PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Helder Ninja Passos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Murilo Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ninja Passos comes to the cage accompanied by Uppercut-2Pac. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Ninja Passos
vs
Rua

200 cm
20
220 lbs
1 - 3 - 1

180 cm
18
220 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Helder Ninja Passos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Murilo Rua!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Alexandre Firmino and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rua fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Jeez, both these guys look absolutely knackered already, that's not a good sign!

Rua takes the fight into the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Rua wants to get back to striking at distance but Ninja Passos won't allow it.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Helder Ninja Passos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick misses from Ninja Passos.
Ninja Passos tries to clinch up.
Rua circles away from the clinch attempt

and Rua holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Rua moves into the clinch.
Ninja Passos tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Ninja Passos misses with a knee to the head.
Ninja Passos lands a knee to the head.
Rua creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ninja Passos's defenses.
Rua tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Ninja Passos just stands there and leans against the cage.
Ninja Passos's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Ninja Passos on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja Passos trying to stall but Rua improves his position.

Rua breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Rua moves into range and clinches up with Ninja Passos.

Rua breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rua fails with a takedown attempt.
Ninja Passos throws a sloppy head kick and Rua moves out of range easily.
Ninja Passos doesn't manage to clinch there - Rua circles away.
Ninja Passos wants to clinch up but Rua keeps it at a distance.
Rua shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ninja Passos defends it nicely.
Helder Ninja Passos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Murilo Rua.

Ninja Passos gets a clinch.
Rua should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Ninja Passos has Rua pressed against the cage, preventing Rua from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Ninja Passos using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rua has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ninja Passos looking to throw knees to the head but Rua is blocking nicely.
Ninja Passos is trying to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua looking to stall.
Ninja Passos using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rua has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ninja Passos doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ninja Passos using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rua has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rua using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Ninja Passos avoids a wild elbow strike from Rua.
Rua managing to block the knees to the body from Ninja Passos.
Ninja Passos misses with a knee to the head.
Ninja Passos blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rua is looking for a takedown.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ninja Passos misses with a knee to the head.
Ninja Passos content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Rua breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Ninja Passos closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Ninja Passos with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua looking to throw knees to the head but Ninja Passos is blocking nicely.
Rua tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rua misses with an elbow strike.
Rua blocks a body shot from Ninja Passos.
Still in the clinch, Ninja Passos scores with a nice short uppercut.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Ninja Passos blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rua tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ninja Passos smiles and moves away.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Ninja Passos will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Ninja Passos is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ninja Passos tries to clinch there but Rua circles away.
Rua connects with a single shot there.
Ninja Passos misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ninja Passos defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rua.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rua shoots in for a double leg but Ninja Passos sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
A head kick from Ninja Passos lands but Rua takes it in his stride.

Rua clinches up with Ninja Passos and pushes him back against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Ninja Passos.
Rua avoiding damage as Ninja Passos throws knees to the body.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rua misses with a head kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Rua tries to keep at a distance but Ninja Passos has taken the fight into the clinch.
Ninja Passos with a knee to the head.
Rua avoiding damage as Ninja Passos throws knees to the body.
Rua lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Rua looks to throw an elbow but misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rua tries a knee to the head but Ninja Passos blocks it.
Ninja Passos stalling.
Rua goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Ninja Passos misses with a knee to 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 Helder Ninja Passos will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Ninja Passos shoots for a takedown but Rua saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Ninja Passos swinging wildly here.

Rua clinches.
Rua has Ninja Passos pushed against the cage.
Rua utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Ninja Passos is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Rua looking to slow down the pace here.

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

Rua moves into range and clinches up with Ninja Passos.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rua lands an elbow inside.
Ninja Passos with a knee to the head.
Ninja Passos is trying to maintain a safe position but Rua gets an underhook and turns Ninja Passos into the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Rua throws an elbow but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja Passos throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rua blocks it with crossed arms.
Nice elbow from Rua.

Rua breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Rua instigates a clinch.
Ninja Passos throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rua blocks it with crossed arms.
Rua throws an elbow but it misses.
Rua creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ninja Passos's defenses.
Ninja Passos avoiding damage.
Ninja Passos creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Rua's defenses.
Ninja Passos missing with knees to the body.
Ninja Passos lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rua lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Rua has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Ninja Passos throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Ninja Passos moves into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ninja Passos avoids the elbow strike from Rua, against the cage.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch.

