PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Loyd Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Miguel Voro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Miguel Voro will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Pope
vs
Voro

172 cm
18
151 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

186 cm
18
145 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 St Petersburg, Loyd Pope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Miguel Voro!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Aleksandr Martynov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Voro closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Pope did well to prevent Voro getting side control.
Voro is keen to just control but Pope is a slippery customer.
Pope wants to get back to his feet.

Pope makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Voro scores with a nice body kick.

Voro feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Pope pulls Voro in close to prevent any damage.
Voro is looking to stand up but Pope won't let him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Voro content to stall in guard here.
Pope might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Pope trying to control the position here.
Pope wants to stand and escape but Voro is having none of it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Pope looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Voro!

Pope looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Voro gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Voro is trying to get back to full guard.
Pope seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voro is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Voro is pressing down on Pope's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Pope is looking to work some ground and pound but Voro has wrist control.

Voro looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Voro avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Voro working a defensive guard here.

Pope stands up and waves to Voro to follow him.

Pope shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Voro is looking for a sweep. Pope is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Voro is trying to stand.
Voro is trying to maintain the position but Pope is very close to passing his half guard.
Pope throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Pope lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pope seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Loyd Pope dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Pope drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Voro is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Voro tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Voro is pushing Pope's head away, looking to escape. Pope manages to hold on to the position though.
Loyd Pope overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Pope is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Voro is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Pope looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Voro is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Pope tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Voro.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Voro is trying to stand.
Pope wants to stand but Voro has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Voro wants to improve his position but Pope is controlling well.

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

Pope is working for an americana but Voro has been sneaky and has managed to get back to half guard, whilst Pope was thinking about the submission.
Pope wants to stand but Voro has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Voro wants to pass the guard but Pope is keeping the position.
Voro trying to control but Pope is working from the bottom.
Voro is looking to work some ground and pound but Pope has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pope wants to stand up but Voro is controlling him.
Voro tries to free his leg and advance position but Pope is retaining full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Voro rushes Pope and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Voro trying to control the position but instead, Pope has worked for underhooks and has pushed Voro into the cage.
Voro has had enough of the clinch but Pope keeps him there for the moment.

Voro pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Pope darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Pope not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Pope is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Voro looking for submissions off his back.
It looks like Pope is going to stand back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pope lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Pope looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Loyd Pope dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Pope avoids the head kick by Voro.
Pope tries to counter by clinching up but Voro breaks away and moves out of range.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Voro enables Pope to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Voro manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Pope drops back, looking for a kneebar! Voro looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Voro looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Voro!

Pope tries to escape but Voro is in control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Voro wants to stand but Pope is controlling his arm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Voro working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Pope is looking to reverse the position.

Voro decides to stand up, so the ref orders Pope to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Voro clinches up with Pope and pushes him back against the cage.
Pope misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Voro.
Pope throws a head punch that misses.
Voro gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Pope.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Pope stalls.

Pope has picked Voro up - he's going for a ride! Pope dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Voro pushes Pope off looking to stand but Pope dives back in and keeps control.

Pope looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Voro punching from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Pope is looking for a kimura but Voro is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Pope to get the leverage.
Voro pushes Pope off looking to stand but Pope dives back in and keeps control.
Pope is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Voro can do to turn this around?

Pope is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Pope is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voro is looking to improve his position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
An inside leg kick from Voro misses.
Voro tries a head kick but it misses.
Miguel Voro seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Voro has a takedown stuffed.
Voro shoots for a takedown but Pope saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Voro fails with a takedown attempt.
Loyd Pope has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Miguel Voro.
Voro misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pope shoots in for a takedown but Voro shows good takedown defense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Voro swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

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

Pope is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Voro defends it well.
It looks like Pope is going to stand back up.
Voro avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Pope.
Voro is trying to stand back up but Pope is controlling him
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Voro is trying to control but can't.
Pope stops Voro from getting back to his feet.
Miguel Voro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Loyd Pope is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pope stalling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Loyd Pope showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Pope, 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Loyd Pope!