PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Freddie Wallace (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Marques (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Wallace
vs
Marques

219 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Freddie Wallace!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Alex Marques!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Alexandre Firmino and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wallace dives in and grabs Marques's left leg, looking for a takedown. Marques pushes down on Wallace's head and hops out.

Marques drives through with a takedown into Wallace's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Marques avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Wallace looking to hit a scissor sweep but Marques is one step ahead there.
Marques trying to control but Wallace is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marques won't allow Wallace to sweep him here.
Wallace will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Marques must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Marques trying to control but Wallace is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Alex Marques.
Marques swinging wildly here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Marques has Wallace up against the cage in a clinch.

Marques pulls guard.
Wallace showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Wallace really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Marques controlling the position.
Marques striking off his back but it's not causing Wallace any problems.
Wallace won't allow Marques to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Marques has closed the distance and engaged Wallace in a clinch.
Wallace working aggressively here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Marques ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Marques no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Marques can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Wallace controls the pace.
Marques wants to hit a switch here but Wallace passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Marques there!
Wallace looking to control but Marques is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Marques tries to hold on but Wallace pushes him away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Wallace landing punches.
Marques tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Wallace in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Marques squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Marques tries to hold on but Wallace pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wallace putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Wallace has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Marques's face.
Wallace wants to control the pace but Marques is squirming around nicely.
Wallace with the ground and pound from mount.
Wallace has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Marques looks winded!
Wallace working the ground and pound effectively.
Wallace looking to finish Marques with some ground and pound. This is bad for Marques!
Wallace controlling his opponent.
Wallace lands a heavy elbow.
Marques is desperately trying to improve his position but Wallace has a good base and remains in mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wallace working the ground and pound effectively.
Marques is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Wallace lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Marques hang on?
Wallace with good strikes from the mount here!
BOOM! Wallace connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Wallace sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

Wallace is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Marques can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wallace lands a heavy elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Wallace dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Marques tries to sprawl but Wallace drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Well, if Wallace is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Marques is looking for a sweep. Wallace is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Wallace is nestled in close to Marques, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Marques is looking to control Wallace's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Marques avoid being mounted?
Wallace throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Wallace throwing shots but Marques is blocking nicely.
Marques is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Wallace's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Wallace's back!
Marques keeps control of the position as Wallace tries to break free.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Marques patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Wallace trying to control the hands but Marques breaks the grip.
Wallace rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Freddie Wallace overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Wallace slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Marques postures up.
Marques stopping the sweep attempt from Wallace.
Marques wants to get up but he can't break Wallace's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Marques is breathing heavily.
Wallace is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wallace keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Wallace winds up and cracks Marques with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Marques moves into full guard.
Wallace is working Marques over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Wallace scoring with some ground and pound.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Wallace controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Wallace trying to control but Marques is working from the bottom.
Marques working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Wallace.
Marques keeping moving, preventing Wallace from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Freddie Wallace has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Marques gets the takedown into side control.
Wallace sneaks back into half guard.
Wallace tries to get to full guard but Marques has control of the leg.
Marques is looking to take a break and control but Wallace is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Wallace regains full guard. Nicely done.
Marques stopping the sweep attempt from Wallace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marques is looking to stand up but Wallace won't let him.
Wallace wants to stand up but Marques is controlling him.

Wallace is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Wallace throws some sloppy 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!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marques loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Wallace doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Marques tries to stand but Wallace is controlling from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Wallace dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Marques closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Marques lands in his opponent's guard.

Wallace is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Marques is aware though and is defending well.

Marques drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Marques jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Wallace lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.
Wallace is looking to work some ground and pound but Marques has wrist control.
Wallace connects with a couple of short punches.
Marques is trying to control the position from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Wallace accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wallace stands up over Marques, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Marques takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Wallace with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Marques wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Wallace manages to pass to side control.
Wallace stalling.
Wallace thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Marques's head.
Wallace throwing shots but Marques is blocking nicely.
Wallace is keen to just control but Marques is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wallace thows a huge punch but Marques dodges it nicely.
Nice strikes from Wallace there.
Marques wants to control but Wallace passes into side.
Marques trying to remain calm as Wallace controls from the top position.

Wallace tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Wallace has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Wallace lands a nice forearm strike.
Marques tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Wallace wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Wallace creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Wallace working the head with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Check out the look on Wallace's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Marques is trying to control Wallace's posture but Wallace avoids it.
Wallace scores with a couple of short elbows.

Wallace is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Marques is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Wallace scores with punches from side control.
Wallace in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

Wallace stands up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wallace closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Marques quickly recovers to half guard.
Marques trying to control but Wallace postures up.
Wallace scoring with strikes to the body and head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Wallace working over Marques with some ground and pound. Marques looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Wallace working Marques over with strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wallace throwing shots but Marques is blocking nicely.
Wallace is controlling the pace.
Alex Marques has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Freddie Wallace is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Wallace seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

And that's the end of the fight!
Freddie Wallace showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Wallace, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Freddie Wallace!