PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Din Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sergio Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thomas's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Two Steps from Hell. Din Thomas has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Thomas
vs
Gracie

186 cm
27
190 lbs
13 - 10 - 0

175 cm
22
195 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 13 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Din Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sergio Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Luis Engracia and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas throws a body punch but Gracie moves out of range.
Thomas feints a jab promting Gracie to slip. Thomas then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Gracie slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Gracie tries to clinch there but Thomas circles away.
Gracie fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Thomas manages to avoid it.
Gracie tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nice straight punches there by Thomas. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Thomas.
Thomas looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Gracie shoots in for a double leg but Thomas sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Thomas moves into range and clinches up with Gracie.
Gracie manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Gracie has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Thomas uses from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Thomas wants to pass the guard but Gracie is keeping the position.
Gracie is trying to control the position but Thomas postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie being controlled here, momentarily.
Gracie looking to control.

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

Gracie tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Gracie has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Thomas throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas swings for the body but Gracie moves out of range.
Thomas throws a combination. Gracie tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie slips a jab and a cross from Thomas.

Thomas manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Gracie on his heels. He'll look to pass Gracie's guard now, I'm sure.
Thomas slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Gracie working for a triangle but Thomas defends it easily.
Thomas seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas throws a big right hand that misses.
Gracie working a defensive guard but Thomas passes into half guard.
Thomas throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Gracie is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Thomas pulls his head out easily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Thomas is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Gracie wants to control but Thomas is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas lands strikes from half guard.
Thomas tries to pass to full mount but Gracie defends it.
Gracie slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Thomas will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Gracie looking for a guillotine here but Thomas defends easily.
Thomas not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gracie looking to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Din Thomas dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Gracie tries to clinch but Thomas moves out of range.
Gracie tries to close the distance and clinch but Thomas swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Gracie tries to score a power double leg takedown but Thomas sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Gracie somewhat.
Nice body punch from Thomas.
Gracie doesn't manage to clinch there - Thomas circles away.
Thomas connects with a body shot.
Gracie wants to clinch but Thomas slips to the side
and Thomas cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Thomas has taken the fight to the clinch.

Thomas gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Gracie regains guard.
Thomas slips nicely into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gracie is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie trying to control but Thomas postures up.
Thomas is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Thomas seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Gracie for as long as he can get away with.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Din Thomas just wasn't active enough.
Thomas dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Thomas drives through with a takedown into guard.
Thomas slips nicely into half guard.
Thomas prevents Gracie from improving his position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thomas throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Thomas drops an elbow to the side of Gracie's head.
Thomas lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is trying to maintain the position but Thomas is very close to passing his half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Nice strikes from Thomas there.
Thomas is looking to advance position but Gracie won't allow it.
Gracie trying to hold on to Thomas's head to control him but Thomas postures up.

Thomas is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gracie defends it well.
Thomas wants to free his trapped foot but Gracie is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Gracie trying to control here.
Thomas content to control rather than advance.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gracie wants to sweep but Thomas has passed to side control!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Din Thomas dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Gracie throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Thomas's waist but Thomas gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gracie off to one side.
Gracie fails with the takedown
and Thomas makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Thomas misses with a double jab.
Gracie keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Thomas with a hook.
Gracie misses with a left hand
and Thomas counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Thomas jabs Gracie to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Thomas is looking to wear down Gracie with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Gracie darts in looking for a takedown but Thomas gets double underhooks and turns Gracie into the cage.
Din Thomas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sergio Gracie.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gracie looking to stall.
Gracie tries to pull guard but Thomas holds him up against the cage and eventually Gracie drops back down to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.

Thomas turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Thomas manages to end up in side control.
Gracie is trying to control Thomas's posture but Thomas avoids it.
Thomas working the ground and pound from side control.
Thomas working the ground and pound.
Gracie is trying to get back to half guard.
Gracie struggling a bit here.
Thomas moves into full mount!
Sergio Gracie has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is looking to improve his position but Thomas isn't that keen on the idea.
Thomas landing strikes from the mount and Gracie is in trouble!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gracie working to try and regain half guard.
Thomas content just to control the position here.
Gracie tries to hold on but Thomas pushes him away.
Thomas controlling the position easily from mount.
Thomas pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Thomas unloading with bombs!
Gracie is trying to escape the mount.
Thomas controlling from the full mount.
Thomas scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Gracie?
Din Thomas is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Thomas lands with some strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thomas controlling the pace for now.
Thomas raining down shots from the mount!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gracie tries to reverse the position but Thomas maintains control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Din Thomas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Thomas has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Din Thomas!
Din Thomas tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.