PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ronaldo Barbosa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and William Blake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that William Blake was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Barbosa
vs
Blake

173 cm
18
163 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

160 cm
18
156 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo Barbosa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, William Blake!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Paulo Santos and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Barbosa throws a series of punches but Blake avoids them all with ease.
A head kick from Barbosa lands but Blake takes it in his stride.
Barbosa lands a nice hook to Blake's body. Blake takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Barbosa uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Barbosa moves in looking to clinch but Blake pushes him off.

Blake moves into range and clinches up with Barbosa.
Blake is trying to break free.
Barbosa looking for a takedown.

Blake wants the takedown. Barbosa is fighting it off but Blake persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Barbosa's guard against the ropes.
Barbosa 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.

Barbosa looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Barbosa wants to control the position but Blake says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Blake is thwarting Barbosa's attempts to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blake blocks the strikes from Barbosa.
Blake prevents Barbosa from improving his position.

Blake postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Barbosa to stand up.
Barbosa is breathing heavily.
A jab-cross combination lands for Blake and sends Barbosa crashing to the mat! Blake follows him down to the mat - Barbosa regains half guard but he's not out of trouble yet!

It looks like Ronaldo Barbosa has been cut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blake keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Blake wants to stand up but Barbosa is controlling the position.
Blake controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barbosa wants to improve his position but Blake is controlling well.
Blake controlling the pace.
I looks like Blake might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Barbosa tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

Despite being in the dominant position, William Blake just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Blake forces Barbosa back against the ropes and clinches.

Blake's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Blake slips a straight right by Barbosa.

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.

Blake feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Barbosa has a closed guard, preventing Blake from standing up.
Blake looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Blake must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Blake has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Barbosa is proving hard to escape from.
Blake sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Blake wants to stand but Barbosa is controlling his posture from full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

William Blake dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ronaldo Barbosa's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Barbosa closes the distance and clinches.
Blake has had enough of the clinch but Barbosa keeps him there for the moment.

Blake breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Blake takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Blake throws a jab but it's blocked by Barbosa.
Blake moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Nice shot by Blake.
Blake drops Barbosa with a left and a right! Oh, Barbosa is hurt - Blake dives into side control looking to finish!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Barbosa is looking for a sweep.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Blake just content to control the position.
Barbosa takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barbosa looking for a sweep but Blake has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Blake takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Barbosa is desperately trying to improve his position but Blake has a good base and remains in mount.
Blake controlling from the full mount.

Despite being in the dominant position, William Blake just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Blake misses with a combination
and Barbosa counters with a head kick. That will keep Blake thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Barbosa will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blake forces Barbosa back against the ropes and clinches.
Blake is looking to break free of the clinch but Barbosa has double underhooks.
Barbosa drops down looking for an ankle pick but Blake pulls his leg out and moves away.
Blake displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Blake throws a series of punches but Barbosa avoids them all with ease.
Barbosa avoids a punch combination nicely.
Good leg kick by Blake there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Blake misses with a double jab.
William Blake seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Blake shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blake is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Blake stops Barbosa from standing up.
Barbosa will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blake stands up and waves to Barbosa to follow him.
Blake displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Barbosa slips a jab and a cross from Blake.
A nice combination there by Blake.
Barbosa scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Blake falls off balance throwing a combination
and Barbosa counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Barbosa keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blake fails with a takedown attempt.
Barbosa getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

William Blake showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ronaldo Barbosa's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Blake closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Blake lands in his opponent's guard.
Barbosa is trying to hold Blake in close to prevent damage but Blake has managed to pass into half guard.
Blake wants to stand but Barbosa has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Barbosa is looking to get back to full guard here but Blake has managed to pass to side control instead.
Barbosa swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Blake controlling from the full mount.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barbosa swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Blake controlling his opponent.
Barbosa is trying desperately to improve position.
Blake controlling from mount.
Barbosa is desperately trying to improve his position but Blake has a good base and remains in mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake controlling the position easily from mount.

Despite being in the dominant position, William Blake just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Blake misses with a takedown attempt - Barbosa sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Blake has closed the distance and engaged Barbosa in a clinch.
Blake is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.

Blake manages to break the clinch.
William Blake is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Blake misses with a jab, cross combination.
Blake throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Barbosa.
Left hook, right uppercut from Blake.
Some wild striking there from Blake.

Blake shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Blake showed some decent athleticism there.
Barbosa flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Barbosa is looking for a sweep. Blake is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Blake perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Ronaldo Barbosa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
William Blake comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Blake has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... William Blake!