PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Julio Sobral (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nuriel Leonard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sobral
vs
Leonard

181 cm
35
168 lbs
34 - 19 - 1

168 cm
40
147 lbs
39 - 21 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Granite chin

KAISER Nutrition - Q160/$250

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 34 - 19 - 1, fighting out of London, Julio Sobral!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 39 - 21 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Nuriel Leonard!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Daniel Cesar and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leonard connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Sobral throws the left hand but Leonard avoids the punch easily.
Leonard scores with a jab. Sobral acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Sobral will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Leonard swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Leonard shoots in looking for a takedown. Sobral tries to sprawl out of it but Leonard keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Sobral manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Sobral takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Horrible takedown attempt by Sobral or perhaps it was just good defense by Leonard, which made it look bad.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leonard throws a jab when Sobral was well out of range.
Leonard slips under a jab.
Leonard scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Leonard uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sobral.
Sobral staying out of range there.
Leonard connects with a right hand. Sobral shakes it off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good exchange - Leonard coming out on top.
Leonard takes a swing at Sobral's ribcage but misses.
Leonard misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Sobral.
Sobral throws a right hand that misses
and Leonard counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Leonard lands with a straight right. Sobral didn't see that one coming.
Leonard displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sobral throws out the jab.
Leonard closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Leonard misses with a body punch
and Leonard takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Leonard throws a lazy uppercut
and Sobral connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Sobral ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Leonard moves away.
Leonard has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
A big right from Leonard misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sobral looks to land a right hand but Leonard moved out of range.
Leonard lands a jab to Sobral's midsection.
Leonard punishes Sobral's body with a nice straight punch.
Leonard scores with a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobral drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Leonard cracks Sobral with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Nice takedown defense from Leonard. No joy for Sobral on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Julio Sobral. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A big right from Leonard misses.
Sobral tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Leonard defends well and Sobral ends up having to push Leonard into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Sobral lands a jab to the nose.
Leonard misses with a looping right.
Sobral will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Leonard swings for the body but Sobral moves out of range.
Leonard throws a body punch but Sobral moves out of range.
Leonard darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Leonard moves out of range of the strikes.
Leonard throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab lands there for Sobral.
Leonard throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonard keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Leonard tries to clinch but Sobral is having none of it.
Sobral thows a left - swing and a miss!
A combination from Leonard does no damage.
Nuriel Leonard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Leonard looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Leonard misses with a hook. Sobral ducked under it nicely.
It looked like Sobral wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Leonard connects with a looping right hand.
A big left from Leonard misses.
Nice defenses there by Sobral.
Sobral rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Leonard moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Leonard swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Leonard avoids the body shot from Sobral.
Sobral moves away from the strike by Leonard.
Sobral was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Leonard throws a looping overhand right but Sobral ducks down to avoid it.
Sobral staying out of range there.
Sobral throws a big counter combination but Leonard scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Leonard with a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leonard cracks Sobral with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Leonard waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sobral.
Sobral scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Leonard scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Sobral misses the jab.
Leonard with a hook.
Sobral throws out a loose jab but Leonard uses good head movement to avoid it.
Leonard uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sobral.
Leonard connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Sobral's hands.
Leonard stalks Sobral and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Sobral's face. Sobral staggers backwards, shaken.
Leonard ducks under a wild hook from Sobral.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sobral throws a body shot but no joy.
Leonard scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Nice sprawl there from Sobral as Leonard shoots in.
Leonard waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sobral.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nuriel Leonard dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Sobral misses with a straight left.
Leonard lands a body shot.
Leonard walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Sobral throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Leonard.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Leonard. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Leonard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sobral was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Sobral needs to keep his hands up - Leonard had a free shot at his head there.

