Cristo misses the shot to the body.
De Santo Cristo looks to land a right hand but Naoki moved out of range.
Naoki avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
De Santo Cristo throws a poor cross that misses
and Naoki counters with a nice body shot.
Naoki takes one to the chin there.
Naoki misses with a looping left.
De Santo Cristo tries for a takedown but Naoki sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
De Santo Cristo throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Naoki tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
De Santo Cristo swings for the body but Naoki moves out of range.
De Santo Cristo moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
De Santo Cristo swings away with a leg kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Naoki lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
De Santo Cristo throws a body punch but Naoki moves out of range.
Naoki walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. De Santo Cristo checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
De Santo Cristo looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
De Santo Cristo throws a series of punches but Naoki avoids them all with ease.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Naoki tries to close the distance and clinch but De Santo Cristo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.

De Santo Cristo closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Naoki did well to prevent De Santo Cristo getting side control.
The fighters are battling for position here. Naoki manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Naoki is looking to stand up but De Santo Cristo isn't so interested in that idea.
Naoki looking to hit a scissor sweep but De Santo Cristo is one step ahead there.
De Santo Cristo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
De Santo Cristo scoring with punches to the head and body.
Naoki is pulling down on De Santo Cristo's head. It's preventing any offense from De Santo Cristo, at least for the moment.
Naoki wants to get back to his feet but De Santo Cristo is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo wants to control from the top but Naoki keeps moving.
Naoki is looking to sweep but instead, De Santo Cristo has passed into half guard.
De Santo Cristo stops Naoki from getting back to his feet.
De Santo Cristo working over Naoki with some ground and pound. Naoki looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Naoki is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Naoki trying to control but De Santo Cristo postures up.
Naoki on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Naoki trying to control but De Santo Cristo postures up.
De Santo Cristo working the head and body with strikes.
De Santo Cristo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
De Santo Cristo lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
De Santo Cristo tries to pass to full mount but Naoki defends it.
Naoki wants to improve his position but De Santo Cristo is controlling well.
Naoki tries to kick De Santo Cristo off but De Santo Cristo keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Naoki is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Naoki tries to kick De Santo Cristo off in order to stand up. De Santo Cristo Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
De Santo Cristo landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
De Santo Cristo is chipping away with strikes.
Naoki tries to buck De Santo Cristo off but De Santo Cristo is having none of it.
Naoki defending against the ground and pound.
De Santo Cristo lands a few punches from side control.
De Santo Cristo lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
De Santo Cristo working the ground and pound.
De Santo Cristo remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao De Santo Cristo dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Takeshi Naoki's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

De Santo Cristo fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Naoki misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from De Santo Cristo.
De Santo Cristo misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
De Santo Cristo moves out of range as Naoki strikes.
Takeshi Naoki seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Naoki connects with a looping right hand.
A jab from De Santo Cristo misses.
Naoki pushes De Santo Cristo away with a front kick.
De Santo Cristo walks into a left hand.
Naoki throws a big shot that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A solid leg kick lands there for Naoki.
Naoki tries to close the distance and clinch but De Santo Cristo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Naoki darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Naoki throws a head kick but De Santo Cristo moves out of range.
Naoki throws a lazy right hand but De Santo Cristo sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Naoki missing with a left hand there. De Santo Cristo was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

De Santo Cristo shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than De Santo Cristo was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
De Santo Cristo has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
De Santo Cristo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Naoki keeps working.
Naoki struggling a bit here.
Naoki is looking for a sweep.
De Santo Cristo scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Naoki to see if he's OK.
Naoki regains half guard.
De Santo Cristo trying to advance position but Naoki counters by regaining guard.
De Santo Cristo tries to free his leg and advance position but Naoki is retaining full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo trying to control but Naoki is working from the bottom.
Naoki controlling De Santo Cristo's posture.
Naoki wants to control the position but De Santo Cristo says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
De Santo Cristo wants to control but Naoki is keeping him busy.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. De Santo Cristo connects with a nice short shot to Naoki's temple.
Takeshi Naoki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

De Santo Cristo is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Naoki trying to control here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Santo Cristo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Naoki keeps working.
Joao De Santo Cristo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Naoki wants to control but De Santo Cristo is keeping busy.
De Santo Cristo working Naoki over with strikes.
De Santo Cristo tries to pass the half guard into mount. Naoki knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

De Santo Cristo is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Naoki sees it coming and defends easily.
Naoki wants to get back to full guard but De Santo Cristo has passed into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Naoki gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Naoki is looking to improve his position.
Naoki regains full guard. Nicely done.
Naoki is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
De Santo Cristo is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Naoki wants to get back to his feet but De Santo Cristo is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Takeshi Naoki comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think De Santo Cristo has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Joao De Santo Cristo!
An out of breath Joao De Santo Cristo thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.