PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Noah Jones (ranked 3332 p4p, 157 weight class) and Rafael Mendes (ranked 1996 p4p, 100 weight class). Jones comes to the cage accompanied by Barrels of Whiskey. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Jones
vs
Mendes

168 cm
30
140 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

175 cm
22
143 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
Counter fighter
Solid chin

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 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Noah Jones!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Mendes!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Arvi Lind and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Jones looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Mendes is controlling Jones's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Mendes is staying active underneath Jones, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Mendes regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Jones.
Jones landing some decent shots from guard.
Jones with a flurry of punches that miss.
Jones sitting in guard, not really doing much.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones throws a big right hand that misses.
Jones controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendes keeping moving, preventing Jones from controlling successfully.
Jones throws a strike but Mendes rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Jones is trying to control the position but Mendes postures up.
Mendes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Jones is keeping the position for now.

Jones throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Jones is striking but Mendes is not phased and passes to half guard.
Mendes is just content to waste time from the top position. Jones takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendes wants to control from the top but Jones keeps moving.
Jones is trying to keep Mendes in close.
Jones wants to sweep here but Mendes controlling him for the moment.
Mendes looking to pass the guard.
Mendes works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Mendes wants to free his trapped foot but Jones is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendes blocks the strikes from Jones.
Jones is looking for a sweep. Mendes is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Jones tries to kick Mendes off but Mendes keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Mendes is working for a kimura but Jones is defending it quite comfortably.
Mendes prevents Jones from improving his position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Jones closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Mendes quickly recovers to half guard.
Jones prevents Mendes from improving his position.
Jones not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Jones throwing shots but Mendes is blocking nicely.
Jones throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Mendes regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Jones.
Jones throws a strike but Mendes rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendes won't allow Jones to get back to his feet.
Jones 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Noah Jones dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Mendes darts in and clinches Jones up against the cage.
Mendes looking for a takedown.

Jones has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Mendes clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Jones lands with a hammerfist to the side of Mendes's head.

Jones is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Mendes defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

Jones has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Noah Jones overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones is trying to stick to Mendes's back but Mendes is turning into Jones. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Jones's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Mendes.
Mendes trying to control the position from guard on top but Jones is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jones is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mendes can do to turn this around?
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mendes content to stall in guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones is trying to control the position but Mendes postures up.
Jones wants to sweep but no luck.
Jones controls Mendes momentarily but Mendes frees himself.
Mendes trying to control but Jones is working from the bottom.
Jones can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Mendes controls the pace.

That's two 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.
Jones throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Mendes postures up.
Jones wants to sweep here but Mendes controlling him for the moment.
Mendes engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Mendes wants to control from the top but Jones keeps moving.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Jones displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Mendes.

Mendes gets caught napping as Jones dives in and scores a takedown. Mendes manages to retain guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendes has a closed guard, preventing Jones from standing up.
Jones lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Jones is working Mendes over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Jones wants to control from the top but Mendes keeps moving.
Mendes working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Jones.
Mendes bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Jones's guard.

Jones working for submissions but it's allowed Mendes to get to half guard.
Mendes performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mendes is looking for a kimura here.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mendes in particular looking to stall.
Jones is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendes looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Noah Jones dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Mendes gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Jones gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Mendes gets back to full guard.
Jones is looking to work some ground and pound but Mendes has wrist control.
Jones keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Mendes's head.
Mendes has momentary wrist control but Jones slips an elbow through the middle.
Jones connects with a couple of short punches.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones postures up in Mendes's guard and throws a big left but Mendes blocks it.
Jones throws a big right hand that misses.
Jones connects with a couple of short punches.
Jones looking to pass the guard.
Jones postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones throws a big right hand that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jones throws a big right hand that misses.
Jones trying to stand up but can't free himself from Mendes's guard.
Jones has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Jones throws a big elbow that misses.
Jones throws a strike but Mendes rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Mendes content to stall in guard here.
Jones 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones wants to hit a switch here but Mendes passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Jones there!
Jones wants to hold on but Mendes pushes him away.
Jones reaches up to try and control the position but Mendes seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Jones rolls and tries to escape and now Mendes has his back!
Jones tries to escape but Mendes has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Jones staying busy and making it hard for Mendes to control.

Mendes is persistently looking for the submission but Jones is defending it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Mendes has the hooks in. Jones is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Mendes tries to get the hooks in deep but Jones pushed the leg off.

Jones fending off the submission attempt from Mendes.
Jones is really stuck here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Noah Jones is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Jones is keeping busy.
Mendes trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Jones doesn't escape.
Jones tries to roll but Mendes sticks to his back.
Well, with Mendes on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Jones is tapping out... Can he escape the position?
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mendes trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Jones doesn't escape.
Jones wants to control his opponent's hands but Mendes gets his hands free.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rafael Mendes.
I think Jones 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Noah Jones!
After winning the bout, Noah Jones thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.