PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Manny Pacquiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and brandon vera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). vera comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Black Eyed Peas: The APL Song kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Manny Pacquiao has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Pacquiao
vs
vera

175 cm
20
150 lbs
7 - 4 - 1

200 cm
25
145 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

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 7 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Manny Pacquiao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, brandon vera!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pacquiao will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Pacquiao shoots in and bounces vera off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

Pacquiao stands up and waves to vera to follow him.
Pacquiao is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Pacquiao connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Pacquiao misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

A momentary lapse in concentration from vera enables Pacquiao to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. vera manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Pacquiao's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Pacquiao stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. vera swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pacquiao stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Pacquiao gets a clinch.
vera is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Pacquiao holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Pacquiao gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
vera wants to get back to striking at distance but Pacquiao won't allow it.
vera tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Come on Pacquiao - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Pacquiao fails to pull the fight into his guard.

vera's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Pacquiao shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Pacquiao showed some decent athleticism there.
Pacquiao controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
vera keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
vera tries to kick Pacquiao off but Pacquiao keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Pacquiao is figuring out what he wants to do next.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Manny Pacquiao just wasn't active enough.
Pacquiao avoids the head kick by vera.

Pacquiao shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in vera's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
vera is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
vera can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Pacquiao controls the pace.
vera looks gassed!
Pacquiao is pushing down on vera's leg trying to pass to half guard. vera is fighting to maintain full guard but Pacquiao has managed to sneak the leg through.
Pacquiao seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
vera looks like he's trying to stand up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Manny Pacquiao dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

vera throws a head kick but Pacquiao moves out of range.
A nice inside leg kick there by vera. That's going to slow Pacquiao down.

Pacquiao shoots in and bounces vera off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

vera is working an open guard so Pacquiao takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Pacquiao darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Pacquiao sitting and controlling from the half guard.
vera is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
vera is looking to escape.
Pacquiao looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Pacquiao has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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.

We're going to have a standup here because Manny Pacquiao wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Pacquiao darts in and clinches vera up against the cage.

Pacquiao pulls guard successfully.
Pacquiao keeping moving, preventing vera from controlling successfully.
vera engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Pacquiao is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Pacquiao bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in vera's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao tries a head kick but it misses.
Nice body kick there by Pacquiao.
Pacquiao avoids a kick to the body.

Pacquiao shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. vera is trying to defend but Pacquiao finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao controlling the pace.
vera is trying to stand up here but Pacquiao is controlling him well.

Pacquiao decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
The crowd cheers as Pacquiao lands an impressive looking overhand right. vera doesn't seem phased though.

Pacquiao decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Manny Pacquiao dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! 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.

Pacquiao closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Pacquiao perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Manny Pacquiao overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
vera is trying to stand back up but Pacquiao is controlling him
vera takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Manny Pacquiao wasn't doing enough on the ground.
vera chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Pacquiao can pounce on him.
Pacquiao scores with a hook to the body. vera takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.

Pacquiao shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. vera manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Pacquiao is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that vera can do to turn this around?
Pacquiao sitting in guard here, content to control.
Pacquiao passes vera's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
vera is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Pacquiao scores with a couple of nice shots.
Pacquiao is taking a breather. vera says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Manny Pacquiao wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Pacquiao misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
brandon vera is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

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.
No luck for Pacquiao with that takedown attempt.
vera throws a leg kick but Pacquiao sees it coming and moves out of range.
Manny Pacquiao is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
vera misses with an uppercut

and Pacquiao counters with a shoot takedown. vera fights it but they end up in guard.
Pacquiao slips nicely into half guard.
Pacquiao with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
brandon vera has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Manny Pacquiao showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pacquiao has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Manny Pacquiao!