Leonard has managed to clinch.
Sobral tries to circle away but Leonard has him pinned against the cage.
Leonard goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Leonard with a knee to the head.
Leonard misses with a knee to the head.
Sobral takes a knee to the side of the body.
Come on Sobral - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Sobral working hard to break the clinch.
Sobral has a couple of punches blocked by Leonard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good body shot from Sobral.
Sobral slows down the pace here.
Sobral misses with a hook to the ribs.
Leonard tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Leonard is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Sobral trying to control the position but instead, Leonard has worked for underhooks and has pushed Sobral into the cage.
Leonard lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Sobral.
Sobral wants to get back to striking at distance but Leonard won't allow it.
Sobral being controlled against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Sobral.
I was talking to Sobral's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonard is stalling here.
Sobral blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Sobral has had enough of the clinch but Leonard keeps him there for the moment.
Leonard tries to stall but Sobral uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Leonard lands a knee to the body.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Leonard tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Leonard being controlled against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Sobral fails to land.
Leonard looking to throw knees to the head but Sobral is blocking nicely.
Sobral can't get the takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobral on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Sobral drops down looking for an ankle pick but Leonard pulls his leg out and moves away.
Leonard scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Leonard lands a jab to the nose.
Sobral takes a jab right on the kisser.
Sobral displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Leonard throws out the jab.
Sobral slips under a jab from Leonard.
An attempted straight right counter from Sobral misses the target.
Leonard dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Leonard looks to land a right hand but Sobral moved out of range.
Sobral tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Leonard swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Julio Sobral. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leonard fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leonard cracks Sobral with an open hand slap.
Leonard tries to close the distance and clinch but Sobral swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Sobral swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Leonard misses with an uppercut. Sobral saw that one coming.
Leonard throws a right hand that misses
and Sobral cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Leonard misses the jab.
A quick step to the side and Sobral tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Leonard misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Sobral.
Leonard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Leonard connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Sobral throws a hook to the side of Leonard's head but Leonard sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Leonard has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Leonard there as he acknowledges the shot.
Leonard smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
A slow jab from Leonard misses its intended target.
Sobral scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nuriel Leonard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Sobral misses with a hook. Leonard ducked under it nicely.
Leonard takes a swing at Sobral's ribcage but misses.
Leonard lands a jab to the head.
Sobral darts in looking for a takedown but Leonard gets double underhooks and turns Sobral into the cage.
Good standup being displayed there by Leonard as he connects with a hook.
Sobral's corner calls for a 1-2. Sobral obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Leonard throws a hook but Sobral avoids it easily.
Sobral looks to score with a jab to the body but Leonard is just out of range.
Leonard takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Leonard missing with a left hand there. Sobral was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sobral looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters circling - Leonard throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Leonard connects with a looping right hand.
Sobral swings for the body but Leonard moves out of range.
Leonard is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Sobral is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
A punch combination from Leonard misses.
It looked like Sobral wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobral misses with a straight left.
Leonard has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A punch lands to the side of Sobral 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Sobral misses with a looping right.
Sobral slips under a jab from Leonard.
Sobral jabs Leonard right on the nose. Leonard blinks but takes it well.
The crowd cheers as Leonard lands an impressive looking overhand right. Sobral doesn't seem phased though.
Nice defenses there by Sobral.
A little feinted left hand from Sobral on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Leonard lands a nice looking body shot.
Leonard listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
The fighters circling - Sobral throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Sobral avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Leonard drops his hands momentarily and Sobral takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Leonard shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sobral as he jumps to the side.
Nuriel Leonard is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonard avoids the body shot from Sobral.
Nice defenses there by Sobral.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Leonard throws out a loose jab but Sobral uses good head movement to avoid it.
Leonard works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Leonard rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Sobral counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sobral slips a straight right by Leonard.
Leonard looks to land a right hand but Sobral moved out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Sobral on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Leonard thows a left - swing and a miss!
Leonard connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Leonard defending well as Sobral loads up on a big left hand.
Leonard is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
A nice combination there by Leonard.
A punch lands to the side of Sobral 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Leonard misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
A counter left hand to the body from Sobral misses its target.

Sobral closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonard prevents Sobral from moving into mount.
Sobral will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Sobral throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Sobral sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Leonard is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Sobral sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Leonard is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Leonard can't do much from the bottom here.
Julio Sobral has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sobral throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Leonard works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Leonard is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Well, if Sobral is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Sobral looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Leonard trying to hold on to Sobral's head to control him but Sobral postures up.

Sobral is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Leonard has managed to free his arm - good work.
Leonard tries to get to full guard but Sobral has control of the leg.
Sobral landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nuriel Leonard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Leonard winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nuriel Leonard!
A determined Nuriel Leonard didn't want to dwell on this fight in his post fight interview. Instead he was more keen to state he wants a title shot. Let's see if he gets it!