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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pablo Soriano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Benoit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Soriano comes to the cage accompanied by Bebot by The Black Eyed Peas. Benoit has chosen Praise as his entrance music. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!
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| 165 cm
33
143 lbs
27 - 8 - 1 |
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170 cm
26
140 lbs
22 - 5 - 0 |
Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible |
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Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
27 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Pablo Soriano!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
22 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Michael Benoit!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, John Mangel and Hugh Johnson.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A jab from Soriano misses.
Benoit tries to close the distance and clinch but Soriano swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Benoit tries to clinch there but Soriano circles away.
Benoit misses with a wild body shot.
Benoit uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Soriano has time to react.
Soriano cracks the inside of Benoit's front leg.
Soriano throws a low kick, looking for Benoit's leg but Benoit calmly moves out of range.
Benoit connects with a body shot that sends Soriano's belly button to the back.
Soriano throws a push kick but Benoit slaps the foot to one side.
Benoit ducks under a wild hook from Soriano.
Soriano tries to land a front kick but Benoit steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Benoit pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Soriano back to the cage. Benoit follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Soriano swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Soriano misses with a straight right.
Soriano throws a leg kick but Benoit checks it.
A solid body kick from Soriano.
Benoit tries to clinch but Soriano moves away
and Soriano counters with a nice leg kick.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Benoit tries to clinch up.
Benoit throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Soriano stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Benoit is looking to clinch.
Benoit is looking to clinch.
Soriano misses with a low kick.
Soriano thows a left - swing and a miss!
Benoit darts in trying to clinch
and Benoit takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Michael Benoit seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Benoit looks to clinch
and Soriano counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Benoit throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Soriano throws a nice outside leg kick.
Benoit jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Benoit misses with a looping left.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Soriano breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Benoit throws a series of punches but Soriano avoids them all with ease.
Soriano throws a wild body kick that Benoit sees coming a mile off.
Benoit tries to clinch but Soriano is having none of it.
Benoit ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Soriano moves away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Soriano lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Soriano throws a shot from downtown. Benoit moves away and avoids it.
Soriano feints and then cracks Benoit's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Benoit down.
Soriano throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Benoit cracks Soriano with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Benoit moves in looking to clinch but Soriano pushes him off.
Soriano throws a hook but Benoit avoids it easily.
Soriano throws a head kick that half lands.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit tries to close the distance and clinch but Soriano swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Benoit moves to clinch but Soriano breaks away
and Soriano finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Benoit moves to clinch but Soriano breaks away
and Soriano counters with an inside leg kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Soriano.
Soriano fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Benoit manages to avoid it.
Benoit misses with a straight left.
Soriano moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Benoit doesn't manage to clinch there - Soriano circles away.
Soriano throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Benoit tries to clinch up but Soriano circles away and keeps his distance.
Benoit moves to clinch but Soriano breaks away
and Soriano counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soriano swats away the attempt to clinch by Benoit.
Benoit connects with a body shot.
Benoit stalks Soriano and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Soriano's face. Soriano staggers backwards, shaken.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Benoit tries to clinch up.
Benoit takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Benoit tries to clinch there but Soriano circles away.
Benoit connects with a good right hand that stumbles Soriano. Soriano circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Soriano looks to score with a jab to the body but Benoit is just out of range.
Benoit tries to close the distance and clinch but Soriano swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A jab from Benoit does it's job there.
Soriano misses with an uppercut.
A jab from Benoit finds it's way through Soriano's defenses.
Benoit scores with a jab. Soriano acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that Pablo Soriano will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.
Soriano takes a jab right on the kisser.
Pablo Soriano is winning the standup battle so far.
Nice body kick there by Soriano.
Soriano throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Benoit counters with a lovely shot to the body.
A big left from Benoit misses.
Soriano slips a jab from Benoit.
Soriano throws a big shot that misses.
Benoit clinches.
Soriano using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Benoit has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Benoit working aggressively here.
Still in the clinch, Benoit scores with a nice short uppercut.
Soriano struggles to land a body shot inside as Benoit controls his hands.
Benoit is looking to control Soriano's arms but Soriano gets an underhook and turns him. Now Benoit has his back to the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Benoit tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Benoit scores with a shot to the side of Soriano's head.
Benoit trying to stall but Soriano improves his position.
Soriano lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Benoit backwards.
That's one minute gone in the round.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Soriano lands a shot to the body.
Soriano lands with a left to the head.
A short uppercut from Benoit.
Soriano blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Benoit taking a breather.
A short left from Soriano.
Benoit looking to stall.
