PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Mau Cherry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rico Tate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cherry comes to the ring accompanied by Humildade -Banda Graffith. Mau Cherry has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cherry
vs
Tate

168 cm
19
135 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
135 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Mau Cherry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rico Tate!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Seu Braga and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tate moves out of range of the leg kick from Cherry.
Tate tries to counter by closing the distance.
Cherry throws a combination that misses

and Tate counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Tate.

Tate drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Cherry manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Tate has Cherry in his guard.

Tate pulls Cherry in to control the position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tate has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Cherry can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Cherry has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Tate is trying to control the position but Cherry postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cherry tries to stand but Tate is controlling from the bottom.
Tate controls Cherry momentarily but Cherry frees himself.
Cherry might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Tate is trying to hold Cherry in close to prevent damage but Cherry has managed to pass into half guard.
Tate trying to get back to full guard but Cherry takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Cherry wants to get back to his feet but Tate is holding on tight.
Tate is trying desperately to improve position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cherry is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!
Cherry throws a series of punches but Tate avoids them all with ease.
Tate drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Cherry defends it well.
Cherry misses with the combination.
Tate changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Cherry misses with a two punch combination.
Tate tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Cherry will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Tate wants to counter with a clinch but Cherry pushes him away.
Cherry misses with a series of wild punches.
Cherry throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cherry takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Cherry rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Tate moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Tate wants to counter the offense by Cherry and move into the clinch position.
Cherry throws a right and a left that Tate avoids nicely.
Cherry misses with a two punch combination.
Cherry throws a series of punches but Tate avoids them all with ease.
Cherry darts in trying to clinch

and Tate counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cherry is trying to stand up here but Tate is controlling him well.
Tate not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mau Cherry dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Cherry falls off balance throwing a combination

and Tate counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Tate decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Cherry tries to work over Tate's front leg with a kick but Tate checks it.
Cherry tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Tate paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mau Cherry seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tate avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Tate throws a counter combo.
Cherry misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cherry looks to land a combination. Tate sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Cherry has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A left hand lands to the body for Cherry.
Tate blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tate keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cherry's efforts to push away.
Cherry is trying to break the clinch but Tate has him pressed against the ropes.
Cherry is trying to push Tate away but Tate has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Tate changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Cherry fights it off and pushes away nicely.
No joy there for Cherry, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Cherry gets off balance looking for a body kick

and Tate counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Tate.

Cherry scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Tate avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Cherry. Those never looked like landing.
Tate avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Tate tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Tate ducks under a wild hook from Cherry.
Tate changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Cherry throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cherry throws a left and a right that both miss

and Tate counters by clinching up.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Tate has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Cherry is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Cherry throws a punch but it's blocked by Tate.
Tate keeps control of Cherry as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Cherry misses with a hook to the ribs.
Cherry is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Cherry.
Tate has Cherry pressed against the ropes, preventing Cherry from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Cherry is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Cherry tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cherry swings wildly with an uppercut but Tate uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tate drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Mau Cherry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rico Tate.

Tate breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Cherry is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tate can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
A left and a right from Cherry both land. Nice combination.
Tate swats away the attempt to clinch by Cherry.
Cherry is looking to score with low kicks.
Cherry throws a series of punches but Tate avoids them all with ease.
Cherry scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Mau Cherry is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Cherry lands with an overhand left.
Cherry scores with a one two! Tate had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Cherry swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Tate tries to counter with a clinch but Cherry shakes him off and moves away.
Cherry tests Tate's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A punch combination from Cherry misses.
Tate shapes to counter with a head kick.
Tate takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mau Cherry dominated that second round.
That's time! Cherry's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Cherry connects with a good right hand that stumbles Tate. Tate circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Some wild striking there from Cherry.
Tate showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Cherry.
Tate now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Cherry misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Tate tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Cherry rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Tate moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Tate is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Cherry works over Tate's head and body with a nice combination.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cherry throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mau Cherry is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A low kick from Cherry is predictable there
and Tate counters with a nice body kick.
Cherry fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cherry thows a leg kick but Tate checks it

and Tate counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cherry is not content to let Tate control the position.

Cherry is defending against the submission attempts here by Tate.

Tate is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Tate is looking for a kimura here.
Cherry pushes Tate off looking to stand but Tate dives back in and keeps control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Tate wants to work for an arm triangle but Cherry is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Tate is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Cherry is just riding it out for now. Tate eventually gives up the hold.
Cherry is trying to stand back up but Tate is controlling him

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Tate is trying to control. Cherry wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rico Tate has got the better of the ground game so far.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cherry has a couple of punches blocked by Tate.

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 Mau Cherry.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Cherry, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:28
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mau Cherry!
An intense looking Mau Cherry took to the microphone post fight and gave a little speech: 'Kk' Eu poderia testar o quanto Schlemper é foda,mas eu estou afim de quebrar a cara de um coreano otário,então o campeãozinho topa me enfrentar e perder o seu Título ?'.