PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Alessio Da Santiago (ranked 2873 p4p, 15940 weight class) and El Matador (ranked 148 p4p, 275 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Da Santiago
vs
Matador

175 cm
25
144
9 - 9 - 0

159 cm
22
139
4 - 8 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite 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 9 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Alessio Da Santiago!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, El Matador!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Chris Dean and Ben Watson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Matador bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Da Santiago tries to buck Matador off but Matador is having none of it.

Matador decides to stand up, so the ref orders Da Santiago to his feet.
Da Santiago connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Da Santiago throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Matador.
Matador shoots in but no luck this time.
Matador throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Da Santiago's waist but Da Santiago gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Matador off to one side.
Da Santiago scores with the left hand. Matador knows he should have avoided that one.
Da Santiago just misses with a punch to the body.
Matador misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Matador has managed to clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Da Santiago pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Da Santiago takes a swing at Matador's ribcage but misses.
Matador misses with a wild body shot.
Da Santiago lands a slapping body shot.
Da Santiago swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Da Santiago looks to land a combination but Matador avoids it well.
Da Santiago misses with a leg kick

so Matador counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matador wants to control from the top but Da Santiago keeps moving.
Matador is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Da Santiago looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Matador passes into half guard.

Da Santiago makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Matador takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Matador is looking to clinch.
Da Santiago misses with the body kick

and Matador counters with a takedown into side control.
Da Santiago tries to bench press Matador off him but Matador keeps the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matador looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Da Santiago is avoiding damage well.
Matador gets to mount! Da Santiago was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Matador controlling the pace for now.
Da Santiago is trying to stand up.
Da Santiago gets back to half guard.
Da Santiago is trying to escape back to his feet but Matador uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Da Santiago tries to bench press Matador off him but Matador keeps the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Da Santiago is trying to get back to his feet.
Matador wants to control but Da Santiago is keeping him busy.
Matador tries to advance to mount but can't.
Da Santiago is looking to regain half guard here but Matador keeps moving and retains side control.
Da Santiago is not content to let Matador control the position.
Da Santiago manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matador is not content to let Da Santiago control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Da Santiago is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Da Santiago escapes and gets back to his feet.
A nice inside leg kick there by Da Santiago. That's going to slow Matador down.

Matador dives in and scores a takedown into Da Santiago's guard.
Da Santiago wants to get back to his feet but Matador passes into half guard.

The fighters are battling for position here. Da Santiago manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Da Santiago is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Da Santiago has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Matador off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alessio Da Santiago 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.

Da Santiago misses the shot to the body.
Da Santiago lands an overhand right.
Alessio Da Santiago is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Da Santiago pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Matador back to the cage. Da Santiago follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Matador avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Da Santiago scores with a kick to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Da Santiago. Matador does a little dance to reset his feet.
Da Santiago throws a series of punches but Matador moves out of range.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Matador.
Da Santiago throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Matador on the side of the head.
Da Santiago just misses with a punch to the body.
Da Santiago looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Matador drives through with a takedown into Da Santiago's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Da Santiago looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Da Santiago working for submissions but it's allowed Matador to get to half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Da Santiago looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Da Santiago looking for a kimura from the bottom but Matador passes into side control!

Matador looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Da Santiago is not content to let Matador control the position.
Da Santiago tries to bench press Matador off him but Matador keeps the position.

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.

Da Santiago explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Matador doesn't manage to clinch there - Da Santiago circles away.
A counter left hand to the body from Da Santiago misses its target.
Matador tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Da Santiago manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Da Santiago scores with a body shot.
Da Santiago thows a body kick. Matador tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Da Santiago throws a series of punches but Matador moves out of range.

Matador fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Da Santiago sprawls well initially but Matador persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Da Santiago pushes Matador off and gets back to his feet.
Da Santiago is looking to wear down Matador with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Da Santiago is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Matador moves out of range of the body kick from Da Santiago.
A low kick lands for Da Santiago.
Da Santiago tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Matador was well out of range. Poor timing from Da Santiago.

Matador looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Da Santiago working for a triangle but Matador defends it easily.

Da Santiago throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Matador escapes and throws Da Santiago's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Matador creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
El Matador has got the better of the ground game so far.
Matador scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Da Santiago to see if he's OK.
Da Santiago is not content to let Matador control the position.

Da Santiago throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matador looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Da Santiago is fending him off so far but Matador persists. Nope, Da Santiago circles away and we're back to standing.
Da Santiago seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Da Santiago swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Da Santiago scores with a hook to the body. Matador takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Alessio Da Santiago seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Good leg kick by Da Santiago.
Da Santiago misses with a combination

and Matador counters with a shoot takedown. Da Santiago fights it but they end up in guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Matador trying to control but Da Santiago is working from the bottom.

Matador gets to his feet. Da Santiago looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Da Santiago lands a body shot.
Da Santiago throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alessio Da Santiago dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

A jab from Da Santiago does it's job there.
Matador looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Matador gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Da Santiago thumps Matador with a low kick.
Da Santiago is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Matador misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Da Santiago is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Matador tries to clinch there but Da Santiago circles away.
Da Santiago misses with a few strikes there.

Matador moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Da Santiago manages to break the clinch.
Da Santiago chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Matador fails with an attempt to clinch.
Alessio Da Santiago is winning the standup battle so far.
Matador looks for a takedown but Da Santiago sprawls well.
A little feinted left hand from Da Santiago on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Da Santiago with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Da Santiago scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Matador wants to clinch up but Da Santiago keeps it at a distance.
It looked like Da Santiago was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Da Santiago scores with a jab. Matador acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Matador tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Matador is defended easily by Da Santiago.
Alessio Da Santiago has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of El Matador.
Matador takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Matador has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Da Santiago is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Matador can do to turn this around?
Matador checks a leg kick.
Da Santiago throws a nice inside leg kick.
Da Santiago scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Da Santiago throws a right and a left that Matador avoids nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Da Santiago throws a nice outside leg kick.
Da Santiago lands a leg kick that knocks Matador off balance momentarily.
Da Santiago throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Matador.
Da Santiago misses with a series of wild punches.
Da Santiago tries a low kick but Matador avoids it.
Da Santiago closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Matador shoots for a double leg takedown but Da Santiago sprawls well. He's pushed Matador's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Da Santiago swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Matador throws a head kick that misses.
Da Santiago misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Matador's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Matador pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Matador shoots in for a double leg but Da Santiago sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Da Santiago throws a series of punches but Matador moves out of range.
Da Santiago fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Matador.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Matador looking to score a takedown here. Da Santiago is defending well but Matador drives through and ends up in Da Santiago's guard.
Matador is standing up over Da Santiago. Da Santiago looks to escape but Matador dives into side control.
Matador in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Alessio Da Santiago is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Matador is looking to take a break and control but Da Santiago is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Da Santiago is looking to reverse the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Da Santiago wants to get back to his feet but Matador drags him back down.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Da Santiago is looking to regain half guard here but Matador keeps moving and retains side control.
Matador lands some shots froms side control.
Matador is looking to take a break and control but Da Santiago is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
El Matador has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Da Santiago tries to escape but Matador is in control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alessio Da Santiago showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Da Santiago, 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Dean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Watson scores the fight 30:27

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