PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Solomon Venris (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thiago Sousa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sousa has chosen Ratamahatta as his entrance music. Thiago Sousa is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Venris
vs
Sousa

165 cm
20
157 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

172 cm
26
167 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Great elbows
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Solomon Venris!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Sousa!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Matheus Silva and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Venris wants to clinch.
Sousa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sousa looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Venris gets a clinch.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Thiago Sousa has been cut.
Venris lands a nice elbow.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Venris lands an elbow inside that Sousa shrugs off.
Venris lands an elbow inside that Sousa shrugs off.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Sousa tries to break the clinch but Venris is controlling the position.
Sousa avoiding damage as Venris throws knees to the body.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Sousa can't break the clinch.
Sousa wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Sousa takes an elbow to the forehead.
Sousa blocks an elbow strike from Venris.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Venris pushes off an throws an elbow but Sousa leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Nice elbow from Venris.
Sousa on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nice elbow from Venris.
A frustrated look appears on Sousa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sousa wants to break the clinch but can't.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Sousa takes an elbow to the forehead.
Sousa looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sousa on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Venris pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Venris throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Sousa managing to block the knees to the body from Venris.
Sousa is trying to break free.
Sousa takes an elbow to the temple.
Sousa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Sousa wants to get back to striking at distance but Venris won't allow it.
Venris prevents Sousa from breaking the clinch.
Venris lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Venris throws an elbow but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Venris.
Sousa is trying to stall.
Venris lands an elbow inside.
Venris lands a nice elbow.
Venris lands a nice elbow.
Venris misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sousa.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Sousa is trying to break the clinch but Venris has him pressed against the cage.
Sousa wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Venris lands an elbow just above Sousa 's eye.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Venris lands a damaging elbow.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Venris gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Venris trying to land knees to the body.
Venris pushes off an throws an elbow but Sousa leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Venris lands a nice elbow.
Venris keeps control of Sousa as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sousa has had enough of the clinch but Venris keeps him there for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sousa has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Venris creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Venris pushes off an throws an elbow but Sousa leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Sousa tries to circle away but Venris has him pinned against the cage.
Venris looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Venris tries to land knees in the clinch but Sousa avoids the damage to the body.
Sousa misses with a punch on the inside.
Venris lands a damaging elbow.
Sousa on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Venris keeps control of Sousa as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Venris gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Venris throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Venris has Sousa pressed against the cage, preventing Sousa from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sousa is looking to break free of the clinch but Venris has double underhooks.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Venris lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Venris misses with an elbow over the top.

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.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sousa dodges an elbow strike from Venris.
Venris landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Sousa wants to get back to striking at distance but Venris won't allow it.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Venris lands a nice elbow.
Venris misses with an elbow over the top.
Venris creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Sousa's defenses.
Venris tries to land knees in the clinch but Sousa avoids the damage to the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Venris.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Sousa blocks the elbow strike.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Venris lands an elbow just above Sousa 's eye.
Venris is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sousa is defending well for now.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Sousa avoids the elbow strike from Venris, against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Solomon Venris dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Thiago Sousa's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Venris wants to clinch.
Venris throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Sousa counters with a nice double leg into side control. Venris won't be happy with that.

Venris sneaks out the side door and pushes Sousa away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.

