PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Emmanuel Martinez (ranked 4306 p4p, 5267 weight class) and Michel Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Martinez
vs
Jr

183 cm
18
134
0 - 0 - 0

160 cm
18
144
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter fighter
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Emmanuel Martinez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Michel Jr!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Mauricio Rocha and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good exchange - Jr coming out on top.
Jr closes the distance and clinches up with Martinez, looking for a takedown. Jr pushes Martinez against the cage but Martinez circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Jr fails with the takedown
and Martinez counters with a stiff right hand.
Martinez misses the shot to the body.
Jr tries to counter with a clinch but Martinez shakes him off and moves away.
Martinez dodges the punch combination from Jr.
Jr takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Jr clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jr is looking to break free of the clinch but Martinez has double underhooks.

Martinez pulls Jr into guard.
Jr trying to control but Martinez is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Martinez uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Martinez throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Martinez misses with a few strikes there.
Nice takedown defense from Martinez. No joy for Jr on that attempt.
Emmanuel Martinez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michel Jr.
Jr dives in and grabs Martinez's left leg, looking for a takedown. Martinez pushes down on Jr's head and hops out.
Jr fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Jr takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martinez lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Jr circles away quickly and effectively.
Jr doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Martinez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Jr.
It looked like Martinez wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Jr cracks Martinez with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Jr shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Jr throws a sloppy head kick and Martinez moves out of range easily.

Martinez tries to keep at a distance but Jr has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Martinez drags the fight down to the ground.
Jr trying to control but Martinez is working from the bottom.

Martinez pushes Jr off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Martinez cracks Jr with a right hand to the side of the head.
Emmanuel Martinez is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice straight punches there by Martinez. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Martinez.
Martinez showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Jr.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Jr has Martinez up against the cage in a clinch.

Jr manages to break the clinch.
Jr takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Martinez really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Sloppy strikes from Martinez. Those never looked like landing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Jr takes the fight into the clinch.

Jr manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Jr looking to control.
Martinez connects with a couple of short punches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Emmanuel Martinez dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

No luck for Jr with that takedown attempt.
Jr connects with a high kick.
Jr dodges the punch combination from Martinez.

Jr has managed to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Martinez keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Jr's efforts to push away.

Martinez breaks from the clinch.
Jr will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Martinez appears to be looking for a big counter.
Martinez is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Jr rushes Martinez and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Martinez drags the fight down to the ground.
Jr passes Martinez's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Jr is looking for a kimura here.

Martinez manages to escape and get back to his feet!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jr keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Emmanuel Martinez is winning the standup battle so far.

Jr rushes Martinez and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Martinez has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Jr tries to pull guard but Martinez holds him up against the cage and eventually Jr drops back down to his feet.

Martinez gets control of Jr's arms and successfully pulls guard. Martinez will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Martinez pushes Jr off and gets back to his feet.
Martinez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jr can do to turn this around?
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Jr tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Martinez is looking to counter punch.
Jr needs to keep his hands up - Martinez had a free shot at his head there.
Jr shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Emmanuel Martinez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michel Jr.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martinez looks to land a left hand but Jr moved out of range nicely.
Jr throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Martinez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Martinez stuffs the takedown.
Emmanuel Martinez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Jr is breathing heavily.
Martinez stuffs the takedown.
Martinez scores with a one two! Jr had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Martinez lands with a right hand.
Martinez lands a jab to the nose.
Michel Jr seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some wild striking there from Martinez.
Jr throws a lazy head kick
and Martinez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jr shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Martinez counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Jr has managed to clinch.

Martinez pulls guard successfully.
Emmanuel Martinez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Jr looking to sit in guard and control but Martinez gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Martinez keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Jr's head.
Martinez cracks Jr with a solid left hand.
Martinez is in close to Jr's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Martinez will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Jr controls Martinez momentarily but Martinez frees himself.
Jr tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Emmanuel Martinez dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Martinez works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Jr.
Martinez misses with a hook.
Jr with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Martinez to score with a decent uppercut.

Jr moves into the clinch.

Martinez has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Jr uses from the top position.
Jr looking to pass the guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jr loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jr tries to stand but Martinez is controlling from the bottom.

Martinez manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

Martinez jumps guard.
Jr is looking to work some ground and pound but Martinez has wrist control.
Martinez keeping full guard, as Jr tries to pass.

Martinez kicks Jr off and gets to his feet.

Jr fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Martinez, pushing him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martinez keeps control of Jr as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Jr tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Martinez avoids it.
Jr tries to pull guard but Martinez holds him up against the cage and eventually Jr drops back down to his feet.
Jr scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Jr tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Emmanuel Martinez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michel Jr.

Martinez jumps into guard, dragging Jr to the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Jr is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Martinez is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Martinez has escaped and now he's on top!

Jr takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Martinez stands up over Jr, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Martinez postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Jr is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Martinez, into his guard.

Jr wants to stand but Martinez has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Jr throws a big elbow that misses.
Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Martinez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Martinez controlling Jr's posture.
Jr wants to stand and escape but instead Martinez has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Martinez stands up over Jr, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jr 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.
Martinez works over Jr with some ground and pound from guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Emmanuel Martinez showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Martinez, 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Emmanuel Martinez!