Soriano tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Benoit avoids it.
Soriano tries to work over Benoit's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Benoit is pushing Soriano up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Soriano tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Benoit.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soriano lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Benoit backwards.
Benoit managing to block the knees to the body from Soriano.
Benoit scores with a nice hook to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A frustrated look appears on Soriano's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Soriano trying to land knees to the body.
Soriano tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Soriano is struggling to control the position.
Benoit lands a nice uppercut.
Benoit blocks a body shot from Soriano.
Benoit lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short left from Benoit.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Benoit as Soriano tries to tie him up.
Soriano goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Soriano scores with an uppercut up the middle.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Benoit.
Benoit tries to stall but Soriano uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soriano misses with a hook to the ribs.
Soriano struggles to land a body shot inside as Benoit controls his hands.
Soriano throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Benoits head.
A right hook to the body lands for Soriano.
A head punch on the inside from Benoit fails to land.
Soriano is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Benoit is keeping busy.
Benoit looking to stall.
Soriano throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Soriano.
Soriano blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Soriano using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Benoit has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Soriano blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Soriano fails to land.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Soriano fails to land.
Soriano blocks an uppercut.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Soriano misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Benoit.
Benoit throws a head punch that misses.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Benoit misses with some punches.
Soriano blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Soriano displaying some good clinch control by pressing Benoit up against the cage.
Soriano misses with some punches.
Soriano misses with a knee to the head.
Soriano working aggressively here.
Soriano tries to throw a body punch but Benoit avoids it by throwing Soriano back against the cage.
Benoit swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Benoit wants to stall.
Benoit lands a left hand.
Soriano creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
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 Pablo Soriano will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.
Benoit misses with a series of wild punches.
Soriano connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Benoit's hands.
Benoit takes a jab right on the kisser.
Benoit clinches with his opponent.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Soriano.
Benoit holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Benoit's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Benoit working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A body shot lands from Soriano.
Soriano misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Soriano tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A hook to the body from Benoit.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Soriano has a couple of punches blocked by Benoit.
Benoit working aggressively here.
Soriano working aggressively here.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Soriano working aggressively here.
Benoit is trying to maintain a safe position but Soriano gets an underhook and turns Benoit into the cage.
Benoit scores with a shoulder strike.
Benoit swings wildly with an uppercut but Soriano uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benoit lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Pablo Soriano has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Soriano tries to work over Benoit's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.
Benoit is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Soriano tries a body shot but Benoit blocks it.
Soriano throws a punch but it's blocked by Benoit.
Soriano misses with a body punch.
Soriano throws a knee to the head but misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Benoit.
Soriano blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Benoit lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Soriano.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benoit lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Soriano lands a left hand.
Soriano takes a shot to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benoit misses with some punches.
Benoit goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Benoit is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Benoit's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Soriano throws an elbow that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Benoit fails to land.
Soriano goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Soriano with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Soriano blocks a body shot from Benoit.
Soriano blocks an uppercut.
Benoit looking to stall.
Soriano struggles to land a body shot inside as Benoit controls his hands.
Soriano can't find room to land a body shot as Benoit controls the action.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soriano lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Soriano is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Benoit gets through Soriano's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Soriano misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Benoit can't find room to land a body shot as Soriano controls the action.
Benoit blocks a body shot from Soriano.
Benoit looking to stall.
Soriano throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Soriano.
Soriano looking to throw knees to the head but Benoit is blocking nicely.
Soriano throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Soriano misses with a punch to the body.
Soriano is pushing Benoit up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit throws a head punch that misses.
Benoit stalling in the clinch but Soriano improves position.
Benoit tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Soriano lands an uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Benoit is looking to control Soriano's arms but Soriano gets an underhook and turns him. Now Benoit has his back to the cage.
Soriano swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Benoit is working Soriano over against the cage.
Soriano tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Benoit's elbow.
Soriano misses with a hook to the ribs.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Soriano.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Soriano.
Benoit has Soriano pressed against the cage.
Benoit keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Soriano's efforts to push away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Pablo Soriano 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.
Soriano fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Soriano is looking to score with low kicks.
A big right from Soriano misses.
Benoit lands an overhand right.
Soriano ducks under a wild hook from Benoit.
Benoit is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Benoit fails in his attempt to clinch.
Benoit doesn't manage to clinch there - Soriano circles away.
Benoit scores with a jab to the body.
Benoit rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Soriano counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Benoit tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Soriano manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Benoit closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Soriano misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Benoit can't find room to land a body shot as Soriano controls the action.
Benoit scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A head punch on the inside from Benoit fails to land.
