PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Fritz Gates (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Desto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ricardo Desto has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Fritz Gates's chin.

Gates
vs
Desto

204 cm
18
278 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

200 cm
18
245 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 heavyweight 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, Fritz Gates!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ricardo Desto!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Frank Dennis and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Desto throws a head kick that misses.

Gates gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Desto manages to pull guard.
Desto is trying to control the position but Gates postures up.
Gates wants to stand but Desto has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Desto looking for a sweep. Not yet Desto, not yet.
Gates controlling from the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gates postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Gates throws a strike but Desto rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gates is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Desto is controlling him.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Desto shoots in looking for a takedown but Gates manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Desto's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Gates tried to counter with a leg kick but Desto avoided it.

Gates clinches with his opponent.
Gates wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Desto is trying to pull guard but Gates has him pressed against the cage.
Desto is trying to drag Gates to the mat but Gates just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Fritz Gates has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Desto.
Desto tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Gates is trying to pull guard but Desto has him pressed against the cage.
Gates looking for a takedown.
Gates tries to pull guard but Desto holds him up against the cage and eventually Gates drops back down to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gates is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Desto has Gates pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Gates manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Desto is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Gates to keep the fight standing.
Desto avoids the elbow strike from Gates, against the cage.

Desto breaks from the clinch.
Gates stuffs the takedown attempt from Desto. Desto gets slowly back to his feet.
Gates seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Desto looks to score with a jab to the body but Gates is just out of range.
Desto shoots in and drives through. Gates sprawls well.
Desto looks winded!
Desto fails with an attempt to clinch.
Gates went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Desto shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gates sprawls well. Gates wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Desto gets slowly back to his feet.
Gates tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Desto manages to circle out of the way.
Desto tries for a takedown but Gates circles away easily

and Gates holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Gates throws an elbow but it misses.

Desto manages to break the clinch.
Desto shoots in for a takedown but Gates shows good takedown defense.
Gates quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.

Gates shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Desto is trying to defend but Gates finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Desto has hold of Gates's hands but Gates slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gates seems to be working for a kimura but Desto defends the submission attempt.
Desto is trying to get back to full guard.
Gates seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gates lands strikes from half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Gates tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Desto manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Gates closes the distance and clinches.
Desto can't break the clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Desto drops down looking for an ankle pick but Gates pulls his leg out and moves away.
Gates is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Desto can do to turn this around?
Desto misses with a takedown

and Gates counters by clinching up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Desto being controlled against the cage.
Desto drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Fritz Gates has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Desto.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gates stops a takedown attempt from Desto.
Gates pushes Desto back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Gates successfully pulls guard.
Gates wants to stand up but Desto is controlling him.
Gates keeping moving, preventing Desto from controlling successfully.
Desto stops Gates from standing up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gates utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gates has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Desto has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Gates manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Gates has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Desto off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Ricardo Desto seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Desto is breathing heavily.
Desto throws a poor cross that misses

and Gates counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Desto pulls Gates in close to prevent any damage.
Gates cracks Desto with a solid left hand.
Gates trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Gates with a flurry of punches that miss.
Gates is in close to Desto's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Gates landing with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gates scoring with some ground and pound.
Gates with a nice head shot there.
Desto looking to control.
Gates lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Gates 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.

Desto is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Gates defends well.
Gates is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Gates slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Gates throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gates loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Gates keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fritz Gates dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Gates stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Gates wants it to stay on the feet.
Desto shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Gates has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Desto.
Gates slaps away a takedown attempt from Desto, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Desto drives through with a takedown into guard.

Gates has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Desto has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Desto takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Desto fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Fritz Gates has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Desto.
Gates misses with the head strike.
Desto scores with a shoulder strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Desto missing with knees to the body.

Gates manages to pull guard.
Desto prevents Gates from getting back to his feet.
Gates lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Desto had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Gates defends it easily.
Fritz Gates overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gates is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Gates is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Desto looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gates decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Gates closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Desto did well to prevent Gates getting side control.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Gates connects with a nice short shot to Desto's temple.
Gates seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Gates has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Gates's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gates working over Desto with some ground and pound. Desto looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Gates scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Gates is nestled in close to Desto, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Gates slips a nice elbow through Desto's hands, connecting with Desto's forehead.
Gates looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Desto trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Gates manages to pass to mount!
Gates 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.
Desto takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Gates.
Gates content just to control the position here.
Gates seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Desto for as long as he can get away with.
Gates punishing his opponent with strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gates in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

And that's the end of the fight!
Fritz Gates showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Gates 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fritz Gates!