PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Verush Manakain (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vince Magalhaes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vince Magalhaes struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 186.6lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. The key to victory for Verush Manakain has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Manakain
vs
Magalhaes

186 cm
26
190 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

191 cm
28
198 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

Merciless Gladiators

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Verush Manakain!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Vince Magalhaes!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Gregory Folan and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Magalhaes shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Manakain sprawls well. Manakain wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Magalhaes gets slowly back to his feet.
We've been told by Manakain's head coaches at H.M.F.L.Elite Gym that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Manakain fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Manakain closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Magalhaes did well to prevent Manakain getting side control.
Magalhaes trying to control here.
Magalhaes is looking for a sweep. Manakain is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Magalhaes looks winded!
Manakain seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Verush Manakain has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Manakain drops Magalhaes with a right and a left! Manakain comes rushing in but Magalhaes regains his composure and manages to keep Manakain in guard.

Magalhaes is rocked!

It looks like Vince Magalhaes has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Manakain looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Magalhaes is still in real trouble! Can Manakain finish him?
Manakain wants to get up but he can't break Magalhaes's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Magalhaes seems to have recovered his senses.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Magalhaes is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Manakain not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Verush Manakain just wasn't active enough.
Manakain misses with a series of wild punches.
Manakain closes the distance looking to clinch
and Magalhaes counters with a stiff right hand.
A big right from Manakain misses.
Magalhaes takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Manakain misses with a double jab.
Manakain throws a left and a right that both miss

so Magalhaes counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Magalhaes stops Manakain from standing up.
Manakain keeping full guard, as Magalhaes tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manakain can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Magalhaes controls the pace.
Manakain keeping moving, preventing Magalhaes from controlling successfully.
Manakain is controlling Magalhaes's posture.
Manakain knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Magalhaes on the ground.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Verush Manakain wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Magalhaes takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Manakain misses with a low kick.
Manakain scores with a jab to the jaw.
Manakain looks to throw the jab but Magalhaes is out of range.
Magalhaes ducks under a wild hook from Manakain.

Manakain closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Magalhaes did well to prevent Manakain getting side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Magalhaes is looking for a sweep. Manakain is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Manakain seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Magalhaes is looking for a sweep. Manakain is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Magalhaes wants to control but Manakain is keeping busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Magalhaes wants to get back to full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Manakain is taking a breather. Magalhaes says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Verush Manakain just wasn't active enough.

Manakain throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Magalhaes was covering up waiting for the punch and Manakain finishes the takedown easily into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Verush Manakain dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Vince Magalhaes's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Manakain misses with the combination.
Magalhaes displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Manakain throws out the jab.
Manakain looks to land a combination but Magalhaes avoids it well.

Manakain catches Magalhaes napping and connects with a big right hand that sends Magalhaes to the canvas!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Magalhaes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Manakain decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Magalhaes, up you get!
Magalhaes is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Manakain feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Verush Manakain overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Magalhaes being controlled here, momentarily.
Manakain is looking to stand up but Magalhaes won't let him.
Manakain looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Manakain trying to stand up but can't free himself from Magalhaes's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Verush Manakain wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Manakain goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manakain tries to bum rush Magalhaes with a series of wild strikes but Magalhaes uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Verush Manakain is winning the standup battle so far.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Magalhaes wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Manakain is trying to force a seperation but Magalhaes has the dominant position.
Magalhaes wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magalhaes tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Manakain manages to break the clinch.
Manakain is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Magalhaes can do to turn this around?
Manakain throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Magalhaes.
Magalhaes has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Magalhaes there as he acknowledges the shot.
I'm just looking down at my notes here and I see that.... oh! Manakain has cracked Magalhaes with a big right, followed by a left! He's out on his feet! Manakain lands another huge swinging hook and Magalhaes tumbles to the canvas! The ref dives in to save Magalhaes, before Manakain can land any more shots!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:37 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Verush Manakain!