PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between James Morgan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Taisto Rahapussi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rahapussi has chosen Caged in A Rage as his entrance music. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Morgan
vs
Rahapussi

180 cm
27
200 lbs
17 - 13 - 0

178 cm
24
190 lbs
11 - 8 - 0

Decent wrestler
Great elbows
Insanely flexible

BJJ Brown Belt
Good kicks
Good gas tank

Affordable Quality + Reliable Laundry

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 17 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, James Morgan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Taisto Rahapussi!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Gwen Towbar and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A big left from Morgan misses.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Rahapussi crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Morgan - the referee stops the clock and Rahapussi gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Morgan. Rahapussi manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Morgan throws a leg kick but Rahapussi sees it coming and moves out of range.
Rahapussi throws a jab but it's blocked by Morgan.
Morgan tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Rahapussi manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Morgan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rahapussi moves away.

Morgan moves into the clinch.
Morgan tries to land knees in the clinch but Rahapussi avoids the damage to the body.
Morgan throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Morgan lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rahapussi backwards.
Morgan misses with a punch to the body.
A right hand to the body from Morgan.
This has been an exciting period of action!
With the fighters up against the cage, Morgan throws an elbow but misses.
Morgan lands a nice elbow.
A short right from Morgan.
Morgan pushes Rahapussi back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Morgan lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A short right from Morgan on the inside.
Morgan gets through Rahapussi's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Morgan lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rahapussi manages to break the clinch.
A clash of legs there as Morgan blocks the low kick.
A jab from Morgan does it's job there.

Morgan pushes Rahapussi up against the cage in a clinch.
Morgan has a couple of punches blocked by Rahapussi.
Morgan creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

Rahapussi breaks from the clinch.
Rahapussi jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Rahapussi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Morgan.
Rahapussi throws a leg kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Rahapussi throws a hook to the side of Morgan's head but Morgan sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Morgan lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Morgan ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Rahapussi sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Morgan slips under a jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rahapussi misses with a leg kick.
Crunch! Morgan slams his shin into Rahapussi's torso.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rahapussi jabs Morgan right on the nose. Morgan blinks but takes it well.
Rahapussi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Morgan manages to avoid it.
Rahapussi misses with an uppercut.
A nice inside leg kick there by Morgan. That's going to slow Rahapussi down.
Morgan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rahapussi.
A jab from Rahapussi misses.
Rahapussi lands a jab to the head.
Rahapussi tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Morgan is able to avoid easily.
Rahapussi throws a looping overhand right but Morgan ducks down to avoid it.
Morgan slips a straight right by Rahapussi.
Morgan cracks Rahapussi with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Morgan blocks a jab.
Rahapussi shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Morgan moves out of range as Rahapussi throws a body kick.
Rahapussi walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Rahapussi scores with a nice body kick.
The fighters circling - Rahapussi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rahapussi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Morgan fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan cracks Rahapussi with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Morgan throws a body punch but Rahapussi moves out of range.
Morgan bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Rahapussi's head.
Morgan throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Rahapussi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Morgan.
Morgan connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Rahapussi's hands.
Morgan tries to clinch there but Rahapussi circles away.
Morgan takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
The fighters circling - Rahapussi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rahapussi throws a leg kick which misses Morgan's front leg but catches the back leg as Morgan tries to avoid it.
Morgan avoids a kick to the body.
Rahapussi staying out of range there.
Rahapussi takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Rahapussi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Morgan.
Rahapussi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rahapussi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Morgan.
Morgan scores with a hook.
Rahapussi moves out of range of the leg kick from Morgan.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Morgan ducks under a wild hook from Rahapussi.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan scores with a nice strike.
Rahapussi cracks Morgan with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nice defenses there by Morgan.
Rahapussi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
It looks like Morgan has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Morgan blocks a jab.
Morgan lands a nice looking body shot.
Rahapussi slips a jab from Morgan.
Rahapussi thuds his right hand into Morgan's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rahapussi. Morgan does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rahapussi throws a right hand that misses
and Morgan counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rahapussi thinking.
Morgan throws a leg kick but Rahapussi moved away.
Morgan fails in his attempt to clinch.
Morgan lands a jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Morgan gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Rahapussi wants to break free but Morgan has control.
Rahapussi is looking to control Morgan's arms but Morgan gets an underhook and turns him. Now Rahapussi has his back to the cage.
Morgan lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Rahapussi.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Morgan dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Rahapussi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Morgan.
Rahapussi rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
enabling Morgan to counter with a crisp jab.
Morgan moves in looking to clinch but Rahapussi pushes him off.
Morgan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Morgan throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Morgan keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Morgan. Rahapussi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Morgan looks to land a body kick but Rahapussi moved away.
Morgan smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Rahapussi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Morgan cracks Rahapussi with an open hand slap.
Rahapussi on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Morgan misses with a body shot.
Morgan lands a leg kick that knocks Rahapussi off balance momentarily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A slow jab from Rahapussi misses its intended target.
Morgan lands a glancing blow to the side of Rahapussi's head.
Morgan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rahapussi.
Rahapussi misses with a body kick.
Rahapussi misses with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rahapussi looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Rahapussi throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Morgan punishes Rahapussi's body with a nice straight punch.
Rahapussi needs to keep his hands up - Morgan had a free shot at his head there.
Morgan avoids the head kick by Rahapussi.
Rahapussi comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Rahapussi misses with a jab to the body
and Morgan counters with a stiff right hand.
Rahapussi throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Rahapussi lands a nice hook to Morgan's body. Morgan takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Rahapussi misses with a few strikes there.
Rahapussi throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Good work by Morgan as he checks the leg kick.
Morgan checks a leg kick.
Rahapussi misses with a low kick.
Rahapussi keeps the fight on the outside.
Rahapussi takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Rahapussi throws the left hand but Morgan avoids the punch easily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rahapussi scores with a nice right hand.
Rahapussi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Morgan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan throws a half hearted mid kick.
Rahapussi lands with a good body shot.
Morgan avoids the body shot from Rahapussi.
A swing and a miss from Morgan.
Rahapussi throws a big shot that misses.
A leg kick checked by Morgan.
Morgan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Rahapussi.
Morgan moves away from the strike by Rahapussi.
James Morgan is winning the standup battle so far.
Rahapussi uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Morgan.
Morgan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rahapussi moves away.
Morgan keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rahapussi throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Rahapussi gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Morgan slips under a jab from Rahapussi.
Rahapussi takes one on the button.
Rahapussi throws the left hand but Morgan avoids the punch easily.
Rahapussi looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Morgan steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rahapussi.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Rahapussi looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Rahapussi has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Rahapussi throws a low kick but Morgan avoids it.
Nice defenses there by Rahapussi.
Morgan lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Morgan lands a jab to Rahapussi's midsection.
A slapping leg kick lands for Morgan.
Morgan blocks a jab.
Rahapussi throws a half hearted mid kick.
Morgan lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Rahapussi at a distance.
Rahapussi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Morgan.

