PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Morgan Freeman (ranked 3057 p4p, 3230 weight class) and Finley Nielsen (ranked 196 p4p, 205 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Freeman
vs
Nielsen

188 cm
25
150
1 - 0 - 0

169 cm
25
150
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Very strong

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Morgan Freeman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Finley Nielsen!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, David Hoff and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Freeman throws a big shot that misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Nielsen misses the target.
Freeman throws out a loose jab but Nielsen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nielsen moves out of range of the strikes.
Nielsen drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Freeman defends it well.
Nice defenses there by Freeman.
Freeman swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Freeman ducks under a wild hook from Nielsen.
Freeman is looking to counter the offense by Nielsen and move into the clinch.
The fighters circling - Nielsen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Finley Nielsen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Nielsen drives through with a takedown into guard.
Freeman wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Nielsen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Nielsen wants to control from the top but Freeman keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Freeman has his hands on Nielsen's head, controlling the position.
Freeman definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Nielsen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freeman keeping moving, preventing Nielsen from controlling successfully.
Nielsen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nielsen trying to control the position from guard on top but Freeman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Freeman wants to improve his position but instead Nielsen has moved into half guard.
Nielsen winds up and cracks Freeman with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Nielsen is looking for a kimura here.
Nielsen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

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.
Freeman controlling the position for now.
Freeman really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Freeman tries to get to full guard but Nielsen has control of the leg.
Nielsen not doing much here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freeman is in trouble now - Nielsen has advanced to mount!
Nielsen scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Freeman?
Freeman really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Nielsen throwing strikes but Freeman bucks up and reverses the position. He's now in guard on top.
We've been informed that Nielsen has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Freeman stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nielsen swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Nielsen trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Nielsen controlling Freeman's posture.
Freeman stays in close to Nielsen's body and controls the position.
Nielsen is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nielsen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Freeman is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Freeman misses with an uppercut. Nielsen saw that one coming.

Nielsen manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Freeman on his heels. He'll look to pass Freeman's guard now, I'm sure.
Freeman seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Nielsen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Nielsen connects with a couple of short punches.
Nielsen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Nielsen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Nielsen wants to control from the top but Freeman keeps moving.
Nielsen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Freeman swivels though and keeps the full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Freeman seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Nielsen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Nielsen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Nielsen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Nielsen cracks Freeman with a solid left hand.
Nielsen wants to control from the top but Freeman keeps moving.
Nielsen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Nielsen trying to control but Freeman is working from the bottom.
Nielsen throws a strike but Freeman rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Freeman wants to control from the top but Nielsen keeps moving.
Nielsen manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Freeman manages to get himself to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freeman wants to sweep but no luck.
Nielsen postures up in Freeman's guard and throws a big left but Freeman blocks it.
Nielsen won't allow Freeman to sweep him here.
Nielsen is working Freeman over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Freeman will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Nielsen wants to control from the top but Freeman keeps moving.
Nielsen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Nielsen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Freeman keeping full guard, as Nielsen tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freeman keeping moving, preventing Nielsen from controlling successfully.
Nielsen won't allow Freeman to sweep him here.
Nielsen controls from within his opponent's guard.
Nielsen wants to control from the top but Freeman keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Nielsen throws a jab when Freeman was well out of range.
Freeman misses with a looping left.

Nielsen gets the takedown into side control.
Freeman tries to bench press Nielsen off him but Nielsen keeps the position.
Freeman sneaks back into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nielsen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Nielsen trying to control the action but Freeman is working from the bottom.
Nielsen looks to land a strike but Freeman avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Nielsen throws a strike but Freeman rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Nielsen not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Freeman stopping the sweep attempt from Nielsen.
Nielsen lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nielsen wants to control from the top but Freeman keeps moving.
Nielsen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Finley Nielsen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A telegraphed right hand from Freeman misses the target.
Morgan Freeman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nielsen loads up on a big right hand but Freeman slips the punch.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Freeman throws a shot from downtown. Nielsen moves away and avoids it.

Nielsen drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
A bit of a lull in the action here.
Freeman regains half guard.
Nielsen is looking to stall here but Freeman recovers full guard.
Finley Nielsen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Nielsen landing some decent shots from guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Freeman working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Nielsen.
Nielsen works over Freeman with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nielsen throws a strike but Freeman rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Nielsen working for a triangle but Freeman defends it easily.
Nielsen pulls Freeman in close to his closed guard and prevents Freeman from doing any damage or advancing position.
Freeman controls from within his opponent's guard.
Nielsen tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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.
Freeman stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nielsen swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Freeman not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Nielsen wants to improve his position but instead Freeman has moved into half guard.
Nielsen wants to improve his position but Freeman is controlling well.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freeman seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Nielsen for as long as he can get away with.
Freeman prevents Nielsen from improving his position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nielsen misses with a low kick.
Freeman keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Nielsen tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Freeman manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nielsen fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four 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.
Freeman throws a hook but Nielsen blocks it.
Nielsen is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Freeman misses with an uppercut. Nielsen saw that one coming.
Nielsen displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Freeman throws out the jab.

Nielsen darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Nielsen stalling.

Freeman looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Freeman keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Finley Nielsen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Nielsen 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Finley Nielsen!