PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Carson Tully (ranked 1874 p4p, 3383 weight class) and Ricardo Morales (ranked 279 p4p, 448 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Tully
vs
Morales

180 cm
24
190
6 - 2 - 0

187 cm
27
202
8 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Carson Tully!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ricardo Morales!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Hugh Johnson and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The fight stays on the outside here - Tully looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Tully closes the distance and clinches.
Tully lands a good knee to the midsection. Morales won't want to take too many of those.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Tully.
We've been informed that Morales has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.

Morales is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Tully can't fight it off and eventually Morales manages to take the fight to the floor. Tully looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Morales slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tully is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morales looking to pass the guard.
Tully seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Tully has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Morales is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Tully.
Tully is trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
You can see the frustration on Tully's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Morales controlling from side mount.
Tully is trying to control Morales's posture but Morales avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tully sneaks back into half guard.
Morales trying to control the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
A low kick lands for Morales.
Tully tries to clinch but Morales moves out of range.
Tully tries to clinch but Morales is having none of it.
Morales throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
The fight stays on the outside here - Tully looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Tully fails in his attempt to clinch.
Tully throws a low kick but it's checked well by Morales.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tully clinches up with Morales and pushes him back against the cage.
Morales blocks an elbow strike from Tully.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Tully gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

It looks like Ricardo Morales has been cut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tully.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Morales.
Morales throws a head punch that misses.
Morales misses with some punches.
Tully unloads a knee to the mid-section. Morales lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Tully takes a shot to the head.
Morales throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tully slows down the pace here.
Tully creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tully misses with an elbow strike.
A head punch on the inside from Morales fails to land.
Tully blocking some punches.
Morales throws a punch but it's blocked by Tully.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Morales dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ricardo Morales's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Morales throws a head kick that misses.
Morales has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Tully closes the distance and clinches.
A head punch on the inside from Morales fails to land.
Morales misses with the head strike.
Morales lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Morales breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Morales with the inside leg kick.
Carson Tully is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Tully closes the distance and pushes Morales back into the cage.
Tully looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Tully creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Morales's defenses.

Morales breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Tully is looking to clinch but Morales is avoiding it.
Morales stuffs the takedown attempt from Tully. Tully gets slowly back to his feet.
Tully tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Morales paws at him with a jab and circles away.

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

Morales has clasped his hands together around Tully's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tully is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tully wants to control but Morales postures up.
Morales in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Morales taking a break here but Tully is having none of it and regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Morales in particular looking to stall.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Morales walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Tully checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Morales walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Tully checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Tully tried to counter with a leg kick but Morales avoided it.

Morales fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Tully, pushing him back against the cage.
Morales has a couple of punches blocked by Tully.
Tully landing knees to the head.
Tully on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
The referee is keeping an eye on Tully - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Tully leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morales is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Morales misses with the head strike.
Morales swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Morales lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Tully backwards.
Tully tries to land knees in the clinch but Morales avoids the damage to the body.
Tully looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Tully is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Tully is stalling here.

Morales has hold of one of Tully's legs. Tully is fighting the takedown attempt but Morales gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Morales must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Morales trying to stand up but can't free himself from Tully's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tully looking for a sweep. Not yet Tully, not yet.
Morales controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Tully controlling the position.
Tully working a defensive guard but Morales passes into half guard.
Tully wants to get back to full guard.
Tully is working hard here to advance position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Morales misses with an uppercut.
Tully appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Tully.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Morales showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ricardo Morales's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Tully fails in his attempt to clinch.
Morales dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Tully tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Morales paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Tully drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Morales pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Tully tries to clinch
and Morales counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Morales lands a leg kick that knocks Tully off balance momentarily.
Tully checks the leg kick nicely there.
Morales defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Tully.

Tully closes the distance and clinches.
Morales looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Carson Tully has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Tully throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Morales blocks it with crossed arms.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Morales blocking some punches.
Morales tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A bit of stalling here from Tully.
Tully tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Morales avoids it.
Morales misses with a hook from the clinch.
Morales tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tully misses with a knee to the head.
Morales lands a left hand.
Morales takes an elbow to the forehead.
Tully tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Morales has clasped his hands together around Tully's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
You can see the frustration on Tully's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Tully is looking for a sweep.
Morales slows the pace down.
Tully can't do much from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tully is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Morales is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Morales scores with a leg kick.

Morales has managed to clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tully wants a takedown.
Tully misses with a hook from the clinch.
Morales tries to throw a body punch but Tully avoids it by throwing Morales back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morales lands with a left to the head.
Good body shot from Tully.

Morales is trying to trip Tully. He has hold of a leg but Tully is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Morales persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Morales wants to pass the guard but Tully is keeping the position.
Tully is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Morales showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Carson Tully has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
We've been hearing good reports from Tully's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Morales trying to control the position from guard on top but Tully is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tully is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Morales controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tully working a defensive guard here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Morales comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Morales winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 John Mangel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo Morales!
A relieved looking Ricardo Morales thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.