Morgan has taken the fight to the clinch.
Morgan pushes Rahapussi back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rahapussi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rahapussi.
Morgan tries to work over Rahapussi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Morgan throws a head punch that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rahapussi trying to stall but Morgan improves his position.
Morgan blocking some punches.
Morgan goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rahapussi dodges an elbow strike from Morgan.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head punch on the inside from Morgan fails to land.
Rahapussi looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Rahapussi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A cross from Morgan lands.
Morgan throws a jab when Rahapussi was well out of range.
Rahapussi misses with a hook
and Morgan counters with a nice body shot.
Morgan scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Rahapussi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Morgan.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Morgan dips to his left and cracks Rahapussi with an uppercut!
Morgan tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rahapussi tries to land a leg kick but Morgan saw it coming and moves away.
Rahapussi throws the kick towards the body but Morgan avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Morgan dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Morgan listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Morgan fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Rahapussi on the side of the head.
Morgan thuds his shin into the meat of Rahapussi's side.

Morgan moves into range and clinches up with Rahapussi.
Rahapussi is trying to maintain a safe position but Morgan gets an underhook and turns Rahapussi into the cage.
Morgan pushes off an throws an elbow but Rahapussi leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Morgan throws a head punch that misses.
Morgan scores with a shot to the side of Rahapussi's head.

Rahapussi pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rahapussi tries a low kick but Morgan avoids it.
Morgan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nice uppercut there from Morgan.
Rahapussi misses with a wild body shot.
Rahapussi thows a body shot but no joy.
Rahapussi missing with a left hand there. Morgan was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Morgan throws a hook but Rahapussi blocks it.
Morgan moves into range and lands a nice body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rahapussi has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Morgan.
Morgan lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Morgan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Morgan misses with a straight right.
Morgan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rahapussi paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nice defenses there by Morgan.
Rahapussi takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Morgan scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Morgan misses with a wild body shot.
Morgan slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Rahapussi throws a body kick that misses.
Morgan sizes up Rahapussi with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
A big right from Rahapussi misses.
A swing and a miss from Rahapussi.
Rahapussi has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Morgan.
Morgan walks into a jab.
Rahapussi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Rahapussi takes a body punch but keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Rahapussi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Morgan uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rahapussi.
Rahapussi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A big left from Rahapussi misses.
Morgan throws a big shot that misses.
Rahapussi tried to score with a low kick but Morgan checks it.
Good leg kick by Rahapussi there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rahapussi misses with a wild body shot.
Morgan throws a shot to the body.
The crowd cheers as Morgan lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rahapussi doesn't seem phased though.
Rahapussi swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Rahapussi avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A solid leg kick lands there for Morgan.
Morgan misses with a kick to the body.
Rahapussi's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Rahapussi gets cracked there but stands up to it.
An inside leg kick from Rahapussi misses.
Rahapussi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rahapussi sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Rahapussi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Morgan throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Rahapussi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Morgan.
Nice body kick there by Morgan.
Morgan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rahapussi circles away quickly and effectively.
Morgan keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rahapussi.
Rahapussi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Morgan.
Some bone on bone action there as Morgan checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Rahapussi throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Morgan with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Rahapussi darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Morgan throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Nice defenses there by Morgan.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Rahapussi.
Morgan waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Rahapussi.
Rahapussi feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Morgans jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
An inside leg kick lands from Morgan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rahapussi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Morgan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Morgan looks for the body kick but Rahapussi saw that one coming.
Morgan thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Rahapussi if he has to take too many more of those.
Taisto Rahapussi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rahapussi looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Rahapussi tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Morgan is able to avoid easily.
Morgan drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Morgan ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Morgan scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
James Morgan is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Morgan lands a really nice looking cross but Rahapussi seems unphased.
Morgan goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Rahapussi ducks under a wild hook from Morgan.
Morgan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rahapussi can do to turn this around?
Morgan misses with a wild body shot.
Rahapussi lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Morgan at a distance.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rahapussi walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Morgan lands a jab to Rahapussi's midsection.
Rahapussi misses with a head kick.
Morgan avoids a kick to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Morgan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Morgan has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Morgan!