PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Mendez (ranked 1434 p4p, 1232 weight class) and Mac Anudo (ranked 212 p4p, 184 weight class). Joe Mendez could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Mac Anudo's chin.

Mendez
vs
Anudo

188 cm
26
275
5 - 2 - 0

199 cm
26
265
5 - 1 - 1

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Joe Mendez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 1, fighting out of The Island, Mac Anudo!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Bart Greer and Santiago Holmes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Anudo misses the shot to the body.
Mendez just misses with a punch to the body.
Anudo shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mendez as he avoids it easily.
Mendez was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

Mendez closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Anudo quickly recovers to half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Anudo manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Mendez with a flurry of punches that miss.

Anudo working for a triangle but Mendez defends it easily.
Mendez is looking to work some ground and pound but Anudo has wrist control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Anudo working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Mendez doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Mendez manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Anudo is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anudo is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Mendez definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Mendez cracks Anudo with a solid left hand.
Mendez landing with the ground and pound.
Anudo tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Anudo preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Mendez wants to control from the top but Anudo keeps moving.

Anudo is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Mendez is aware though and is defending well.
Mendez throwing strikes from guard but Anudo blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendez postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Mendez landing some decent shots from guard.
Mendez might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Mendez preventing the sweep.
Mendez throws a strike but Anudo rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Mendez not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Mendez keeping full guard, as Anudo tries to pass.
Mendez controlling the position.
Mendez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Anudo controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Mendez manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Anudo manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Anudo is looking for a triangle but Mendez pushes his legs off easily.
Anudo can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Mendez controls the pace.

Anudo looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Anudo lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Mendez has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Anudo has passed into side control.
Mendez is trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendez tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Mendez is looking to improve his position but Anudo isn't that keen on the idea.
Anudo lands a big shot there that rocks Mendez but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Mendez on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Mendez tries to get out of the position.
Anudo lands a nice shot to the head.
Mendez tries to hold on but Anudo pushes him away.
Mendez is bucking up trying to escape but Anudo cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mendez holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Anudo tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Mendez tries to hold on but Anudo pushes him away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mac Anudo dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Mendez is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Anudo's half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Anudo has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mendez is working away from the top position though.
Anudo works his way to full guard. Good work.
Mendez is fighting to break Anudo's control of his arms but Anudo is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Anudo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Anudo is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez wants to improve his position but Anudo is controlling well.
Anudo working over Mendez with some ground and pound. Mendez looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anudo wants to control but Mendez is keeping him busy.
Mendez knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Anudo on the ground.
Mendez trying to control but Anudo postures up.
Anudo is looking to take a break and control but Mendez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mendez trying to control but Anudo postures up.
Anudo trying to pass the guard but Mendez defending well.
Anudo lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Mendez is trying to maintain the position but Anudo is very close to passing his half guard.

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.
Anudo prevents Mendez from improving his position.
Anudo takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Mac Anudo has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mendez is doing well to control the position and prevent Anudo from advancing to side control.
Anudo wants to control but Mendez is keeping him busy.
Anudo slips a nice elbow through Mendez's hands, connecting with Mendez's forehead.
Mendez trying to control but Anudo postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mendez wants to get back to his feet.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Anudo lands a nice short elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anudo looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Anudo has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mendez wants to get back to full guard.
Anudo trying to control from half guard but Mendez is working away.
Ground and pound from Anudo.
Anudo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Anudo trying to mount his opponent but Mendez defends it.
Anudo is just content to waste time from the top position. Mendez takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Mendez pulls Anudo in close to prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Anudo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mendez is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Anudo with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Anudo advances to half guard.
Mendez has a hand on Anudo's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Anudo takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendez tries to get back to half guard but can't.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mac Anudo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Anudo defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Mendez.
Mendez backing away here, and Anudo unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Mendez misses with a few strikes there.
Anudo throws a solid leg kick but Mendez takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Anudo.
Anudo connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Anudo shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mendez as he avoids it easily.
Anudo has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Anudo gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Mendez.
Anudo misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Anudo is looking to slow Mendez down with leg kicks.
Anudo misses the jab.
Mendez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Anudo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendez misses with a body punch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

Anudo closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Mendez's guard.
Mendez can't keep his opponent in guard - Anudo advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Mendez wants to get back to full guard.
Mendez is trying to maintain the position but Anudo is very close to passing his half guard.
Mendez preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Mendez is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendez is looking to control Anudo's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Mendez avoid being mounted?
Anudo not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Mendez is looking to improve his position.

Mendez is defending against the submission attempts here by Anudo.
Anudo is keen to just control but Mendez is a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anudo uses his free foot to push down on Mendez's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Mendez.
Anudo looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Mendez is squirming around, avoiding Anudo's attempts to control the action.
Anudo throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Anudo working the ground and pound effectively.
Mendez is desperately trying to improve his position but Anudo has a good base and remains in mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Anudo wants to finish this one by submission but Mendez is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Anudo.
Anudo looking to control but Mendez is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mendez is looking to get to half guard.
Anudo lands a big elbow.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Anudo is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Mendez can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Joe Mendez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mac Anudo is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Anudo content just to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mac Anudo comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Anudo winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Michael Johnstone scores the fight 27:30
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 27:30
Judge Santiago Holmes scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mac Anudo!