PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jo Jo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kip Morgan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jo comes to the cage accompanied by Set You Free. Jo Jo has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Jo
vs
Morgan

170 cm
23
155 lbs
7 - 7 - 0

175 cm
23
158 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jo Jo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kip Morgan!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jo shoots in looking for a takedown. Morgan tries to sprawl out of it but Jo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Morgan manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Jo fails with the takedown.

Morgan rushes Jo and presses him up against the cage.

Jo has hold of one of Morgan's legs. Morgan is fighting the takedown attempt but Jo gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Jo would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Jo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Morgan is keeping the position for now.
Morgan pulls Jo in close to his closed guard and prevents Jo from doing any damage or advancing position.

Jo drops back, looking for a kneebar! Morgan looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Morgan looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Morgan!

Morgan tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Morgan has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Jo sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Jo manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

Jo is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Morgan has managed to free his arm - good work.
Jo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Jo tries to stand but can't do so whilst Morgan controls his leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Morgan defending well though.
Morgan really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Jo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Jo is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Jo is working for a kimura but Morgan is defending it quite comfortably.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Morgan manages to get to full guard.
Morgan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jo wants to control from the top but Morgan keeps moving.
Jo wants to pass the guard but Morgan is keeping the position.
Morgan keeping moving, preventing Jo from controlling successfully.
Jo is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Morgan is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Jo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Morgan is keeping the position for now.
Morgan is pulling down on Jo's head. It's preventing any offense from Jo, at least for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Jo looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jo Jo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jo closes this distance looking for a takedown but Morgan circles away.

Jo has closed the distance and engaged Morgan in a clinch.
A short right from Jo on the inside.
Morgan misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Jo.
Morgan prevents a takedown attempt there.

Morgan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Jo dives in and grabs Morgan's left leg, looking for a takedown. Morgan pushes down on Jo's head and hops out.
Kip Morgan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A good leg kick by Morgan.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jo shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Morgan pinned against the cage. Morgan gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Jo shoots in but no luck this time.
Jo is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Morgan moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jo Jo dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Jo shoots for a takedown but Morgan saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Morgan throws a head kick that Jo semi-blocks.
Jo shoots in but Morgan avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Morgan throws a head kick that misses.
Jo fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jo Jo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jo tries to score a power double leg takedown but Morgan sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Jo somewhat.
Morgan throws a right and a left that Jo avoids nicely.
The crowd cheers as Morgan lands an impressive looking overhand right. Jo doesn't seem phased though.
Nice sprawl there from Morgan as Jo shoots in.

Morgan moves into the clinch.
Jo is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Morgan gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Morgan is trying to break the clinch but Jo has him pressed against the cage.
Jo avoiding damage as Morgan throws knees to the body.
Morgan missing with knees to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Morgan breaks the clinch.
A head kick from Morgan lands but Jo takes it in his stride.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Morgan wants it to stay on the feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Jo closes the distance and clinches up with Morgan, looking for a takedown. Jo pushes Morgan against the cage but Morgan circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Jo dives in and scores a takedown into Morgan's guard.
Jo wants to control from the top but Morgan keeps moving.
Morgan wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Jo looking to sit in guard and control but Morgan gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Morgan wanted to stand there but Jo had control of the position.
Morgan looking to sit in guard and control but Jo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan is adopting a defensive guard.
Jo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Morgan is keeping the position for now.
Jo postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Jo is pushing down on Morgan's leg trying to pass to half guard. Morgan is fighting to maintain full guard but Jo has managed to sneak the leg through.
Jo throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Jo is working for a kimura but Morgan is defending it quite comfortably.

Jo seems to be working for a kimura but Morgan defends the submission attempt.

Jo is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Morgan has managed to free his arm - good work.
Morgan tries to get to full guard but Jo has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Jo is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Morgan doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Jo.
Morgan is trying to get back to full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Morgan has hold of Jo's hands but Jo slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Jo tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kip Morgan will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Morgan has closed the distance and engaged Jo in a clinch.
Morgan tries to break the clinch but Jo is controlling the position.
Morgan is pressed up against the cage. Jo has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Morgan down to the mat. Morgan avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Nice takedown defense from Morgan. No joy for Jo on that attempt.
Jo tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

Morgan clinches with his opponent.
Morgan lands an elbow just above Jo 's eye.

Jo has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Morgan uses from the top position.
Morgan trying to stand up but can't free himself from Jo's guard.

Jo throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Morgan wants to stand but Jo is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jo is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Morgan is controlling him.
Morgan wanted to stand there but Jo had control of the position.
Morgan pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Jo is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Jo has his foot on Morgan's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Morgan works his way back into a safe position though.

Morgan avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Jo trying to control the position.
Morgan trying to stand up but can't free himself from Jo's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan pushing down on Jo's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

Morgan seems to be working for a kimura but Jo defends the submission attempt.

Morgan is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Jo looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Morgan is looking for a kimura here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan wants to stand but Jo has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

Morgan seems to be looking for submissions.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Jo looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kip Morgan.
I think Morgan has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kip Morgan!
Kip Morgan decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.