PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Angelo Russo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Randal Coutour (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Russo
vs
Coutour

180 cm
23
196 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

190 cm
24
200 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Angelo Russo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Randal Coutour!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Wesley Smith and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Coutour keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Coutour will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Russo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Coutour was well out of range. Poor timing from Russo.
Coutour shoots in for a takedown but Russo shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Russo throws a series of punches but Coutour moves out of range.
Coutour slips a straight right by Russo.
Russo throws a series of punches but Coutour avoids them all with ease.
Coutour takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Coutour circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Russo wants to clinch up but Coutour keeps it at a distance.
Coutour misses with a combination
enabling Russo to counter with a crisp jab.
Russo throws a big shot that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coutour connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Russo's hands.
Coutour throws a hook to the side of Russo's head but Russo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Coutour misses the jab.
Russo bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Russo misses with a hook. Coutour ducked under it nicely.
Russo pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Russo ducks right into an uppercut from Coutour.
Russo stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Russo wants it to stay on the feet.
Angelo Russo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Randal Coutour.
Coutour lands a jab to the head.
Russo lands a right hook to the body.
Russo bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Coutour's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot by Russo.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice body punch from Coutour.
Coutour throws a jab but it's blocked by Russo.
Nice uppercut lands for Russo. That snapped Coutour's head back.
Russo misses with a hook. Coutour ducked under it nicely.
Russo doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Coutour counters with a nice body shot.
Randal Coutour seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Russo tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Coutour swivels and escapes.
Coutour lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Russo circles away quickly and effectively.
Russo staying out of range there.
Coutour looks to land a left hand but Russo moved out of range nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russo takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Coutour misses with a combination
and Russo counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Coutour looks gassed!
Coutour avoids a punch combination nicely.

Russo drives through with a takedown into guard.
Russo looking to pass the guard.
Coutour has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Coutour looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Russo wants to control from the top but Coutour keeps moving.
Coutour trying to keep a closed guard but Russo is proving a slippery customer.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Angelo Russo dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Coutour throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Russo counters with a series of strikes. Coutour will be more careful next time no doubt.
A swing and a miss from Russo.
Russo throws a left and a right that both miss
and Coutour counters with a nice uppercut.
Russo takes a swing at Coutour's ribcage but misses.
Russo connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Russo connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
The fighters circling - Russo throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Coutour uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Russo.
Coutour throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Russo counters with a straight right hand.
Coutour misses with an uppercut. Russo saw that one coming.
Coutour looks to land a combination but Russo avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Russo throws a lazy right hand but Coutour sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Coutour showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Russo.
Coutour misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Russo cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Russo throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Coutour counters with a two punch combo.
Coutour walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Coutour uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Russo.

Russo closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Coutour to the mat! Coutour manages to get full guard.

Coutour is rocked!
Coutour keeping moving, preventing Russo from controlling successfully.
Russo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Russo working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Russo won't allow Coutour to get back to his feet.

Russo drops back, looking for a kneebar! Coutour looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Coutour looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Coutour!
Coutour really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Russo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Coutour decides to stand back up.
Angelo Russo is winning the standup battle so far.
Coutour is breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Russo just misses with a punch to the body.
Russo thows a left - swing and a miss!
Some wild striking there from Russo.

Russo changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Coutour looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russo tries to advance to mount but Coutour denies him.
Russo is working hard here to advance position.
Russo misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Russo throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
You can see the frustration on Coutour's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Russo gets to mount! Coutour was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.

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.

Russo is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Coutour is surviving well by controlling Russo's body position as best he can.
Russo thowing shots but they're missing.
Russo has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Coutour's face.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Coutour bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Russo tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Angelo Russo dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Coutour takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Russo misses with a jab, cross combination.
Russo works Coutour's body with a nice hook.
Russo closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Russo throws a series of punches but Coutour moves out of range.
Russo thuds a left hand into Coutour's body.
Coutour throws a lazy right hand but Russo sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Russo clobbers Coutour with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Coutour is still on wobbly legs! Can Russo finish him?
Coutour takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Russo throws an uppercut from hell that sends Coutour clean off his feet! He's out cold! Russo stands back and admires his work as he thinks about that KO of the night award that is surely being wrapped up for him back stage.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:53 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Angelo Russo!