PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cyrus Ellis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Quo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cyrus Ellis has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Ellis
vs
Quo

219 cm
24
279 lbs
1 - 4 - 1

170 cm
25
225 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 1, fighting out of New York, Cyrus Ellis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Quo!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Lou da Vinci and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Quo throws a sloppy head kick and Ellis moves out of range easily.

Quo has managed to clinch.
Ellis wants to get back to striking at distance but Quo won't allow it.
Quo looking for a takedown.

Ellis decides to pull guard.
Quo postures up and lands a big shot to Ellis's brow.
Quo throwing strikes but missing.
Quo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Quo stopping the sweep attempt from Ellis.
Ellis is trying to keep Quo in close.
Quo stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ellis swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ellis throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ellis controls Quo momentarily but Quo frees himself.
Ellis utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Ellis is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Quo lands a couple of digs.
Quo is in close to Ellis's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Quo landing some decent shots from guard.
Quo must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Quo in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ellis is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Quo throws a big elbow that misses.
Quo working some strikes from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Quo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Quo throws a big elbow that misses.
Ellis wants to sweep but no luck.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ellis will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Quo pushing down on Ellis's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Ellis trying to control but Quo postures up.
Quo trying to control from half guard but Ellis is working away.
Quo takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Quo lands with a punch from half guard.
Quo stalling away here and it's allowed Ellis to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Quo trying to control the position from guard on top but Ellis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Quo throws an elbow that misses. Ellis uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Quo's guard. Nice move by Ellis!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ellis with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ellis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ellis trying to stand up but can't free himself from Quo's guard.
Ellis missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ellis has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Ellis postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Quo is looking to stand up but Ellis isn't so interested in that idea.

Quo has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Ellis is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Quo.
Ellis working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ellis tries for a kimura but Quo is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Quo dominated that 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.

Quo misses with a combination

and Ellis counters by moving into the clinch.
Ellis jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Quo walks away with a smile on his face. Ellis gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A punch combination from Quo misses.

Quo darts in and clinches Ellis up against the cage.
Quo is trying to drag Ellis to the mat but Ellis just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Quo has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Ellis regains guard immediately.
Quo wants to stand but Ellis has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ellis will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Quo throws an elbow that misses. Ellis uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Quo's guard. Nice move by Ellis!
Quo trying to keep a closed guard but Ellis is proving a slippery customer.
Ellis wanted to stand there but Quo had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ellis throws a big right hand that misses.
Ellis throws an elbow that misses. Quo uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ellis's guard. Nice move by Quo!
Ellis controls Quo momentarily but Quo frees himself.
Quo advances to half guard.
Ellis blocking the ground and pound attempt from Quo.
Quo misses with a head shot. Ellis uses the momentum to regain guard.
Ellis will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Quo postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Ellis is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Quo, into his guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ellis is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Quo has a closed guard, preventing Ellis from standing up.
Ellis throwing strikes but missing.
Ellis working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Quo's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ellis tries to stand but Quo is controlling from the bottom.
Quo preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Quo is wriggling around but Ellis manages to pass to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ellis sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Quo defending well though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Cyrus Ellis will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Quo instigates a clinch.

Quo pulls guard successfully.
Ellis makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ellis has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Quo is proving hard to escape from.
Quo is trying to keep Ellis in close.
Ellis would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Quo not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
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.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. John Quo wasn't active enough on the ground.
Quo misses with a combination

and Ellis counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Quo gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Quo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Quo throws an elbow that misses. Ellis uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Quo's guard. Nice move by Ellis!
Quo is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Quo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ellis trying to stand up but can't free himself from Quo's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ellis landing some decent shots from guard.
Ellis working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ellis working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Ellis stands and steps away. Quo gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ellis throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Ellis looks for the body kick but Quo saw that one coming.
Ellis avoids the head kick by Quo.
Quo tries a head kick but it misses.
Quo swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Quo rushes Ellis and presses him up against the cage.
Ellis gets underhooks to prevent Quo's takedown attempt.
Quo is trying to push Ellis away but Ellis has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Quo gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Ellis.
Ellis avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Quo drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ellis is defending well against a takedown attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Cyrus Ellis.
I think Ellis has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Cyrus Ellis!