PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sergio Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Noah Payne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Souza
vs
Payne

196 cm
26
243 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

188 cm
33
266 lbs
21 - 12 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

ADCC Champion
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Crippler's Corner

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 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sergio Souza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Noah Payne!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Gregory Folan and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Souza fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Payne on the side of the head.
Payne changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Souza tries to avoid it but Payne manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Souza to the ground. Souza escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Souza throws a hook to the side of Payne's head but Payne sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A jab from Souza does it's job there.
Souza connects with a looping right hand.

Souza darts in and clinches Payne up against the cage.
Payne tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Payne misses with a punch on the inside.
Souza lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Payne tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Souza just stands there and leans against the cage.
Souza tries a body shot but Payne blocks it.
Payne is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Souza gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Sergio Souza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Noah Payne.
A head punch on the inside from Payne fails to land.
Payne is trying to pull guard but Souza has him pressed against the cage.
Souza misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Souza fails to land.
A right hand to the body from Souza.
Souza can't find room to land a body shot as Payne controls the action.
Payne blocking some punches.
Payne drops down looking for an ankle pick but Souza pulls his leg out and moves away.
A big left from Souza misses.
Payne shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Souza but Souza pushes him off and we're back to square one.
A left lands for Souza.
Souza moves away from the strike by Payne.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza throws the left hand but Payne avoids the punch easily.
Souza throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Payne shoots for a takedown but Souza saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Payne uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Souza.
Souza throws a right hand that misses

and Payne counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Payne tries to free his leg and advance position but Souza is retaining full guard.
Souza pulls Payne in close to prevent any damage.
Payne tries to free his leg and advance position but Souza is retaining full guard.
Payne won't allow Souza to sweep him here.
Souza pulls Payne in close to his closed guard and prevents Payne from doing any damage or advancing position.
Payne is looking to work some ground and pound but Souza has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza looking for a sweep. Not yet Souza, not yet.
Payne postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Payne in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Payne is fighting to break Souza's control of his arms but Souza is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Sergio Souza.
Payne has his takedown stuffed
and Souza counters with a right hand to the body.
Payne fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sergio Souza seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Souza looks to land a right hand but Payne moved out of range.
Payne takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Souza throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A left and a right from Souza both land. Nice combination.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Souza misses the jab.
Payne takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Payne keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Souza scores with a hook.

Payne gets tackled into the cage by Souza. Souza maintains the clinch.
Payne is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Payne is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Payne pushes Souza back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergio Souza dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Souza fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Payne throws a jab but it's blocked by Souza.
Payne shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Souza as he avoids it easily.
Souza lands with a nice body punch.
Good standup being displayed there by Souza as he connects with a hook.
Souza lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

Payne feints and as Souza raises his hands in defense, Payne changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Payne slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Souza is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Payne wants to free his trapped foot but Souza is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza is positioning himself well to prevent Payne advancing to mount.
Souza wants to get back to full guard.
Payne working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Souza is trying to stand up here but Payne is controlling him well.
Payne is keen to just control but Souza is a slippery customer.
Payne throwing shots but Souza is blocking nicely.
Payne misses with a head shot. Souza uses the momentum to regain guard.
Souza wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza is trying to control the position but Payne postures up.
Payne with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Payne trying to control but Souza is working from the bottom.
Payne postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Payne stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Souza swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Souza is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Payne throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Souza wants to sweep here but Payne controlling him for the moment.
Payne 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Payne is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Souza looking for a sweep. Not yet Souza, not yet.
Payne throwing strikes but missing.
Souza utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Souza here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Payne advances to half guard.
Souza avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Payne.
Souza is not content to let Payne control the position.
Payne thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Souza has one foot on Payne's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Payne shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Souza pinned against the cage. Souza gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Souza moves into range and clinches up with Payne.
Souza struggles to land a body shot inside as Payne controls his hands.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Souza.
Payne blocks a body shot from Souza.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Payne is trying to drag Souza to the mat but Souza just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Sergio Souza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Noah Payne.
Payne jumps guard but Souza stands there with Payne around his waist. Payne gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Noah Payne showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. 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.

Payne shoots in and drives through. Souza sprawls well.

Souza has taken the fight to the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Souza as Payne tries to tie him up.
Payne drops down looking for an ankle pick but Souza pulls his leg out and moves away.
Souza scores with a nice strike.
Souza is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Payne swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Souza.

Payne closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Souza misses with the head strike.
Souza lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Payne tries to break the clinch but Souza is controlling the position.
Payne looking to slow down the pace here.
Payne jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Souza walks away with a smile on his face. Payne gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Sergio Souza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Noah Payne.
Payne swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Payne looks for a takedown but Souza sprawls well.
Nice body punch from Souza.

Souza forces Payne back against the cage and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Souza gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Payne.
Souza keeps control of Payne as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Souza scores a nice knee to the body.
Payne takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A short left from Souza.
Payne wants to get back to striking at distance but Souza won't allow it.
A short body shot lands from Souza as the two fighters clinch.
A short right from Souza.
Souza lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
Souza lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Payne tries to work over Souza's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Payne tries to throw a body punch but Souza avoids it by throwing Payne back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Souza just stands there and leans against the cage.
Souza lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
Payne goes for a takedown in the clinch but Souza prevents it.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Payne.
Souza misses with a knee to the head.
Payne tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Souza just stands there and leans against the cage.
Souza can't find room to land a body shot as Payne controls the action.

Payne lands a takedown into guard.
Souza seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Souza is looking to stand up but Payne isn't so interested in that idea.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Payne accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Payne working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Payne is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Souza is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Souza has escaped and now he's on top!
Payne looking to control.

Payne had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Souza defends it easily.
Souza wants to stand but Payne is controlling his posture from full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

And that's the end of the fight!
Sergio Souza showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Souza 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sergio Souza!
Sergio Souza spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.