PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Thiago Muerte (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rai Leonardo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Muerte
vs
Leonardo

200 cm
37
312 lbs
27 - 7 - 0

202 cm
29
266 lbs
9 - 2 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
KO power

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Steel Penn's Laundry 93%

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the super heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Muerte!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rai Leonardo!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Mauricio Rocha and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leonardo thuds his right hand into Muerte's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Leonardo scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Leonardo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Muerte.
Leonardo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Good shot there by Leonardo.
Leonardo misses with a double jab.
Leonardo thumps Muerte with a low kick.
Leonardo thows a body shot but no joy.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Muerte is defended easily by Leonardo.
Leonardo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Decent striking displayed by Leonardo there.
Leonardo lands with a shot to the body.
Muerte shoots for a double leg takedown but Leonardo sprawls well. He's pushed Muerte's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
A big right from Muerte misses.
Leonardo throws a leg kick which misses Muerte's front leg but catches the back leg as Muerte tries to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leonardo scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Leonardo lands with a shot to the body.
Muerte dodges the punch combination from Leonardo.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Leonardo!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Leonardo cracks Muerte with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Leonardo misses with a wild combination.
Leonardo feints and then cracks Muerte's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Muerte down.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Leonardo.
A punch combination from Leonardo misses.
Leonardo stuffs the takedown attempt from Muerte. Muerte gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thiago Muerte. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Muerte moves in looking to clinch but Leonardo pushes him off.
Muerte gets cracked there but stands up to it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Leonardo catches Muerte napping and connects with a big right hand that sends Muerte to the canvas!

Muerte is rocked!

It looks like Thiago Muerte has been cut.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Leonardo tries to free his leg and advance position but Muerte is retaining full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Leonardo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Leonardo has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Muerte is proving hard to escape from.

Muerte looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Leonardo advances to half guard.
Leonardo wants to stand up but Muerte has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Muerte keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Leonardo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Muerte moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Leonardo gets to his feet - Muerte follows without any prompting.
A nice inside leg kick there by Leonardo. That's going to slow Muerte down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Muerte throws a body punch but Leonardo moves out of range.
Muerte shoots for a double leg takedown but Leonardo sprawls well. He's pushed Muerte's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Muerte is breathing heavily.
Leonardo punishes Muerte's body with a nice straight punch.
A solid leg kick lands there for Leonardo.
Leonardo scores with a jab to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Leonardo drops Muerte with a left right combo! Leonardo follows him down to the ground into side control.
Muerte managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Leonardo.
Leonardo sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Muerte is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Leonardo wants to control but Muerte is keeping him busy.
Muerte parries the strikes from Leonardo easily there. Leonardo is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Muerte to escape.

Leonardo stands up and beckons Muerte to his feet.
Muerte throws a body punch but Leonardo moves out of range.
Leonardo feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Muerte's calf.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muerte fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Leonardo scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Muerte. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
A jab lands there for Leonardo.
A nice inside leg kick there by Leonardo. That's going to slow Muerte down.
Leonardo looks for a left high kick but can't connect. Leonardo backs up to catch a breather... no he lunges forward with a huge flying knee that smacks Muerte's temple! It sends Muerte violently to the canvas! The crowd goes nuts as Leonardo celebrates and the doctors try to help Muerte!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:26 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Flying Knee). Rai Leonardo!
Rai Leonardo is the new super heavyweight champion!
Rai Leonardo seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.