PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Abe Cooper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shaun White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shaun White will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Cooper
vs
White

191 cm
25
193 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

197 cm
25
197 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Prefers standup

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Abe Cooper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Shaun White!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Nard Betker and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
White throws an overhand right that lands on Cooper's shoulder, as Cooper tries to avoid the shot.
Cooper tries to clinch up.
White throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
White lands with a hook. Cooper tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

It looks like Abe Cooper has been cut.
White lands an overhand right.

White forces Cooper back against the cage and clinches.

Cooper breaks from the clinch.
White throws a right hand that Cooper ducks under and follows up with a left that Cooper also avoids with ease.
Cooper will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

White fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Cooper, pushing him back against the cage.
White is trying to break free.
Cooper has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. White avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Cooper wants to take the fight to the mat but White manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abe Cooper. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cooper has White pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. White manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Cooper pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

White has Cooper up against the cage in a clinch.

White has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Cooper is trying to keep an underhook but White manages to get the takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cooper looking for a kimura from the bottom but White passes into side control!
White is staying tight to Cooper's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Cooper is trying to control White's posture but White avoids it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
White wants to lay and pray for a moment but Cooper keeps working.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cooper is trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooper is not content to let White control the position.
White wants to stand but Cooper is controlling his arm.
White is looking to take a break and control but Cooper is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Cooper is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
White taking a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Shaun White hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
White bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Cooper's head backwards.
White dodges the punch combination from Cooper.
White looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

White closes the distance and pushes Cooper back into the cage.
Cooper tries for a takedown but White manages to get underhooks.
Cooper wants to take the fight to the mat but White manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
White lands a hook that snaps the head of Cooper backwards.

Cooper drags the fight down to the ground.
White must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
White looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Let's hope that White 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 four minutes gone in the round.

Cooper throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
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!
Cooper tries to land a sweep but no joy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cooper trying to keep a closed guard but White is proving a slippery customer.
Cooper manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shaun White dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Abe Cooper's cut.
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.

A nice combination there by White.

Cooper closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Cooper working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

White bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A punch combination from White misses.

Cooper closes the distance and pushes White back into the cage.

Cooper pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
White throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Cooper.
Shaun White seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cooper on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
White keeps the fight on the outside.

Cooper gets a takedown into half guard.

Cooper is looking for a kimura here.
Cooper is trying to control the action in half guard but White is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Abe Cooper overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
White trying to control from the bottom.
White is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Cooper scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooper wants to control but White is keeping him busy.
White really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cooper. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
White is trying to stand back up but Cooper is controlling him
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
White is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Cooper scores with a couple of nice shots.
Cooper wants to lay and pray for a moment but White keeps working.
Cooper scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Still in half guard, Cooper seems content to control.
Cooper wants to stand but White has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cooper is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and White defends it well.

Cooper wants to work for an arm triangle but White is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Cooper working over White with some ground and pound. White looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
White is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Cooper moves into full mount! White won't be happy about that!
Cooper postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. White looks a forlorn figure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
White is desperately trying to improve his position but Cooper has a good base and remains in mount.
White is in a horrible position here. Cooper smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Cooper lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Cooper looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Cooper throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cooper is looking to stand but Cooper has his arms wrapped tightly around him, looking to prevent the damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abe Cooper dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Abe Cooper's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

White swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A looping hook to the body misses from White. Cooper does a little dance to reset his feet.
A swing and a miss from White.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Cooper is trying to work for a single leg takedown but White pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Cooper jumps guard but White turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Cooper tries to work over White's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
White is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Cooper gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Cooper is trying to control the action in half guard but White is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
White is looking for a sweep. Cooper is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Cooper throws a strike but White avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper trying to control the position from guard on top but White is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
White utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Cooper trying to control but White is working from the bottom.
Cooper preventing the sweep.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Abe Cooper just wasn't active enough.
Cooper slips under a jab from White.
Cooper shoots in for a double leg but White sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abe Cooper. That's going to take a lot out of him.
White jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Cooper shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Cooper was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Cooper is in a dominant position here, looking for a kimura. White looks calm but he's in trouble here. Cooper gets his leg over his opponent's head and yanks on the arm. White is tapping like a morse code operator on the titanic! SOS! SOS! Cooper lets go of the hold and White can pop his arm back in it's socket.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Abe Cooper!