PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Marilo Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and graham mahon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rua
vs
mahon

185 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

190 cm
19
194 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marilo Rua!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, graham mahon!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Leandro Rodrigues and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rua tries to clinch but mahon moves out of range.
mahon swats away the attempt to clinch by Rua.

mahon feints and as Rua raises his hands in defense, mahon changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Rua looking to control.
mahon would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
mahon stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rua swivels though and keeps the full guard.
mahon postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as mahon accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

mahon gets to his feet - Rua follows without any prompting.
Rua fails in his attempt to clinch.

Rua has mahon up against the cage in a clinch.
Rua tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Rua pulls guard effortlessly.
mahon with a nice head shot there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from mahon.
mahon stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rua swivels though and keeps the full guard.
mahon in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
mahon throws a strike but Rua rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
mahon is striking but Rua is not phased and passes to half guard.
mahon tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

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.
mahon is looking for a sweep. Rua is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Rua with a lazy takedown attempt

and mahon counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Rua's guard now.

mahon is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Rua is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Rua has escaped and now he's on top!
mahon looks gassed!
mahon throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Rua preventing the sweep.
Rua passes into half guard under a barage of strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
mahon is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
mahon tries to roll over but Rua keeps him under control.
Rua trying to control the action but mahon is working from the bottom.
mahon has a hand on Rua's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Rua takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
mahon is trying to escape the mount.
mahon swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
mahon is trying to stand up.

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.
Rua prevents mahon from getting the reversal.
Rua tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Rua's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

graham mahon dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rua closes the distance but mahon moves to the side

and mahon counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
mahon prevents Rua from improving his position.

mahon is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Rua defends it well.

mahon is working for a kimura from half guard. He's really concentrating on the hold and it's allowed Rua to slip a leg under and get back to full guard.
mahon is breathing heavily.
mahon trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
mahon throwing strikes from guard but Rua blocks nicely.
mahon throwing strikes but missing.
Rua is pulling down on mahon's head. It's preventing any offense from mahon, at least for the moment.
Rua is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
mahon advances position into side control!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
mahon tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
mahon throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Rua managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by mahon.
The ground and pound from mahon seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
mahon tries to move to mount but Rua blocks the move with his legs.
mahon throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Rua works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
mahon throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Rua keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Rua rushes mahon and presses him up against the cage.

Rua jumps into guard, dragging mahon to the mat.
mahon is looking to stand up but Rua won't let him.
mahon is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Rua is controlling mahon's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
mahon looking to pass the guard.
mahon working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rua tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rua pulls mahon in to control the position.
mahon trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Rua is defended easily by mahon.
mahon shoots in for a double leg but Rua sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
mahon closes the distance and clinches up with Rua, looking for a takedown. mahon pushes Rua against the cage but Rua circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

graham mahon showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

mahon defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rua.

mahon decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
mahon throwing shots but Rua is blocking nicely.
mahon thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rua's head.
mahon is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Rua keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Rua makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Rua.
Rua working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from mahon.
mahon landing some decent shots from guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
mahon wants to get up but he can't break Rua's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
mahon thows a big elbow that misses.
Rua manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
mahon is in all sorts of trouble here.
mahon is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rua looking to control but mahon is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rua won't let mahon get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
mahon working to try and regain half guard.
Rua wants to control the pace but mahon is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
mahon throwing hammer fists to the chest of Rua. What's that going to do exactly?
Marilo Rua has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
mahon tries to get back to half guard but can't.
mahon manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Rua stalling.
mahon is looking for a sweep. Rua is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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.
mahon flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
mahon is looking to improve his position.
mahon strikes from the bottom but Rua passes into mount!
Rua looking to control and managing it successfully.
mahon tries to get back to half guard but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
graham mahon comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got mahon 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 27:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... graham mahon!