PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Mike Cope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jake Lamotta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cope comes to the cage accompanied by I Against I. Lamotta comes into a darkened arena with his song building. yes kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Cope
vs
Lamotta

176 cm
25
146 lbs
13 - 2 - 0

175 cm
26
147 lbs
16 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very quick

ADCC Champion
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

GTI - 1337 Franchised

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mike Cope!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Jake Lamotta!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Leandro Rodrigues and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cope throws a lazy right hand but Lamotta sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Lamotta swings for the body but Cope moves out of range.

Lamotta clinches with his opponent.

Lamotta jumps into guard, dragging Cope to the mat.
Lamotta looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Cope pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lamotta is keeping the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lamotta is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Cope blocking the ground and pound attempt from Lamotta.
Cope blocking the ground and pound attempt from Lamotta.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope blocking the ground and pound attempt from Lamotta.

Lamotta seems to be working for a kimura but Cope defends the submission attempt.
Lamotta thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cope's head.

Lamotta seems to be looking for submissions.
Lamotta prevents Cope from improving his position.
Cope blocking the ground and pound attempt from Lamotta.
Lamotta missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Lamotta is looking to pass Cope's guard but actually Cope recovers to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Lamotta stopping the sweep attempt from Cope.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Lamotta working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Cope's head.
Lamotta wants to pass the guard but Cope is keeping the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lamotta accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lamotta stopping the sweep attempt from Cope.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Lamotta sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cope's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamotta sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cope defending well though.
Lamotta is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Cope reverses the position - he's now on top in Lamotta's guard.
Cope throws a big right hand that misses.
Lamotta controls Cope momentarily but Cope frees himself.
Cope is looking to work some ground and pound but Lamotta has wrist control.

Lamotta has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Cope can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Cope's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

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.
Lamotta not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cope passes Lamotta's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Cope seems to be working for a kimura but Lamotta defends the submission attempt.
Lamotta trying to hold on to Cope's head to control him but Cope postures up.
Lamotta is staying active underneath Cope, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lamotta is trying to control but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jake Lamotta dominated that 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.

Lamotta avoids a punch combination nicely.
Cope rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
enabling Lamotta to counter with a crisp jab.
Cope scores with a decent looking hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cope bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Lamotta.
Cope sneaks back into half guard.
Cope makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Cope.
Lamotta with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lamotta content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Lamotta throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Cope works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lamotta missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lamotta stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cope swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Lamotta missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Lamotta has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Lamotta throwing strikes but missing.
Cope lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Lamotta!
Lamotta takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cope unloading with bombs!
Cope lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
BOOM! Cope connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Cope trying to control but Lamotta is having none of it.
Cope cracks Lamotta with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Cope putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Lamotta sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Cope not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Lamotta gets full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lamotta had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Cope defends it easily.

Lamotta has an active guard here but Cope has managed to pass into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Cope is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Lamotta is looking to control Cope's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Lamotta avoid being mounted?
Lamotta tries to get to full guard but Cope has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Lamotta has Cope up against the cage in a clinch.
Cope dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Cope is trying to push Lamotta away but Lamotta has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Lamotta breaks the clinch.
Cope misses with a body shot
and Lamotta counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Lamotta's head backwards.
Lamotta looks to throw the jab but Cope is out of range.
Lamotta swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Cope.
Nice defenses there by Cope.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Cope thows a left - swing and a miss!
Cope keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Lamotta.
Cope blocks a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamotta scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Lamotta misses with a body shot
and Cope counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Cope uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Lamotta.
Cope misses with a series of wild punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lamotta slips a jab from Cope.
Donk. Cope catches Lamotta right on the button with a cross.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cope throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Lamotta cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Cope clearly takes that round.
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.

Cope lands a nice looking body shot.
Lamotta thows a left - swing and a miss!
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Lamotta moves forwards but Cope connects with a nice, crisp jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cope scores with a jab to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Lamotta throws a right and a left that Cope avoids nicely.
Cope thows a body shot but no joy.

Cope looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Lamotta!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cope cracks Lamotta with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Cope lands a big elbow.
Lamotta keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Cope fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Lamotta is rocked!
Cope in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Lamotta is still in real trouble! Can Cope finish him?
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Cope lands a nice shot to the head.
Cope looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamotta manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Lamotta tries to get to full guard but Cope has control of the leg.
Cope wants to advance to full mount but Lamotta doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Lamotta seems to have recovered his senses.
Mike Cope overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Lamotta escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Cope gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Cope postures up in Lamotta's guard and throws a big left but Lamotta blocks it.
Cope throwing strikes but missing.
Cope slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cope chips away with some ground and pound.
Cope is pushing down on Lamotta's leg trying to pass to half guard. Lamotta is fighting to maintain full guard but Cope has managed to sneak the leg through.

Cope is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Lamotta sees it coming and defends easily.
Cope throwing shots but Lamotta is blocking nicely.
Cope lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cope is thwarting Lamotta's attempts to control the position.
Cope thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Cope had his way with Jake Lamotta in that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Lamotta misses with a series of wild punches.
Lamotta keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lamotta misses with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope moves away from the strike by Lamotta.
Lamotta keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's two 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.
Lamotta throws a right hand that Cope ducks under and follows up with a left that Cope also avoids with ease.
Cope ducks right into an uppercut from Lamotta.
Cope tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lamotta was well out of range. Poor timing from Cope.
Cope misses with a hook
and Lamotta counters with a stiff right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lamotta uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Cope.
Cope looks to land a left hand but Lamotta moved out of range nicely.
Jake Lamotta has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lamotta misses with a looping left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Cope darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Cope takes a swing at Lamotta's ribcage but misses.
Lamotta thows a left - swing and a miss!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Lamotta looks for the body kick but Cope saw that one coming.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Mike Cope.
I think Cope 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 49:47
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 49:46
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mike Cope!
Mike Cope retains his featherweight title!