PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Chopp Emup (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Almeida (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Emup
vs
Almeida

180 cm
20
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

160 cm
24
154 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Chopp Emup!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Almeida!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Seu Braga and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Almeida falls off balance throwing a combination
and Emup counters with a head kick.
Almeida keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Almeida throws a jab but it's blocked by Emup.
Some wild striking there from Emup.
Emup misses with a head kick.
Almeida scores with a punch to the head.
Almeida fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Ricardo Almeida seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Emup walks into a stiff left hand from Almeida.
Almeida scores with a shot to the body.
Almeida should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Nice cross by Almeida.
Almeida works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Almeida moves into range and connects with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Almeida stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Almeida wants it to stay on the feet.
Emup dodges the punch combination from Almeida.
Almeida connects with a nice looking jab.
Emup ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Almeida moves away.
Emup misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chopp Emup. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Emup will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Almeida dips to his left and cracks Emup with an uppercut!
Emup shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Almeida as he avoids it easily.
Almeida lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Emup circles away quickly and effectively.
Emup is looking to clinch but Almeida is avoiding it.
Almeida throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Emup shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Almeida takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

Emup closes the distance and clinches.
Almeida digs a right hand underneath Emup's ribcage. Emup let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Emup is looking to break free of the clinch but Almeida has double underhooks.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
The crowd are getting on Almeida's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Emup tries to score a body lock takedown but Almeida shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Emup looking for a takedown.
Emup is breathing heavily.
Almeida lands a left hand that snaps the head of Emup backwards.
A bit of stalling here from Almeida.
Almeida presses Emup against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Almeida slows down the pace here.
Almeida continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ricardo Almeida.
Nice takedown defense from Almeida. No joy for Emup on that attempt.
Emup doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Almeida lands a nice shot to the body.

Almeida has Emup up against the cage in a clinch.
Almeida effectively controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emup has Almeida pressed against the cage, preventing Almeida from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Emup is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Almeida to keep the fight standing.
Almeida slowing the pace effectively.
Emup is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Almeida is defending well.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Almeida taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Emup is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Almeida pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Emup tries to pull guard but Almeida forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Almeida is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ricardo Almeida.
Almeida lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Almeida dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Almeida lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Emup takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Almeida cracks a nice hook into Emup's ribs.
Emup wants to clinch.
Almeida fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Emup on the side of the head.
Almeida's jab looks to have found its range, popping Emup under the eye.
Emup lands with a kick to the temple. Almeida shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"

It looks like Ricardo Almeida has been cut.
Almeida looks to score with a jab to the body but Emup is just out of range.
Emup tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Almeida counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Almeida comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Ricardo Almeida is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Almeida slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Almeida defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Emup.
Nice body punch from Almeida.
Emup on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Almeida scores with a shot to the body.
Emup fails to land the takedown.
Chopp Emup is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice body punch from Almeida.
Almeida bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Emup's head.
Almeida scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Emup closes the distance and clinches up with Almeida, looking for a takedown. Emup pushes Almeida against the cage but Almeida circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chopp Emup. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Almeida looks to land a combination but Emup avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Almeida throws a right and a left that both miss.
Almeida wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Emup takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Almeida smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
No joy there for Almeida, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Almeida defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Emup.
Almeida looks to land a left hand but Emup moved out of range nicely.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Almeida!
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!
Almeida misses with a few strikes there.
A telegraphed right hand from Emup misses the target.
Emup fails with a takedown attempt.
Almeida ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Almeida throws out a powerful jab.
A jab from Almeida finds it's way through Emup's defenses.
A shot to the liver by Almeida. Beautiful body shot.
Emup uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Almeida.
Emup looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Emup tries to clinch up

and Almeida counters with a takedown into side control.
Almeida tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Emup gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Almeida tries to stand but can't do so whilst Emup controls his leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emup wants to improve his position but Almeida is controlling well.
Almeida really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Emup. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
It looks like Almeida is going to stand back up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Almeida decides to stand up.
Good shot there by Almeida.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Almeida rushes Emup and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
A body shot lands from Almeida.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Almeida showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ricardo Almeida's cut.
That's time! Emup's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Emup has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Emup there as he acknowledges the shot.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Emup.
Danga de danga de dang - Almeida scores with a four punch combination!
Almeida cracks a nice hook into Emup's ribs.
Ricardo Almeida seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Emup will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Good shot there by Almeida.
Almeida cracks Emup with an open hand slap.
Emup really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Almeida thuds his right hand into Emup's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
A jab from Almeida finds it's way through Emup's defenses.
Almeida connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Emup momentarily.
Emup takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Almeida looks to land a combination but Emup avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emup closes this distance looking for a takedown but Almeida circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chopp Emup. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A combination from Almeida does no damage.
Emup takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Almeida showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Emup.
Emup slips under a jab from Almeida.
Emup avoids a punch combination nicely.
Emup fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Almeida avoids it really well and circles away.
Emup takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emup walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Almeida throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Emup uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Almeida.
Almeida throws a right and a left that both miss.
Emup shoots for a double leg takedown but Almeida sprawls well. He's pushed Emup's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Almeida misses with a jab, cross combination.
Emup uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Almeida.
Emup darts in looking for a takedown but Almeida gets double underhooks and turns Emup into the cage.
Almeida lands a body punch in the clinch.
Almeida has had enough of the clinch but Emup keeps him there for the moment.
Almeida lands a nice shot to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Almeida.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emup tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Emup. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
A right handed body shot lands from Almeida.
Stalling in the clinch from Almeida.
Almeida is working Emup over against the cage.
Almeida scores with a hook to the body.
Almeida gets through Emup's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Emup drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Almeida gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Emup wants a takedown but no success here.
Almeida throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Almeida leaning against his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Almeida gets underhooks to prevent Emup's takedown attempt.
Almeida controlling the action here for a moment.
Almeida wants to break free but Emup has control.
Almeida has Emup pressed against the cage, preventing Emup from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Almeida lands a body shot in the clinch.
Almeida has Emup pressed against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ricardo Almeida.
Almeida connects with a crisp jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Almeida comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Almeida 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight for Ricardo Almeida!
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight for Ricardo Almeida!
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight for Ricardo Almeida!

Ricardo Almeida wins by unanimous decision!