Ninja Passos tries to keep at a distance but Rua has taken the fight into the clinch.
Rua tries to stall but Ninja Passos uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Rua is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ninja Passos to keep the fight standing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A bit of stalling here from Ninja Passos.
Knees to the body from Ninja Passos.
The referee is keeping an eye on Ninja Passos - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Ninja Passos misses with a knee strike.
Helder Ninja Passos has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ninja Passos just leaning against Rua, taking a breather.
Ninja Passos blocks an elbow strike from Rua.
Ninja Passos will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Rua up against the cage.
Ninja Passos throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rua blocks it with crossed arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ninja Passos lands a good knee to the midsection. Rua won't want to take too many of those.
Ninja Passos blocks the elbow strike.
Rua creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Rua throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Knees in the clinch landing for Ninja Passos.
Ninja Passos trying to control the position but instead, Rua has worked for underhooks and has pushed Ninja Passos into the cage.
Rua stalling.
Rua jumps guard but Ninja Passos stands there with Rua around his waist. Rua gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Rua tries to pull guard but Ninja Passos won't allow it.
Helder Ninja Passos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Murilo Rua.
Ninja Passos scores with a shot to the side of Rua's head.
Ninja Passos leaning his opponent against the cage.

Rua breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ninja Passos looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rua throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Ninja Passos gets tackled into the cage by Rua. Rua maintains the clinch.
Ninja Passos lands a left hand that snaps the head of Rua backwards.
Rua dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Rua jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ninja Passos walks away with a smile on his face. Rua gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Ninja Passos lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rua.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Ninja Passos takes the fight into the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ninja Passos has Rua pressed against the cage, preventing Rua from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Ninja Passos manages to break the clinch.
Ninja Passos fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rua looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
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 Helder Ninja Passos will probably get the nod.
That's time! Ninja Passos's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Rua fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Ninja Passos defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rua.

Ninja Passos drives through and clinches with Rua against the cage.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Ninja Passos drives through and clinches with Rua against the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Ninja Passos.
Ninja Passos prevents Rua from breaking the clinch.
Ninja Passos avoiding damage.
A frustrated look appears on Ninja Passos's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Rua stalling in the clinch but Ninja Passos improves position.
Ninja Passos stalling against the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Ninja Passos.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rua lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Ninja Passos lands a left hand that snaps the head of Rua backwards.
Rua tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ninja Passos avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja Passos landing knees to the head.
Ninja Passos lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rua backwards.
Ninja Passos connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rua's face.
Rua fails to pull guard.
Helder Ninja Passos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Murilo Rua.
Rua being controlled against the cage.
Ninja Passos blocks an elbow strike.
Rua takes an elbow to the forehead.
Rua prevents a body shot from Ninja Passos.
Rua scores with a shoulder strike.
Rua pushes off an throws an elbow but Ninja Passos leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Rua avoiding damage as Ninja Passos throws knees to the body.
Ninja Passos is trying to maintain a safe position but Rua gets an underhook and turns Ninja Passos into the cage.
Knees to the body from Rua.
Rua is trying to break free.
Ninja Passos comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ninja Passos misses with a punch to the body.
Ninja Passos makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Ninja Passos connects with a knee to the head.
Rua is trying to break the clinch but Ninja Passos has him pressed against the cage.
Ninja Passos wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Rua with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Ninja Passos trying to land knees to the body.
Rua trying to control the position but instead, Ninja Passos has worked for underhooks and has pushed Rua into the cage.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Rua gets tackled into the cage by Ninja Passos. Ninja Passos maintains the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ninja Passos avoids a wild elbow strike from Rua.
Ninja Passos is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rua is defending well for now.
Rua misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ninja Passos.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ninja Passos using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rua has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rua is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Rua trying to stall but Ninja Passos improves his position.
Ninja Passos is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Rua is keeping busy.
Rua stalling the fight.
Ninja Passos taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Rua scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Ninja Passos tries to land knees in the clinch but Rua avoids the damage to the body.

Ninja Passos breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ninja Passos tries to clinch up.
Rua shoots in looking for a takedown but Ninja Passos manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Rua's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ninja Passos is looking to clinch but Rua is avoiding it.
Rua throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ninja Passos's waist but Ninja Passos gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rua off to one side.

Rua has Ninja Passos up against the cage in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rua is trying to stall.
Rua is working for takedown but Ninja Passos is calmly controlling the position for now.
Ninja Passos lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Ninja Passos lands a knee to the head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
A shot in the inside from Rua.
Murilo Rua has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ninja Passos tries to land a knee to the head but Rua blocks with his arms.
Ninja Passos avoids a wild elbow strike from Rua.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rua is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Ninja Passos is trying to maintain a safe position but Rua gets an underhook and turns Ninja Passos into the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Rua just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ninja Passos's brow.
Ninja Passos is trying to stall.
Helder Ninja Passos is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rua doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
Helder Ninja Passos showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ninja Passos 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Helder Ninja Passos!
Helder Ninja Passos decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.