PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Miguel Cotto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Donnie O Brien (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). O Brien has chosen Rocky Road to Dublin as his entrance music. Donnie O Brien has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cotto
vs
O Brien

167 cm
24
145 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

172 cm
33
142 lbs
32 - 16 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Experienced

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Miguel Cotto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Donnie O Brien !
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Summer Carpenter and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
O Brien throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Cotto's waist but Cotto gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing O Brien off to one side.
Donk. O Brien catches Cotto right on the button with a cross.
O Brien fails with a takedown attempt.
Cotto takes one to the side of the head.
O Brien tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Cotto swivels and escapes.
Miguel Cotto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Donnie O Brien .
O Brien loads up on a big right hand but Cotto slips the punch.
O Brien fails with a takedown attempt.
O Brien throws a lazy right hand but Cotto sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
O Brien misses with a series of wild punches.
O Brien fails to land the takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.

O Brien feints and as Cotto raises his hands in defense, O Brien changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
O Brien stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cotto swivels though and keeps the full guard.
O Brien is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
O Brien trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Brien slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
You can see the frustration on Cotto's face as O Brien controls the position.

O Brien is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Cotto is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Cotto is trying to get back to his feet.
O Brien controlling from side mount.
Let's hope that O Brien has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cotto is trying to get back to his feet.
O Brien is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Cotto is looking to work his way out of this bad position but O Brien is controlling him well.
Cotto is letting O Brien control him for a moment.
O Brien has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Cotto!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Brien controlling from the full mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Donnie O Brien dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

O Brien throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Cotto on the side of the head.
O Brien looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cotto is fending him off so far but O Brien persists. Nope, Cotto circles away and we're back to standing.
O Brien tries to bum rush Cotto with a series of wild strikes but Cotto uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Cotto slaps away a takedown attempt from O Brien , before circling back to the center of the mat.

O Brien closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Cotto's guard.
Cotto wants to stand up but O Brien is controlling him.
O Brien stays in close to Cotto's body and controls the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
O Brien sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cotto's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
O Brien passes to full mount!
O Brien throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
O Brien tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Donnie O Brien has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cotto is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Cotto avoids a series of strikes thrown by O Brien .

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Brien controlling the pace for now.
Cotto blocking the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Brien takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
You get the feeling that Cotto really doesn't like being in this position too much.
O Brien controlling from mount.
O Brien 's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
O Brien working the ground and pound effectively.
O Brien controlling the position easily from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Donnie O Brien 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. This is the final round!

O Brien shoots for a double leg takedown but Cotto sprawls well. He's pushed O Brien 's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
O Brien misses with a double jab.
O Brien shoots for a double leg takedown but Cotto sprawls well. He's pushed O Brien 's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Cotto shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Cotto on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
No luck with that takedown attempt from O Brien .
Miguel Cotto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Donnie O Brien .
O Brien throws a hook to the side of Cotto's head but Cotto sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

O Brien is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Cotto's half guard.
Cotto wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Brien performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Cotto on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Cotto tries to get out of the position.
O Brien moves into full mount! Cotto won't be happy about that!
O Brien controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cotto tries to buck O Brien off but he can't manage it.
O Brien sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Brien lands with some strikes.
O Brien controlling from mount.
O Brien throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Cotto because O Brien loaded up on that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

O Brien has hold of Cotto's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Cotto manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
O Brien looking to control and managing it successfully.
Miguel Cotto has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Donnie O Brien is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Donnie O Brien comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well O Brien has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 27:30
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Donnie O Brien !
Donnie O Brien decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.