PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Aquiles Romero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sal Morris (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Romero
vs
Morris

174 cm
19
161 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

169 cm
26
155 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Aquiles Romero!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sal Morris!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Lou da Vinci and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Morris pivots, looking for a leg kick but Romero is out of range and Morris settles back down.
Romero swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Romero paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Morris lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Morris lands with a nice body kick.
Morris will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch up but Romero swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Romero is looking to counter with a body kick.
Morris lands with a thumping leg kick.
Romero looks to land a body kick but Morris moved away.
Morris connects with an inside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Romero scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Morris tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
It looked like Romero wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Morris connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Morris throws a chopping leg kick but Romero manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch but Romero swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Romero misses with a wild body shot.
Morris has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Morris ducks right into an uppercut from Romero.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch but Romero swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Morris tries to land a front kick but Romero steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Romero seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Romero throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Morris throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Romero moves out of range as Morris throws a body kick.
Romero lands with a cross.
Morris throws the kick towards the body but Romero avoids it.
Morris throws a nice inside leg kick.
Morris throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
We've been told by Romero's head coaches at Die Reeperbahn that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Romero throws a lazy right hand but Morris sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Morris breaks the clinch.
A slapping body kick lands there for Morris.
Morris dodges the punch combination from Romero.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Morris wants to clinch.
Romero sizes up Morris with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Morris misses with a kick to the body.
Romero was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Morris moves out of range of the body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morris tries to clinch but Romero is having none of it.
Romero checks the leg kick nicely there.
Morris throws a sloppy head kick and Romero moves out of range easily.
Morris doesn't manage to clinch there - Romero circles away.
A nice leg kick lands there from Morris.
Morris ducks under a wild hook from Romero.
Morris tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Morris fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Romero.
Morris slips a straight right by Romero.
Romero checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Morris doesn't manage to clinch there - Romero circles away.
Morris throws a nice outside leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morris moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Morris is looking to clinch.
Morris fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Romero checks it well.
Morris looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Romero throwing a counter right hand but Morris manages to avoid it.
Morris throws a body kick that misses
and Romero counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Morris is looking to clinch but Romero is avoiding it.
Morris is looking to clinch.
Morris wants to clinch up but Romero keeps it at a distance.
Romero has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Morris.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Morris wants to clinch up but Romero keeps it at a distance.
Morris throws a sloppy head kick and Romero moves out of range easily.
Jab from Romero.
Romero is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Morris throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Sal Morris will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Morris throws a leg kick which misses Romero's front leg but catches the back leg as Romero tries to avoid it.
Morris throws a quick inside leg kick.
Romero misses with a straight right.
Romero backing away here, and Morris unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Morris doesn't manage to clinch there - Romero circles away.
Romero looks to land a body kick but Morris moved away.
Morris keeps Romero at a distance using the push kick.
Romero throws a wild body kick that Morris sees coming a mile off.
Morris bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Morris tries a quick counter leg kick but Romero is wise to it.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch up but Romero swats him away and circles back towards the center.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Morris moves to clinch but Romero breaks away
and Romero counters with a left to the body.
Romero bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Morris's head backwards.
Morris misses with a kick to the body
and Romero cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morris throws a leg kick but Romero sees it coming and checks it nicely.
It looked like Romero wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Morris throws a push kick but Romero slaps the foot to one side.
Romero seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Morris fails in his attempt to clinch.
Morris lands a nice looking kick to the body. Romero takes a step back to recover.
Morris throws a nice inside leg kick.
Morris tries a low kick but Romero avoids it.
It looked like Romero was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Morris.
Morris throws a leg kick that misses.
A clash of legs there as Romero blocks the low kick.
A chopping leg kick lands by Morris.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morris misses with a kick to the body
and Morris takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Romero tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Morris misses with a kick to the body.
Romero moves out of range of the body kick.
Romero walks forward, straight into a front kick from Morris.
Romero blocks a leg kick.
Morris lands a front kick.
Morris tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Romero is looking for a counter combo.
Sal Morris seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Romero circles away from the clinch attempt
and Romero counters with a series of strikes. Morris will be more careful next time no doubt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Morris doesn't manage to clinch there - Romero circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morris throws a body kick that misses
and Romero counters with a left and a right that stings Morris.
Morris fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Romero.
Morris tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Romero manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
An attempted straight right counter from Romero misses the target.
Morris plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Romero paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Morris throws a front kick that sends Romero stumbling back into the cage.
Morris scoring well with a low kick there.
Romero swats away the attempt to clinch by Morris.
Romero is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
An inside leg kick from Romero misses.
Romero closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Romero is looking to land body kicks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch but Romero swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Morris tries to clinch up but Romero circles away and keeps his distance.
Morris misses with a leg kick.
Morris tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Romero manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Romero digs a good hook to Morris's body.
Sal Morris is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Morris tries to clinch up.
And Romero counters with a quick kick to the body but Morris blocks it.
Morris tries to clinch there but Romero circles away.
Morris tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Romero paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Romero lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Morris circles away quickly and effectively.
Morris tries to clinch up but Romero circles away and keeps his distance.
Romero keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Morris misses with a kick to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aquiles Romero dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Morris walks into a left hand.
Morris throws a quick inside leg kick.
Morris feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Romero's calf.
Romero lands with an overhand left.
A slapping body kick lands there for Morris.
Morris lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Morris avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Romero scores with a kick to the midsection.
Morris tries to clinch but Romero is having none of it.
Morris stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Romero.
Romero moves out of range of the body kick from Morris.
Morris explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morris throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
A looping hook to the body misses from Romero. Morris does a little dance to reset his feet.
Romero circles away from the clinch attempt.
Morris moves out of range of the leg kick from Romero.
Romero has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Morris throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Romero ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Morris checks the leg kick.
Morris is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Morris tries to clinch but Romero is having none of it.
Morris throws a body kick that misses
and Romero counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morris lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Romero fails to land with a series of punches.
Morris lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Aquiles Romero is winning the standup battle so far.
The fighters circle momentarily. Romero darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Morris tries to clinch but Romero moves out of range.
Morris throws a nice outside leg kick.
Nice body punch from Romero.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Morris tries to clinch but Romero is having none of it.
Morris tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Romero manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
An attempted straight right counter from Romero misses the target.
Morris throws a low kick but Romero moves out of range easily.
Romero was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

Morris gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Romero takes an elbow to the forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Morris breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Morris tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Romero counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Morris uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Romero.
Morris slips a jab from Romero.
Morris tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Romero manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Romero looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
A slapping body kick lands there for Morris.

Morris forces Romero back against the cage and clinches.
Morris is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Romero wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Morris has him pressed against the cage.

Morris pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Morris throws a body kick that misses.
Romero moves out of range as Morris throws a body kick.
Morris turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Romero swats away the attempt to clinch by Morris.
Romero appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Morris moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Romero jabs at Morris's body.
Romero lands a slapping body shot.

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 Aquiles Romero.
I think Romero 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Aquiles Romero!