PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Justin Bostic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Castro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Castro has chosen Molly as his entrance music. Justin Bostic could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Joe Castro's chin.

Bostic
vs
Castro

177 cm
18
145 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

175 cm
25
135 lbs
2 - 1 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Justin Bostic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joe Castro!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Robert Twigg and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Castro showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bostic.
Castro is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Castro shoots in for a double leg but Bostic sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Castro moves into range and clinches up with Bostic.
Castro putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Bostic in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Castro avoids the elbow strike from Bostic, against the cage.
Bostic misses with a hook to the ribs.
Bostic wants to take the fight to the mat but Castro manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Castro tries to land knees in the clinch but Bostic avoids the damage to the body.
A knee to the head by Castro.

Castro jumps into guard, dragging Bostic to the mat.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Bostic lands a couple of elbows.
Castro wants to stand but Bostic is controlling the position.
Castro has Bostic pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bostic tries to free his leg and advance position but Castro is retaining full guard.
Bostic working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bostic is looking to work some ground and pound but Castro has wrist control.
Castro has Bostic pulled in close to control his posture.
Bostic trying to control but Castro is working from the bottom.
Castro pulls Bostic in close to prevent any damage.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joe Castro was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Bostic jabs Castro to the body, keeping him at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bostic rushes Castro and presses him up against the cage.
Bostic wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Castro unloads a knee to the mid-section. Bostic lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Castro on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bostic blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A knee to the head by Castro.

Castro manages to pull guard.
Bostic has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Castro controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Castro wants to sweep here but Bostic controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bostic being controlled here momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bostic throws a big elbow that misses.

Castro throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Bostic is fighting to break Castro's control of his arms but Castro is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Bostic missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bostic is looking to work some ground and pound but Castro has wrist control.
Castro is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Castro working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bostic.
Bostic is looking to advance position but Castro has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Bostic suckers Castro into throwing a sloppy strike and uses the momentum to reverse the position beautifully! Bostic is now in Castro's guard!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Castro controlling the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bostic accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Castro dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Castro moves out of range of the body kick.

Castro takes the fight into the clinch.
Castro creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Bostic's defenses.

Castro breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Castro closes the distance and pushes Bostic back into the cage.
Bostic has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Castro is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Knees in the clinch landing for Castro.
Castro working Bostic over with knees to the body.
Castro lands a good knee to the midsection. Bostic won't want to take too many of those.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Castro wants a takedown.
Castro putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Bostic in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Castro has picked Bostic up - he's going for a ride! Castro dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Castro not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Castro decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A low kick from Bostic is predictable there
and Castro counters with a one-two to the body.

Castro clinches.
Castro putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Bostic in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Castro.
Castro is looking for a takedown.

Castro jumps guard and drags Bostic to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Castro preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bostic in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Castro throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Castro manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Castro throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bostic avoids a series of strikes thrown by Castro.
Castro throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Bostic because Castro loaded up on that one.
Bostic squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Castro dominating with strikes here.
Bostic blocking the ground and pound.
Castro throws some wild stikes that Bostic manages to avoid easily.
Castro thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Castro throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Bostic because Castro loaded up on that one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castro throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Bostic because Castro loaded up on that one.
Castro lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Castro misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Castro landing punches.
Castro throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Castro sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Castro has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Castro sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Bostic wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Castro.
Castro punching from mount but Bostic doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Castro throwing strikes here but Bostic is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bostic takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Poor strikes thrown by Castro there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Castro punching from mount but Bostic doing a good job of avoiding damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bostic blocking the ground and pound.
Castro sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Castro unloads with some shots from mount but Bostic bucks and avoids them well.
Castro has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Castro thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Bostic is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Castro punching from mount but Bostic doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Castro throwing strikes here but Bostic is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Castro throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Castro 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!

Castro shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Bostic defends it nicely.
Bostic rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Castro moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Some wild striking there from Bostic.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Castro is defended easily by Bostic.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bostic lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Castro circles away quickly and effectively.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bostic clinches up with Castro and pushes him back against the cage.
Castro with a knee to the head.
Castro lands a knee to the body.

Castro breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bostic misses with a looping left.

Bostic gets tackled into the cage by Castro. Castro maintains the clinch.
Castro lands an elbow just above Bostic 's eye.

Castro drags the fight down to the ground.

Castro is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Castro lands a nice knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castro unloads a knee to the mid-section. Bostic lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Castro lands an elbow just above Bostic 's eye.
Bostic is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Justin Bostic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joe Castro.
Castro unloads a knee to the mid-section. Bostic lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Castro lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Bostic wants to break the clinch but can't.

Castro's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Castro closes the distance and clinches.
Bostic takes a knee to the side of the body.
Castro landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Castro working Bostic over with knees to the body.

Castro drags the fight down to the ground.
Castro seems keen to control Bostic's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castro avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Castro is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bostic is controlling him.
Joe Castro has got the better of the ground game so far.
Castro has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Bostic drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Castro manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Bostic has Castro in his guard.
Castro throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bostic works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castro with a flurry of punches that miss.
Castro working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Castro stands up and waves to Bostic to follow him.
Bostic tries for a takedown but Castro sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Justin Bostic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Castro misses with a takedown attempt - Bostic sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Castro comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Castro has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 George Francis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Castro!
Post fight, an emotional Joe Castro said 'I would like to thank Steel Penn the fans and Trojan Fighting gear. Thank you and Good Night'.