PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ramon Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Clayton Atkinson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Gracie might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Jiu Jitsu: Vai Finaliza!. Clayton Atkinson will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Gracie
vs
Atkinson

180 cm
24
180 lbs
12 - 0 - 0

183 cm
21
172 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

M.O. Fight Wear
Highland Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Ramon Gracie!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Clayton Atkinson!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, James Atkins and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gracie fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Atkinson to the ground. Gracie is now in Atkinson's guard.
Atkinson being controlled here, momentarily.
Gracie postures up.
Gracie controlling from the top position.
Gracie pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Atkinson is keeping the position for now.
Atkinson looking for a sweep. Not yet Atkinson, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Atkinson's guard.
Atkinson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gracie. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Gracie is working for a submission of some sort.
Gracie wants to pass to mount but Atkinson is defending the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Gracie in particular looking to stall.
Atkinson wants to improve his position but Gracie is controlling well.
Gracie seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two 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.
Atkinson is trying to maintain the position but Gracie is very close to passing his half guard.
Atkinson has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Gracie wants to control but Atkinson is keeping him busy.
Atkinson is trying to stand back up but Gracie is controlling him

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A low kick from Atkinson misses

and Gracie counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Still in half guard, Gracie seems content to control.
Atkinson is looking to escape.
Gracie working over Atkinson with some ground and pound. Atkinson looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Gracie throwing shots but Atkinson is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie passes the guard and advances to mount!
Gracie fails to advance to Atkinson's back.
Gracie punishing his opponent with strikes.
Gracie fails to advance to Atkinson's back.
Gracie tries to control but Atkinson wriggling away.
Atkinson is controlling an arm, preventing Gracie from taking his back. Although keeping him in mount is no better to be honest.
Gracie tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Atkinson is looking to escape.
Gracie tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie wants to take his opponent's back but Atkinson doesn't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gracie looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Atkinson throws a leg kick

and Gracie counters with a single leg into guard. Atkinson didn't expect that.
Gracie stands and throws Atkinson's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Gracie is looking to take a break and control but Atkinson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Atkinson trying to remain calm as Gracie controls from the top position.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Atkinson can do to turn this around?

Gracie is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Atkinson is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie advances to mount.
Gracie can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Atkinson is looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atkinson is desperately trying to improve his position but Gracie has a good base and remains in mount.
Gracie mounts Atkinson! Really nice guard pass there!
Atkinson wants to try and get back to his feet.
Gracie controlling the position easily from mount.
Atkinson tries to hold on but Gracie postures up.
Gracie controlling his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
A nice elbow there by Gracie.
Gracie is trying to take his opponent's back.

Gracie looking to secure an arm triangle but Atkinson defends it well.
Ramon Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Gracie looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Gracie forces the positional change into back control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Atkinson wants to control his opponent's hands but Gracie gets his hands free.
Gracie connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Atkinson to escape the position.
Atkinson is trapped and Gracie is scoring with shots to the head and body.

Atkinson preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Gracie.
Atkinson trying to get back to his feet but Gracie is in full control for now.

Gracie looking to finish the fight with a rear naked choke. Atkinson is controlling Gracie 's left arm and he spins nicely into guard.

Gracie throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie seems keen to control Atkinson's posture.
Atkinson trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.
Gracie seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.

Gracie working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Atkinson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Atkinson manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Atkinson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gracie is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ramon Gracie dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Atkinson moves out of range of the leg kick from Gracie.
Atkinson misses with a wild combination.
Atkinson throws a head kick that misses.

Gracie clinches.
The referee calls for Gracie to work.

Gracie jumps into guard, dragging Atkinson to the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie pulls Atkinson in close to prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gracie working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Atkinson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Atkinson manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gracie wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Atkinson must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Atkinson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Gracie is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Atkinson defends well.
Atkinson trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Gracie is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Atkinson defends well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atkinson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gracie swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gracie working a defensive guard here.
Gracie is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Atkinson postures up.

Atkinson stands up over his opponent, looking to dive in with a big punch. Here he comes, superman style! Oh, the punch misses and Gracie has got him in a triangle choke for good measure! Oh no! Atkinson manages to get his head free but now Gracie has transitioned to an armbar! Atkinson grimaces and is forced to tap! Beautiful Jiu Jitsu from Gracie! I'd be surprised if that didn't end up as submission of the night!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Ramon Gracie!
Ramon Gracie retains his welterweight title!
A relieved looking Ramon Gracie thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.