PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ceasar Morgan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eliah Marshal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Morgan comes to the cage accompanied by Fat Lip. Marshal has chosen "Straight Outta Compton" by NWA as his entrance music. Ceasar Morgan could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Eliah Marshal's chin.

Morgan
vs
Marshal

175 cm
34
145 lbs
20 - 10 - 1

179 cm
33
155 lbs
33 - 15 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Sun-Tzu

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ceasar Morgan!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 33 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Eliah Marshal!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marshal swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Morgan.

Morgan forces Marshal back against the cage and clinches.
Marshal lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Marshal breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Marshal tries to keep at a distance but Morgan has taken the fight into the clinch.
Marshal scores with a shot to the side of Morgan's head.
A right hook to the body lands for Marshal.

Marshal breaks the clinch.
A slow jab from Marshal misses its intended target.

Morgan moves into the clinch.
A short left from Marshal.
Marshal softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Morgan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Horrible takedown attempt by Morgan or perhaps it was just good defense by Marshal, which made it look bad.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Marshal.
Morgan feinted with a counter takedown.
Marshal misses with a looping left.

Marshal has taken the fight to the clinch.

Morgan pulls guard.
Marshal would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Morgan not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Morgan looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Morgan working for a triangle but Marshal defends it easily.
Morgan is trying to hold Marshal in close to prevent damage but Marshal has managed to pass into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marshal performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Morgan flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Morgan is looking to improve his position.
Morgan has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan is trying to control but can't.
Morgan tries to roll over but Marshal keeps him under control.
Marshal wants to pass to mount but Morgan is defending the position.
Morgan gets back to full guard.

Morgan looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Marshal passes into side control.
Morgan is looking for a sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Morgan is working hard here to advance position.
You can see the frustration on Morgan's face as Marshal controls the position.
Marshal is continuing to stall.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Nice cross by Marshal.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Morgan ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Marshal uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Morgan has time to react.
Morgan moves out of range as Marshal strikes.
It looked like Morgan wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eliah Marshal dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Morgan closes the distance and clinches.
Marshal gets underhooks to prevent Morgan's takedown attempt.
Marshal has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Marshal lands an elbow that stopped Morgan in his tracks for a moment.
Marshal lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Morgan or not.
Morgan tries for a takedown. No joy.
Marshal lands with a short shot to the head.
Marshal lands a right hand that snaps the head of Morgan backwards.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Marshal.
Marshal putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Morgan in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Still in the clinch, