PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Servantes Raul (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cesar Anders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Raul
vs
Anders

188 cm
21
195 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

188 cm
19
190 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Syndicate Drugs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Servantes Raul!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Cesar Anders!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Leandro Rodrigues and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Anders decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Anders stops Raul from getting back to his feet.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Raul missing with punches from the bottom.
Anders sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Raul defending well though.
Anders throwing shots but Raul is blocking nicely.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Anders takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Raul blocking the ground and pound attempt from Anders.
Anders content to control rather than advance.
Anders working the head and body with strikes.
Anders passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Raul!
Raul takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Raul tries to lock up and control but Anders gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raul is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Anders is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Anders has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Anders lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Raul hang on?
Anders lands a big shot there that rocks Raul but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.

It looks like Servantes Raul has been cut.
Anders has his opponent pinned against the ropes, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Raul's face.
Anders connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Raul is working to get back to half guard.
Raul tries to lock up and control but Anders gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Raul is squirming around, avoiding Anders's attempts to control the action.
Anders looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anders with good strikes from the mount here!
Anders is in the full mount, landing strikes.

Raul is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Raul is wriggling around trying to escape.
Anders is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Oh Raul is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Anders lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Anders sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Raul wants to hold on but Anders pushes him away.
Raul seems to have got his legs back now.
Anders lands a big elbow.
Anders scoring with strikes but Raul is staying in there.
Raul keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Anders landing strikes from the mount and Raul is in trouble!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raul gets back to half guard.
Raul is trying to maintain the position but Anders is very close to passing his half guard.
Anders lands with a punch from half guard.
Anders wants to pass the guard but Raul is defending well.
Anders thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Raul's head.
Anders working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Anders works his way into full mount!

Anders with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Raul tries to hold on but Anders pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raul wants to get back to his feet.
Raul takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Anders landing punches.
Anders with good strikes from the mount here!
Raul is working to get back to half guard.
Raul is breathing heavily.

Anders has control of Raul's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Raul regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Anders scores with a couple of good head shots there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Raul is trying desperately to improve position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cesar Anders dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Servantes Raul's cut.
That's time! Raul's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Raul throws a sloppy head kick and Anders moves out of range easily.
Raul staying out of range there.
Raul is looking to clinch.
Raul tries to clinch but Anders moves out of range.
Raul throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Anders avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Anders looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Anders lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Servantes Raul's cut is getting worse.
Raul tries to close the distance and clinch up but Anders swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A left and a right from Raul both land. Nice combination.
Raul throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raul doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Anders counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
A shot to the liver by Raul. Beautiful body shot.
Raul avoids a kick to the body.

Anders bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Raul wants to control but Anders postures up.

Anders thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Raul wants to get back to his feet but Anders drags him back down.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Raul takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Raul is trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raul trying to remain calm as Anders controls from the top position.
Anders throws a strike aimed at the side of Raul's head but Raul avoids it well.
Raul is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Anders is controlling him well.
Anders laying and praying for a moment but Raul takes advantage and regains half guard.

Raul is defending against the submission attempts here by Anders.
Anders not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Anders stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anders slips a nice elbow through Raul's hands, connecting with Raul's forehead.
Raul trying to hold on to Anders's head to control him but Anders postures up.
Raul regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Anders.
Anders in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Anders drops back, looking for a kneebar! Raul looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Raul looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Raul!
Anders gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Anders is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Raul's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Raul's back!
Anders scores with punches to the body.
Anders controlling well, preventing Raul from escaping the position.
Raul trying to control but not successfully.
Anders lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Raul is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Anders lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Raul.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cesar Anders showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Servantes Raul's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Raul shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Anders is trying to defend but Raul finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Anders actively working from the bottom here.

Raul looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Anders wants to get back to full guard.
Anders takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anders gets back to full guard.
Anders trying to control the position.
Raul preventing the sweep.
Raul passes Anders's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Anders misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Anders is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Raul not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Anders makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Anders.

Raul got a little sloppy there for a moment and Anders has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Raul has managed to get both his arms back between Anders's legs - danger averted.
Raul pushing down on Anders's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raul wants to stand but Anders has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Anders is trying to get back to full guard.
It looks like Raul is going to stand back up.
Raul seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Anders does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Anders missing with punches from the bottom.
Anders tries to get to full guard but Raul has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Anders throws a nice inside leg kick.
Anders swinging wildly here.
Raul gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Anders counters with a shoot takedown. Raul fights it but they end up in guard.

Anders thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Raul not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cesar Anders has got the better of the ground game so far.
Raul is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Anders is controlling him.
Anders connects with a couple of short punches.
Anders cracks Raul with a solid left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raul utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Anders prevents Raul from getting back to his feet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Anders accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

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

Anders clinches up against the ropes.

Anders breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Anders avoids the body shot from Raul.
Anders tries to bum rush Raul with a series of wild strikes but Raul uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Raul blocks a head kick by Anders.
Raul slips a jab and a cross from Anders.
Raul wants to clinch but Anders slips to the side

and Anders counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Raul's guard now.
Anders missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cesar Anders really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Servantes Raul's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Raul wants to clinch up but Anders keeps it at a distance.
Raul tries for a takedown but Anders circles away easily
and Anders counters with a series of strikes. Raul will be more careful next time no doubt.

Anders drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Raul looking to hit a scissor sweep but Anders is one step ahead there.
Anders throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Anders sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Raul's guard.
Anders passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Raul!
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Anders looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raul manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Raul slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Anders with a flurry of punches that miss.

Raul escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Anders gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Raul is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Anders passes into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anders drops an elbow to the side of Raul's head.
Anders works his way into side control.
Raul is trying to get back to half guard.
Anders in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Anders wants to control but Raul is keeping him busy.

Anders is working for what looks like an arm triangle here. Raul is trying to escape and Anders transitions quickly into an armbar! He's slapped it on tight and Raul is forced to tap! Nice work there by Anders! Very nice indeed!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:04 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Cesar Anders! Cesar Anders retains his middleweight title!