PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ron Aldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ben Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Aldo
vs
Thomas

195 cm
25
285 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

195 cm
24
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ron Aldo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ben Thomas!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Hirohito Nitta and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Aldo gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Thomas to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Thomas missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thomas scoring with punches to the head and body.
Aldo keeping moving, preventing Thomas from controlling successfully.
Aldo is trying to control the position but Thomas postures up.

Thomas stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Thomas uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Aldo.

Thomas drives through with a takedown into guard.
Aldo trying to keep a closed guard but Thomas is proving a slippery customer.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ron Aldo has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Thomas slips a jab from Aldo.
A jab from Aldo does it's job there.
Thomas slips under a jab from Aldo.
Aldo scores with the left hand. Thomas knows he should have avoided that one.
Thomas's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Aldo connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Thomas scrambles back to his feet.
Thomas doesn't manage to clinch there - Aldo circles away.
Aldo lands a body shot.
Aldo looks to land a left hand but Thomas moved out of range nicely.
Aldo rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Thomas counters with a takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thomas misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Aldo is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Thomas off and has taken his back!
Thomas rolls, trying to escape but Aldo keeps control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aldo doesn't have the hooks in and Thomas manages to turn into his guard.
Thomas missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Aldo not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Thomas trying to control the position from guard on top but Aldo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Aldo controls Thomas momentarily but Thomas frees himself.
Aldo lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Thomas!
Aldo looking to control but Thomas is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aldo wants to take his opponent's back but he's not managed it.
Thomas bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Aldo working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Thomas doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Thomas manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Thomas postures up.
Aldo manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Thomas manages to get himself to full guard.
Aldo trying to control but Thomas is working from the bottom.
Aldo stopping the sweep attempt from Thomas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo trying to control the position from guard on top but Thomas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Aldo is pushing down on Thomas's leg trying to pass to half guard. Thomas is fighting to maintain full guard but Aldo has managed to sneak the leg through.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aldo trying to control the action but Thomas is working from the bottom.
Aldo trying to control from Thomas's half guard. Thomas has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Aldo trying to control the position from guard on top but Thomas is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Thomas throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
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 Ron Aldo will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Thomas clinches with his opponent.

Thomas breaks from the clinch.
Aldo throws out a loose jab but Thomas uses good head movement to avoid it.
Aldo throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

Thomas fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Aldo to the ground. Thomas is now in Aldo's guard.
Aldo is trying to keep Thomas in close.
Aldo is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Thomas is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

We're going to have a standup here because Ron Aldo wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Thomas clinches up with Aldo and pushes him back against the cage.

Thomas has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Aldo uses from the top position.
Thomas keeping moving, preventing Aldo from controlling successfully.

Thomas pushes Aldo off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thomas clinches.
Thomas putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Aldo in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

Thomas jumps guard and drags Aldo to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Aldo wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.
Aldo passes into half guard.
Thomas is looking for a sweep. Aldo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Thomas is breathing heavily.
Aldo works his way into full mount!
Thomas is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aldo can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Thomas is looking to escape.
Aldo with some aggressive grappling here, looking for the finish.
Aldo looking to control but Thomas is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Thomas really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Aldo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Thomas wants to get back to his feet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomas is squirming around, avoiding Aldo's attempts to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Aldo working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Thomas is wriggling around trying to escape.
Ben Thomas has got the better of the ground game so far.

Aldo is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Thomas can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Thomas is squirming around, avoiding Aldo's attempts to control the action.
Aldo is looking to work his way around to Thomas's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo forces the positional change into back control.
Aldo is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Thomas is trying to get back to his feet but Aldo has full control of the position and if anything, Thomas has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Thomas prevents Aldo from getting a body triangle.

Aldo sinks in the hooks and is looking for the choke. He's got it! Thomas taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:48 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Ron Aldo!
During a confident post fight interview, Ron Aldo thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.