PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Trent Morrow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cassius Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Morrow
vs
Penn

170 cm
29
165 lbs
21 - 13 - 0

181 cm
30
168 lbs
22 - 14 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Fast

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Trent Morrow!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cassius Penn!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Gregory Folan and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Penn throws a good cross that connects.
Penn lands with a kick to the ribs.
Morrow throws a jab when Penn was well out of range.
Penn shoots for a double leg takedown but Morrow sprawls well. He's pushed Penn's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Penn loads up on a big right hand but Morrow slips the punch.
Morrow lands a leg kick that knocks Penn off balance momentarily.
Morrow takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Morrow misses the jab.
A swing and a miss from Morrow.
Morrow moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Morrow loads up on a big right hand but Penn slips the punch.
A slow jab from Morrow misses its intended target.
Penn moves out of range as Morrow throws a body kick.
Morrow digs a good body shot into Penn's ribs.
A big left from Penn misses.
Nice takedown defense from Morrow. No joy for Penn on that attempt.
Penn is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Morrow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Morrow moves away from the strike by Penn.
Morrow with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrow thows a left - swing and a miss!
Morrow looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Penn misses with a hook. Morrow ducked under it nicely.
Morrow is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Penn's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Morrow shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Penn pinned against the cage. Penn gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Morrow shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Penn is trying to defend but Morrow finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Morrow thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Penn's head.
Penn on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Penn tries to get to full guard but Morrow has control of the leg.
Penn trying to control from the bottom.
Morrow throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Penn to regain full guard.
Penn working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morrow stands up over Penn, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Morrow cracks Penn with a solid left hand.
Penn is trying to keep Morrow in close.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Morrow trying to control but Penn is working from the bottom.
Morrow throws a big elbow that misses.
Morrow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Morrow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Morrow won't allow Penn to sweep him here.
Penn is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Morrow landing with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrow postures up in Penn's guard and throws a big left but Penn blocks it.
Morrow scoring with some ground and pound.
Morrow tries to free his leg and advance position but Penn is retaining full guard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Morrow is working Penn over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Morrow working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Penn's head.
Morrow lands a couple of digs.
Morrow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Morrow wants to control from the top but Penn keeps moving.
Penn has control of Morrow's left arm, preventing Morrow from doing any damage.
Penn looking for a sweep. Not yet Penn, not yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrow keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Penn's head.
Penn controls Morrow momentarily but Morrow frees himself.
Morrow stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Penn swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Morrow with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Penn is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Penn trying to keep a closed guard but Morrow is proving a slippery customer.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Morrow cracks Penn with a solid left hand.
Penn wants to sweep but no luck.
Morrow postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Trent Morrow dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Penn connects with a body shot that sends Morrow's belly button to the back.
Morrow throws a hook but Penn blocks it.
Morrow swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Morrow steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Penn. That one must have hurt.
Penn leaves Morrow with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Penn throws a lazy right hand but Morrow sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Morrow tries to land a front kick but Penn steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Morrow misses with a body kick.
Penn swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Penn lands a head shot.
Morrow misses with a body kick.
Penn jabs Morrow to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Cassius Penn seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A jab from Penn misses.
Morrow thumps Penn with a low kick.
Penn throws a looping overhand right but Morrow ducks down to avoid it.
Morrow pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big left from Penn misses.

Penn gets caught napping as Morrow dives in and scores a takedown. Penn manages to retain guard.
Morrow trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Penn looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Morrow's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Morrow might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Morrow connects with a couple of short punches.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Morrow accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Morrow 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.
Penn looking to control.
Penn manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Morrow manages to get himself to full guard.

Morrow working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Penn doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Penn manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Morrow looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Penn postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Penn preventing the sweep.
Penn in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Penn throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Morrow works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Penn stopping the sweep attempt from Morrow.
Penn looking to pass the guard.
Penn trying to control but Morrow is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn stopping the sweep attempt from Morrow.
Morrow is working hard here to advance position.
Morrow lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Penn!
Morrow pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Morrow unloads with some shots from mount but Penn bucks and avoids them well.
Penn is in a horrible position here. Morrow smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Morrow working the ground and pound effectively.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrow looking to finish with strikes here!
Penn wants to control but Morrow is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Morrow lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Penn hang on?
Morrow with good strikes from the mount here!
Morrow has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Penn's face.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Penn wants to control but Morrow is having none of it.
Morrow unloading with bombs!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Morrow with good strikes from the mount here!

Penn is rocked!
Morrow landing strikes from the mount and Penn is in trouble!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Trent Morrow dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Morrow throws a leg kick but Penn moved away.
Penn misses with the combination.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Morrow is defended easily by Penn.
Penn throws a body punch but Morrow moves out of range.
Morrow moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Morrow shoots for a double leg takedown but Penn sprawls well. He's pushed Morrow's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Penn ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Morrow loads up on a big right hand but Penn slips the punch.
Penn misses with a hook. Morrow ducked under it nicely.
Morrow misses the jab.
Penn throws a looping overhand right but Morrow ducks down to avoid it.
Cassius Penn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Penn avoids the head kick by Morrow.
Penn lands with an uppercut that bounces Morrow off the cage and back into range.
Morrow throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Penn stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrow takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Penn pushes Morrow away with a front kick.
Penn lands a really nice looking cross but Morrow seems unphased.
Morrow is looking to land body kicks.
Good shot there by Morrow.
Morrow fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Trent Morrow. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Penn scores with a jab to the head.
Penn checks a leg kick nicely.
Morrow swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Morrow throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Morrow misses with a hook.
Penn is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Penn moves out of range of the body kick from Morrow.
Morrow fails with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Good standup being displayed there by Penn as he connects with a hook.
Trent Morrow is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morrow digs a good hook to Penn's body.
Morrow throws a big shot that misses.
Morrow gets cracked there but stands up to it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Morrow moves out of range of the strikes.
Morrow fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Penn.
Morrow tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Morrow moves forwards but Penn connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Morrow misses with a low kick.
Morrow shoots for a double leg takedown but Penn sprawls well. He's pushed Morrow's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Morrow is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Penn's half guard.
Morrow is pressing down on Penn's thigh, looking to free his foot. Penn is holding on for now.
Penn is positioning himself well to prevent Morrow advancing to mount.
Penn trying to control here.
Cassius Penn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrow wants to pass the guard but Penn is defending well.
Penn slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Morrow wants to control from the top but Penn keeps moving.
Morrow sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Penn keeping moving, preventing Morrow from controlling successfully.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Morrow won't allow Penn to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrow controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Trent Morrow wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Morrow slips a jab and a cross from Penn.
A leg kick checked by Penn.
Penn scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Penn takes one to the chin there.
Morrow throws a wild body kick that Penn sees coming a mile off.
Morrow throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Penn misses with an uppercut.
Morrow misses with an attempted mid kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Morrow thows a left - swing and a miss!
Morrow throws a big shot that misses.
The fighters circling - Penn throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Morrow throws a body kick that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Trent Morrow.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Morrow, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Trent Morrow!
After winning the bout, Trent Morrow thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.