PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Frank Morris (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Urijah Faber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Morris comes to the cage accompanied by Kane - No Surrender. Faber has chosen California Love as his entrance music. Frank Morris has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Morris
vs
Faber

210 cm
25
133 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

168 cm
27
130 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Solid chin

ORANJE

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Frank Morris!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Urijah Faber!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Morris decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Morris throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Morris tries to stand and escape but Faber is controlling the position.
Faber is concentrating on defense, preventing Morris from advancing position.
Morris throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Morris is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Faber still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Faber has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Faber staying calm.
Morris is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Faber has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Morris!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morris tries to hold on but Faber pushes him away.
Morris has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Faber wants to finish this one by submission but Morris is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Faber.
Morris tries to hold on but Faber pushes him away.
Morris wants to try and get back to his feet.
Morris really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Faber working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Morris is looking to get to half guard.

Faber working for a guillotine from mount but Morris is in no mood to give up.
Morris is desperately trying to improve his position but Faber has a good base and remains in mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morris is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Morris tries to lock up and control but Faber gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Faber controlling his opponent.
Faber wants to take Morris's back but he can't do it this time.
Faber looking to control and managing it successfully.

Faber jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Morris manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Faber moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Morris's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Morris is pushing Faber's head away, looking to escape. Faber manages to hold on to the position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Morris is looking for a sweep.
Faber controlling the position from side mount.
Faber is looking to take a break and control but Morris is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Faber working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Morris is trying to control Faber's posture but Faber avoids it.
The referee asks Faber politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Faber prefers to stall for the moment though.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Faber tries to advance to mount but can't.
Morris seems a little lost for a moment, as Faber dominates the positioning.
Morris is not content to let Faber control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Urijah Faber dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Morris tries to bum rush Faber with a series of wild strikes but Faber uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Morris fails in his attempt to clinch.
Morris moves to clinch but Faber breaks away

and Faber counters with a takedown into side control.
Faber is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morris tries to buck Faber off but Faber is having none of it.

Faber is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Morris knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Faber tries for a kimura but Morris is defending well.
Faber is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

Faber is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Morris is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Morris is looking to reverse the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Faber thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Morris manages to get back to half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Faber in particular looking to stall.
Faber trying to pass the guard but Morris defending well.
Urijah Faber has got the better of the ground game so far.

Faber is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Morris sees it coming and defends easily.
Morris is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Morris wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber controlling the action here.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Urijah Faber wasn't active enough on the ground.
Morris lunges at Faber with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Faber's hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber moves out of range of the body kick.
Morris throws a right hand that Faber ducks under and follows up with a left that Faber also avoids with ease.
Morris dives in and grabs Faber's left leg, looking for a takedown. Faber pushes down on Morris's head and hops out.
Faber moves out of range as Morris throws a body kick.
Morris tries to clinch but fails miserably

so Faber counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Faber wants to control from the top but Morris keeps moving.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Morris wants to stand and escape but Faber is having none of it.
Faber seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Urijah Faber showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Morris scores with a hook to the body. Faber takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Morris tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Faber counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Faber.
Morris is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Morris will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Faber trying to control but Morris is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber looking to sit in guard and control but Morris gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Faber keeping moving, preventing Morris from controlling successfully.
Faber keeping full guard, as Morris tries to pass.
Morris throws a strike but Faber rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Morris is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faber is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Morris is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Faber moves into full guard.
Morris throws an elbow that misses. Faber uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Morris's guard. Nice move by Faber!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Faber wants to control from the top but Morris keeps moving.
Faber is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Urijah Faber.

Morris shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morris trying to control but Faber is working from the bottom.
Morris throws an elbow that misses. Faber uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Morris's guard. Nice move by Faber!
Faber is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Morris wants to stand up but Faber is controlling him.
Frank Morris has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Urijah Faber is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Faber trying to control the position from guard on top but Morris is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Urijah Faber comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Faber 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Urijah Faber!
Urijah Faber took to the mic after the fight and begged the organizational hierarchy for a shot at the title.