PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Denny Young (ranked 22381 p4p, 341 weight class) and Rafael Mendes (ranked 3980 p4p, 205 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Young
vs
Mendes

170 cm
22
120 lbs
2 - 8 - 0

175 cm
21
143 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

Excellent grappler
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Juggernaut And Gladiators

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Denny Young!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Mendes!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Marco Blurström and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Young shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Mendes holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Mendes is trying to maintain the position but Young is very close to passing his half guard.
Mendes tries to get to full guard but Young has control of the leg.
Mendes works his way to full guard. Good work.

Young drops back, looking for a kneebar! Mendes looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Mendes looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Mendes!

Young tries to improve position but can't.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Mendes is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Young knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
You can see the frustration on Young's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Young wants to get back to his feet but Mendes drags him back down.
Mendes taking a breather here.
Young tries to improve position but can't.
Mendes content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Young is trying to control Mendes's posture but Mendes avoids it.
Young tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Mendes taking a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Young tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Young being controlled for a moment.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Young wants to clinch.
Mendes is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mendes moves out of range of the body kick.

Mendes closes the distance and clinches.

Mendes jumps into guard, dragging Young to the mat.
Mendes is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Mendes wants to sweep but no luck.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Young loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Young throwing strikes from guard but Mendes blocks nicely.
Young throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Mendes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Young goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Mendes checks a leg kick.

Young feints and as Mendes raises his hands in defense, Young changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Young has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Mendes utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mendes looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Mendes utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Our spies down at at Soul Supremacy Rio inform us that Mendes has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Young with a flurry of punches that miss.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Young throws a strike but Mendes rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Young is striking from the bottom but Mendes uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Young is trying to get back to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Young looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Young tries to get to full guard but Mendes has control of the leg.
Mendes trying to mount his opponent but Young defends it.
Young trying to control here.

Young with the active half guard here but Mendes passes nicely into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Young gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Mendes looking to control and managing it successfully.
Young has given up his back here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mendes is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Young defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Young tries to escape but Mendes has the hooks in and won't let him break free.

Mendes has both hooks in and is working for a choke. Young is in real trouble here. Mendes gets an arm under the chin and tightens the submission attempt... is this the end? Yes, Young is tapping out! Mendes wins by rear naked choke!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Rafael Mendes!
Our winner, Rafael Mendes, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.