Venris pushes Sousa up against the cage in a clinch.
Sousa misses with a punch to the body.
Sousa is trying to break the clinch but Venris has him pressed against the cage.
Sousa tries to break free but Venris pushes him back against the cage.
Sousa working hard to break the clinch.
Venris lands a damaging elbow.
Venris is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sousa is defending well for now.
Sousa wants to get back to striking at distance but Venris won't allow it.
Sousa avoiding damage as Venris throws knees to the body.
Sousa tries to break the clinch but Venris is controlling the position.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Nice elbow from Venris.
Sousa wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Venris throws an elbow but it misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Venris throws a head punch that misses.
Sousa has had enough of the clinch but Venris keeps him there for the moment.
Venris misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sousa.
Sousa dodges an elbow strike from Venris.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sousa wants to stall.
Venris lands an elbow just above Sousa 's eye.
Venris misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sousa.
Sousa avoids a wild elbow strike from Venris.
Venris throws an elbow but it misses.
Venris lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That has opened up Thiago Sousa's cut even more.
Sousa takes an elbow to the temple.
Sousa managing to block the knees to the body from Venris.
Sousa is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Sousa avoiding damage as Venris throws knees to the body.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Venris is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sousa is defending well for now.
Venris prevents Sousa from breaking the clinch.
Venris gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Venris looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Sousa dodges an elbow strike from Venris.
Venris misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sousa.
Sousa avoids the elbow strike from Venris, against the cage.
Sousa working hard to break the clinch.
Venris lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Venris lands an elbow inside.
Venris tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sousa avoids it.
Sousa avoiding damage as Venris throws knees to the body.
Sousa wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Sousa tries to break the clinch but Venris is controlling the position.
Sousa takes an elbow to the forehead.
Venris throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Venris lands an elbow inside.
Venris lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Venris lands an elbow inside.
Sousa tries to break the clinch but Venris is controlling the position.
A frustrated look appears on Sousa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Venris missing with knees to the body.
Venris looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A frustrated look appears on Sousa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sousa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Venris lands a damaging elbow.
Venris looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Venris creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Sousa's defenses.
Venris lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Sousa wants to get back to striking at distance but Venris won't allow it.
Sousa managing to block the knees to the body from Venris.
Sousa avoiding damage as Venris throws knees to the body.
Sousa wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Venris throws an elbow but it misses.
Sousa avoids the elbow strike from Venris, against the cage.
Venris throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Venris throws an elbow that misses.
Venris pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Sousa tries to circle away but Venris has him pinned against the cage.
Venris blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sousa wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Venris has him pressed against the cage.
Sousa takes an elbow to the forehead.
Venris lands an elbow inside.
Venris comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Sousa avoiding damage as Venris throws knees to the body.
Sousa is trying to force a seperation but Venris has the dominant position.
Venris tries to land knees in the clinch but Sousa avoids the damage to the body.
A frustrated look appears on Sousa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sousa can't break the clinch.
Venris tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sousa avoids it.
Venris is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sousa is defending well for now.
Venris tries to land knees in the clinch but Sousa avoids the damage to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Venris looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Venris lands an elbow that stopped Sousa in his tracks for a moment.
Venris gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Venris throws an elbow that misses.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Venris.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Solomon Venris will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Thiago Sousa's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sousa fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A clash of legs there as Sousa blocks the low kick.
Venris tries to land a front kick but Sousa steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Venris doesn't manage to clinch there - Sousa circles away.
Venris moves to clinch but Sousa breaks away

and Sousa counters with a shoot takedown. Venris fights it but they end up in guard.
Venris keeping moving, preventing Sousa from controlling successfully.

Venris kicks Sousa off and gets to his feet.
Sousa shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Venris as he avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Venris displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sousa.
Solomon Venris has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thiago Sousa.
Sousa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sousa swats away the attempt to clinch by Venris.
Venris fails with an attempt to clinch.
Venris is looking to clinch.
Solomon Venris is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Venris doesn't manage to clinch there - Sousa circles away.
Venris moves in looking to clinch but Sousa pushes him off.
Sousa checks a low kick from Venris.
Venris keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Venris misses with an attempted mid kick.
Thiago Sousa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Solomon Venris is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Venris wants to slow Sousa down by chopping away at his legs.
Sousa swats away the attempt to clinch by Venris.
Sousa keeps the fight on the outside.
Solomon Venris seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Venris tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sousa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Venris tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sousa paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sousa fails with the takedown

and Venris counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Venris lands an elbow inside.
Sousa tries to break free but Venris pushes him back against the cage.
Sousa misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sousa wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Sousa tries to break the clinch but Venris is controlling the position.
Sousa is trying to force a seperation but Venris has the dominant position.
With the fighters up against the cage, Venris throws an elbow but misses.
Venris throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Sousa can't break the clinch.
Venris trying to land knees to the body.
Venris tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sousa avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Sousa is trying to break free.
Venris throws an elbow that misses.
A frustrated look appears on Sousa's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sousa wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Sousa tries to break the clinch but Venris is controlling the position.
Sousa wants to break the clinch but can't.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sousa can't break the clinch.
Venris keeps control of Sousa as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thiago Sousa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Venris has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:29
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:28
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Solomon Venris!