PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nicolas Leiva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Wopat (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Leiva comes to the cage accompanied by Spiderbait - Black Betty. This should be a great matchup!

Leiva
vs
Wopat

185 cm
24
180 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

187 cm
24
190 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

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 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Nicolas Leiva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Tom Wopat!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Sam Margolis and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leiva is trying hard to land a takedown here. Wopat sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Leiva closes the distance and clinches up with Wopat, looking for a takedown. Leiva pushes Wopat against the cage but Wopat circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Wopat misses with a double jab.
Leiva is trying hard to land a takedown here. Wopat sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nicolas Leiva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wopat looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Wopat looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Nice takedown defense from Wopat. No joy for Leiva on that attempt.
A left and a right from Wopat both land. Nice combination.
Leiva takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Wopat throws a right and a left that Leiva avoids nicely.
Wopat fails to land with a series of punches.
Leiva shoots in for a takedown but Wopat shows good takedown defense.
Wopat will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Wopat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leiva shoots for a double leg takedown but Wopat sprawls well. He's pushed Leiva's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Leiva tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Wopat swivels and escapes.
Wopat throws a nice looking combination but Leiva bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Leiva shoots in for a double leg but Wopat sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Leiva is breathing heavily.
Wopat fails to land with a series of punches.
Wopat looks to land a combination. Leiva sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Wopat throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Leiva on the side of the head.
Some wild striking there from Wopat.
Wopat tests Leiva's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wopat lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Leiva circles away quickly and effectively.
Wopat misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Some wild striking there from Wopat.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Leiva. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Wopat stalks Leiva and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Leiva's face. Leiva staggers backwards, shaken.
Tom Wopat is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A punch lands to the side of Leiva 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Wopat keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Wopat swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Wopat throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Wopat misses.
Leiva is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Wopat.
Wopat scores with a nice right hand.
Wopat moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Wopat rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Leiva moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Some wild striking there from Wopat.
Good standup being displayed there by Wopat as he connects with a hook.
Leiva has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Leiva there as he acknowledges the shot.
Wopat goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Nicolas Leiva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leiva takes one on the button.
Wopat misses with a jab, cross combination.
Wopat throws an overhand right that lands on Leiva's shoulder, as Leiva tries to avoid the shot.
Leiva slips a jab and a cross from Wopat.
Leiva with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Wopat to score with a decent uppercut.
Wopat throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Leiva shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Wopat pinned against the cage. Wopat gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Wopat throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Leiva.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Wopat dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Wopat stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Wopat wants it to stay on the feet.
Wopat throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Leiva.
Decent striking displayed by Wopat there.
Leiva has a takedown stuffed.
Leiva showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Wopat.
Leiva shoots in for a double leg but Wopat sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nicolas Leiva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Wopat!
Leiva slips a jab and a cross from Wopat.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Wopat fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wopat throws a right and a left that both miss.
Wopat throws a series of strikes that have Leiva backpedaling.
Leiva fails with the takedown.
Tom Wopat seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Wopat misses with a wild combination.
Wopat lands with a nice combination. Leiva backs away looking to recover.
Leiva closes the distance and clinches up with Wopat, looking for a takedown. Leiva pushes Wopat against the cage but Wopat circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Leiva throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Wopat's waist but Wopat gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Leiva off to one side.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wopat misses with a two punch combination.
Wopat throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nice defenses there by Leiva.

Leiva shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Wopat trying desperately to get to his feet.

Leiva gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Leiva is trying hard to land a takedown here. Wopat sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Leiva avoids a punch combination nicely.
Wopat throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wopat scores with a sloppy right hand. Leiva should have avoided that one.
Leiva shoots in but no luck this time.
Wopat misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Leiva tries for a takedown but Wopat sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Wopat swinging wildly here.
Leiva shoots in for a takedown but Wopat shows good takedown defense.
Wopat stuffs the takedown attempt from Leiva. Leiva gets slowly back to his feet.
Leiva dodges the punch combination from Wopat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
A big left from Wopat misses.
Wopat throws a series of punches but Leiva moves out of range.

Leiva closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Wopat to the mat! Wopat manages to get full guard.
Wopat wants to get back to his feet but Leiva passes into half guard.
Leiva prevents Wopat from standing back up.
Leiva is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Wopat!
Wopat wants to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Wopat showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Leiva takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Wopat will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Wopat throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Leiva looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Wopat misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Wopat leaves Leiva with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leiva shoots in for a takedown but Wopat shows good takedown defense.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Leiva is trying hard to land a takedown here. Wopat sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nicolas Leiva. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch combination from Wopat misses.
Wopat slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Leiva showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Wopat.
Wopat throws out a powerful jab.
Wopat works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Wopat throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Wopat looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Wopat fails to land with a series of punches.
Leiva shoots in for a takedown but Wopat shows good takedown defense.

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.
Wopat defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Leiva.
Wopat tries to bum rush Leiva with a series of wild strikes but Leiva uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Leiva.
Wopat lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Leiva circles away quickly and effectively.
Wopat misses with a two punch combination.
Wopat works over Leiva's head and body with a nice combination.
Wopat throws a series of punches but Leiva avoids them all with ease.

Leiva gets the takedown into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wopat wants to get back to his feet but Leiva drags him back down.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Wopat sneaks out the side door and pushes Leiva away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Wopat misses with a few strikes there.
Leiva gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Leiva avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Tom Wopat is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Leiva tries to move into range but Wopat moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Leiva throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Wopat's waist but Wopat gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Leiva off to one side.
Wopat misses with a wild combination.
Leiva drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
No luck for Leiva with that takedown attempt.
Danga de danga de dang - Wopat scores with a four punch combination!
Nicolas Leiva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Leiva shoots in but Wopat avoids the takedown attempt easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tom Wopat comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Wopat 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 26:30
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 26:30
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom Wopat!