PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rick Welsh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lyoto Machida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Machida has chosen For Whom The Bell Tolls as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Welsh
vs
Machida

184 cm
33
218 lbs
12 - 8 - 0

185 cm
34
205 lbs
26 - 19 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rick Welsh!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lyoto Machida!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Emerson Jorge and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Machida's corner calls for a 1-2. Machida obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Welsh fails with a takedown attempt.
Welsh tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Welsh has taken the fight to the clinch.
Machida stops a takedown attempt from Welsh.
Machida looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Welsh takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Welsh breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Welsh tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Welsh shoots in looking for a takedown. Machida tries to sprawl out of it but Welsh keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Machida manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rick Welsh. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Welsh closes the distance and clinches up with Machida, looking for a takedown. Welsh pushes Machida against the cage but Machida circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Welsh with a nice cross.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Machida pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Machida throws a head kick that half lands.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Welsh is defended easily by Machida.
Welsh lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Welsh changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Machida tries to avoid it but Welsh manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Machida to the ground. Machida escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Welsh misses with an uppercut. Machida saw that one coming.
The fighters circling - Welsh throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Machida fails to land with a series of punches.
Welsh shoots in looking for a takedown but Machida manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Welsh's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Welsh shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Machida as he jumps to the side.
Machida misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Welsh checks the leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Welsh takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Welsh scores with a body shot.
A head kick misses from Machida.

Welsh closes the distance and clinches.
Welsh misses with a punch to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Welsh keeps control of Machida as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Machida avoiding damage as Welsh throws knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Rick Welsh will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Welsh misses with a straight left.
Machida bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Welsh's head.
Welsh throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Welsh wants to clinch but Machida slips to the side
and Machida connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Machida gets caught flat footed, as Welsh shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Welsh slips nicely into half guard.

Welsh is looking for a kimura but Machida is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Welsh to get the leverage.
Machida is looking to control Welsh's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Machida avoid being mounted?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Welsh thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Welsh 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.
Machida trying to hold on to Welsh's head to control him but Welsh postures up.

Welsh is working for a kimura but Machida is defending it quite comfortably.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Machida keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Welsh is pressing down on Machida's thigh, looking to free his foot. Machida is holding on for now.
Machida is looking to control Welsh's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Machida avoid being mounted?
Machida wants to get back to full guard.

Welsh is trying to work for a kimura but Machida is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Welsh is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Welsh is working for a kimura but Machida is defending it quite comfortably.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Machida tries to roll over but Welsh keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Welsh is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Welsh is trying to work for a kimura but Machida is defending well.

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

Welsh is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Machida sees it coming and defends easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rick Welsh dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Machida walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Welsh checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Welsh avoids the head kick by Machida.
Welsh tries to clinch up but Machida circles away and keeps his distance.
Welsh is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Machida lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Machida throws a right hand that Welsh ducks under and follows up with a left that Welsh also avoids with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Welsh misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Machida goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Welsh tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Welsh rushes Machida and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Welsh is trying to pull guard but Machida has him pressed against the cage.

Machida escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Welsh scores with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Welsh looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Machida circles away from the clinch attempt.
Welsh waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Machida.
Welsh will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Machida lands with a shot to the body.
Lyoto Machida seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Machida throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Welsh.
Lyoto Machida is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Machida lands with a kick to the temple. Welsh shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Welsh is looking to clinch but Machida is avoiding it.
Machida wants to slow Welsh down by chopping away at his legs.
Machida tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Welsh was well out of range. Poor timing from Machida.
Machida throws a sloppy head kick and Welsh moves out of range easily.
Welsh blocks a head kick by Machida.
Welsh fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Machida avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rick Welsh. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Welsh looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Welsh is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Machida.
A telegraphed right hand from Machida misses the target.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Welsh shoots in but no luck this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lyoto Machida comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Welsh has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:28
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 29:29
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!