PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight kickboxing rules bout between Bruno Formiga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joao Resende (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Formiga
vs
Resende

189 cm
21
135 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

188 cm
21
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Excellent MT
Big heart

Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bruno Formiga!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joao Resende!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Alexandre Firmino and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Formiga throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Resende.
Resende looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Formiga drives through and clinches with Resende against the ropes.
Formiga really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Formiga breaks from the clinch.

Formiga pushes Resende up against the ropes in a clinch.

Formiga breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Resende lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Resende.

Formiga clinches with his opponent.

Formiga manages to break the clinch.

Formiga instigates a clinch.

Formiga breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Formiga has Resende up against the ropes in a clinch.

Formiga breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Formiga throws a head kick that misses.
Formiga looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Resende wants to clinch up but Formiga keeps it at a distance.
Resende looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Nice cross by Formiga.
Formiga throws a sloppy head kick and Resende moves out of range easily.

Formiga has Resende up against the ropes in a clinch.

Formiga manages to break the clinch.
Formiga fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Resende.
Resende is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
We've been hearing reports that Formiga has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.

Formiga forces Resende back against the ropes and clinches.

Formiga breaks the clinch.

Formiga rushes Resende and presses him up against the ropes.

Resende breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Formiga drives through and clinches with Resende against the ropes.
Formiga misses with a knee strike.
Formiga digs a right hand into Resende's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Resende's gas tank.

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

Formiga has taken the fight to the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Formiga breaks the clinch.
A good leg kick by Formiga.
Formiga will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Formiga thows a body kick. Resende tries to catch it but that hurt him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Formiga clinches up with Resende and pushes him back against the ropes.

Formiga breaks the clinch.

Formiga pushes Resende up against the ropes in a clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bruno Formiga dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Formiga throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Formiga tries a head kick but it misses.
Formiga lands with a good body shot.

Formiga has Resende up against the ropes in a clinch.
Formiga is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Formiga as Resende tries to tie him up.

Formiga breaks from the clinch.
Formiga lunges at Resende with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Resende's hand.

Formiga has managed to clinch.
Resende swings wildly with an uppercut but Formiga uses good head movement to avoid it.

Formiga manages to break the clinch.
Resende is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Formiga scores with a one two! Resende had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

Formiga clinches with his opponent.

Formiga's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Formiga throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Resende.
Formiga misses with the combination.
Resende tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Formiga manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Resende tries to close the distance and clinch but Formiga swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Formiga closes the distance and clinches.
Formiga prevents Resende from breaking the clinch.
Formiga working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Formiga stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Formiga tries to land knees in the clinch but Resende avoids the damage to the body.

Formiga manages to break the clinch.
Formiga moves out of range as Resende throws a body kick.
Resende takes a kick to the side of the head.
Formiga lands a leg kick that knocks Resende off balance momentarily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Formiga lands a nice looking kick to the body. Resende takes a step back to recover.
Resende on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Formiga throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.

Formiga moves into range and clinches up with Resende.

Formiga breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Formiga throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Formiga scores with a hook to the body. Resende takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Formiga scores with a head kick. Resende tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Formiga misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Resende dodges the punch combination from Formiga.
Formiga misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Resende avoids the head kick by Formiga.
Formiga pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bruno Formiga is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Resende tries to keep at a distance but Formiga has taken the fight into the clinch.
Resende tries to land a knee to the head but Formiga blocks with his arms.
Resende takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Formiga breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Formiga throws a head kick but Resende moves out of range.
A nice combination there by Formiga.
Formiga throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Formiga misses with a head kick.
Bruno Formiga is winning the standup battle so far.
Formiga lands a jab to the nose.
Resende takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

Formiga closes the distance and clinches.

Formiga breaks the clinch.

Formiga moves into the clinch.
A right handed body shot lands from Formiga.

Formiga's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bruno Formiga is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Resende blocks a head kick by Formiga.

Formiga has closed the distance and engaged Resende in a clinch.
Joao Resende has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Formiga connects with a nasty looking knee right to Resende's face.

Formiga manages to break the clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Formiga scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

Formiga rushes Resende and presses him up against the ropes.
Formiga stalling against the ropes.

Formiga manages to break the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Formiga rushes Resende and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Formiga on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bruno Formiga showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Formiga 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:26
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bruno Formiga!
An out of breath Bruno Formiga thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.