PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Max Payne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pablo Moralez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pablo Moralez told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Payne
vs
Moralez

175 cm
22
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
173 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Prefers standup

5th Round

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Max Payne!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pablo Moralez!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, George Francis and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Payne closes this distance looking for a takedown but Moralez circles away.
Moralez throws a nice looking combination but Payne bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Payne lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Moralez has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Moralez and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Payne dodges the punch combination from Moralez.
Payne fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Left hook, right uppercut from Moralez.
Moralez throws a series of punches but Payne avoids them all with ease.
Moralez cracks Payne with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Payne swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
letting Moralez counter with a right hand.
Payne tries for a takedown but Moralez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Max Payne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Payne blocks a head kick by Moralez.
Payne shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Moralez as he jumps to the side.
Moralez throws a head kick that misses.
Payne misses with a series of wild punches.
Payne dodges the punch combination from Moralez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Moralez misses with a few strikes there.
Payne takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Moralez defending well as Payne loads up on a big left hand.
Payne shoots in and drives through. Moralez sprawls well.
Payne fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Payne is breathing heavily.
Moralez throws a combination. Payne tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Moralez throws a right and a left that Payne avoids nicely.

Payne closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Payne lands in his opponent's guard.
Moralez is pulling down on Payne's head to control his posture.
Payne lands a couple of digs.
Payne postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payne is looking to work some ground and pound but Moralez has wrist control.
Moralez is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Moralez not doing much here.
Moralez is trying to control the action in half guard but Payne is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Moralez tries to stand and escape but Payne is controlling the position.
Moralez wants to pass to mount but Payne is defending the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne is looking to escape.
Payne throws a strike from the bottom but Moralez passes into side control!
Payne on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Payne tries to get out of the position.
Payne is trying to control Moralez's posture but Moralez avoids it.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Payne shoots in for a takedown but Moralez shows good takedown defense.
Payne throws a left and a right that both miss
and Moralez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
No luck for Payne with that takedown attempt.
Payne misses with a double jab
enabling Moralez to counter with a crisp jab.
Moralez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Moralez throws a nice looking combination but Payne bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Pablo Moralez is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four 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.
Moralez misses with a wild combination.
Payne looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Moralez is fending him off so far but Payne persists. Nope, Moralez circles away and we're back to standing.
Moralez throws a left and a right that both miss

and Payne counters with a takedown into side control.
Payne sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Moralez is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Moralez parries the strikes from Payne easily there. Payne is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Moralez to escape.
Payne knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Moralez on the ground.
What's Moralez going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Payne is chipping away with strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Moralez is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Moralez is working to avoid the ground and pound but Payne connects with a decent elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pablo Moralez will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Payne changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Moralez tries to avoid it but Payne manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Moralez to the ground. Moralez escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Payne slips a jab and a cross from Moralez.
Moralez throws the left hand but Payne avoids the punch easily.
Payne throws a leg kick
and Moralez counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Payne misses with a takedown attempt
and Moralez counters with a two punch combo.
Moralez lands a really nice looking cross but Payne seems unphased.
Moralez swinging wilding here.
A slow jab from Moralez misses its intended target.
Payne fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Max Payne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Payne falls off balance throwing a combination
and Moralez counters with a series of strikes. Payne will be more careful next time no doubt.
Moralez swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Payne closes the distance and clinches up with Moralez, looking for a takedown. Payne pushes Moralez against the cage but Moralez circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Moralez lands a glancing blow to the side of Payne's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne throws a left and a right that both miss
enabling Moralez to counter with a crisp jab.
Max Payne is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Moralez scores with a shot to the body.
Payne with a poor takedown
and Moralez counters with a nice uppercut.
Payne looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Moralez is fending him off so far but Payne persists. Nope, Moralez circles away and we're back to standing.
Moralez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Payne swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Moralez misses with a two punch combination.

Payne instigates a clinch.
Payne wants a takedown.
Moralez is looking to break free of the clinch but Payne has double underhooks.
Payne keeps control of Moralez as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Payne drops down looking for an ankle pick but Moralez pulls his leg out and moves away.
Moralez is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Payne.

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.
Payne tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Moralez swivels and escapes.
Moralez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Payne.
Horrible takedown by Payne or perhaps it was just good defense by Moralez which made him look bad.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Moralez, as that shot connected.
Payne dodges the punch combination from Moralez.
Payne misses with a takedown attempt - Moralez sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Moralez stuns Payne with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Payne throws a series of punches but Moralez avoids them all with ease.
Moralez misses with a series of wild punches.
Payne misses with a takedown
and Moralez counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne misses with a two punch combination.
Moralez catches Payne with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

Payne looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Payne thows a big elbow that misses.
Payne preventing the sweep.

Payne decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Moralez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Moralez misses with a double jab.
Payne fails with the takedown
and Moralez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Moralez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Payne drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Moralez can't do much from the bottom here.
Moralez is looking for a sweep.
Moralez takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Moralez takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Moralez takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Moralez takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Payne is working Moralez over with some ground and pound from side control.
Payne grinds an elbow into Moralez's temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Payne dominated that second round.
That's time! Payne's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

No luck for Payne with that takedown attempt.
Nice sprawl there from Moralez as Payne shoots in.
Moralez misses with a series of wild punches.
Moralez throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Payne fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Max Payne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Moralez throws a head kick that misses.
Moralez throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Payne counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Payne has a takedown stuffed.
Moralez throws a right and a left that both miss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Payne shoots in looking for a takedown. Moralez tries to sprawl out of it but Payne keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Moralez manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Payne.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne shoots for a takedown but Moralez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Moralez lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Payne swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Moralez counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Moralez throws a right and a left that Payne avoids nicely.
Max Payne seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Payne shoots for a takedown but Moralez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Payne walks into a jab.
Payne shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Moralez as he avoids it easily.
Moralez goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Payne swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Moralez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Moralez throws a series of punches but Payne moves out of range.
Payne misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

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.
Moralez throws a head kick but Payne moves out of range.
Moralez fails to land with a series of punches.
Payne shoots in for a double leg but Moralez sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Moralez gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Moralez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Payne.
Payne trying to control but Moralez is working from the bottom.
Payne throwing strikes but missing.
Payne postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Payne throws and elbow that misses. Moralez uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Payne's guard. Nice move by Moralez!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Moralez gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Payne has a takedown stuffed.
Moralez slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Payne looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Moralez throws a right hand that Payne ducks under and follows up with a left that Payne also avoids with ease.
Payne tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Moralez swivels and escapes.
Payne closes the distance and clinches up with Moralez, looking for a takedown. Payne pushes Moralez against the cage but Moralez circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A combination from Moralez does no damage.
Payne throws a left and a right that both miss
and Moralez counters with a left to the body.
Moralez keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
No joy there for Moralez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payne shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Moralez counter with a right hand.
Payne shoots for a takedown but Moralez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nice jab there from Moralez.
Payne throws a leg kick
and Moralez counters with a nice body shot.
Moralez misses with a few strikes there.
Moralez misses with a head kick.
Moralez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Payne sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Payne will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Moralez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Payne shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Moralez pinned against the cage. Moralez gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Moralez lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Payne circles away quickly and effectively.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pablo Moralez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Moralez has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Franklin scores the fight 29:29
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:29
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!