Benoit lands a shoulder strike.
Benoit lands a nice uppercut.
Soriano stalling against the cage.
Benoit is trying to maintain a safe position but Soriano gets an underhook and turns Benoit into the cage.
Soriano swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benoit working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The referee is keeping an eye on Soriano - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Soriano tries a body shot but Benoit blocks it.
Benoit misses with a hook to the ribs.
Benoit lands with a short punch from the clinch.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soriano trying to control the position but instead, Benoit has worked for underhooks and has pushed Soriano into the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Soriano creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.
A short uppercut from Benoit.
A head punch on the inside from Benoit fails to land.
Soriano is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Benoit is keeping busy.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Soriano.
Soriano misses with a punch on the inside.
Soriano throws a knee to the head but misses.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Benoit.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Benoit tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Benoit stalling the fight.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
A right handed body shot lands from Soriano.
A nice right hand lands inside from Benoit.
Soriano blocks an uppercut.
Benoit lands with a short shot to the head.
Soriano misses with a body punch.
Benoit throws a punch but it's blocked by Soriano.
A short uppercut from Benoit.
Soriano lands with a short shot to the head.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Soriano tries to throw a body punch but Benoit avoids it by throwing Soriano back against the cage.
Benoit swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Soriano lands a hook that snaps the head of Benoit backwards.
Benoit doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Soriano lands a hook to the side of the head.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Benoit stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Benoit leaning his opponent against the cage.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit lands a left hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Benoit tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Benoit swings wildly with an uppercut but Soriano uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benoit fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Soriano prevents a body shot from Benoit.
Benoit doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Soriano has a couple of punches blocked by Benoit.
Benoit misses with a punch on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Benoit.
Soriano breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice straight punches there by Benoit. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Benoit.
Soriano looks to land a left hand but Benoit moved out of range nicely.
Benoit tries to clinch but Soriano is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Michael Benoit dominated that fourth round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!
Soriano goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Soriano throws a head kick but Benoit moves out of range.
Benoit looks to score with a jab to the body but Soriano is just out of range.
Benoit is looking to clinch.
Benoit wants to clinch.
Benoit doesn't manage to clinch there - Soriano circles away.
Soriano circles away from the clinch attempt.
Soriano looks to land a body kick but Benoit moved away.
Benoit checks a low kick from Soriano.
Benoit tries to clinch up.
Benoit works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Benoit tries to clinch there but Soriano circles away.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Soriano paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Benoit moves in looking to clinch but Soriano pushes him off.
Soriano scores with a leg kick.
Benoit rushes Soriano and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Soriano.
Soriano makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Soriano effectively controlling the action here.
Benoit scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Soriano lands with a short shot to the head.
Soriano is trying to stall.
Soriano blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Soriano tries to land a knee to the head but Benoit blocks with his arms.
Benoit lands with a light punch inside.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Soriano tries to work over Benoit's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Soriano blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Benoit blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Soriano breaks the clinch.
Soriano misses with a head kick.
Soriano lands a jab-cross combination.
Benoit tries to clinch up.
Benoit scores with a shot to the body.
A decent looking cross lands there for Benoit.
Benoit moves into range and connects with a jab.
Benoit moves away from the strike by Soriano.
Benoit is looking to clinch.
Benoit closes the distance and clinches.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Soriano.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benoit taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Benoit lands a shoulder strike.
Benoit gets through Soriano's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Soriano prevents a body shot from Benoit.
Benoit tries to stall but Soriano uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Soriano crunches a lovely knee into Benoit's ribcage.
Benoit is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Soriano makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Soriano works on Benoit's body with a couple of short punches.
Soriano looking to slow down the pace here.
Benoit misses with the head strike.
A left hand lands to the body for Soriano.
Soriano's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Benoit misses with an uppercut
and Soriano counters with a left and a right that stings Benoit.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Soriano misses the shot to the body.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit is looking to clinch but Soriano is avoiding it.
Soriano loads up on a big right hand but Benoit slips the punch.
Soriano throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Soriano throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Benoit sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Soriano fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Benoit on the side of the head.
Soriano looks to land a body kick but Benoit moved away.
Benoit is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Benoit keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Michael Benoit has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Benoit scores with a nice head shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Soriano showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Benoit.
Benoit tries to clinch up but Soriano circles away and keeps his distance.
And that's the end of the fight!
Pablo Soriano showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Soriano 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 49:46
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 49:46
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 49:46
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pablo Soriano!
Pablo Soriano retains his bantamweight title!
A very excited looking Pablo Soriano made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
100% |
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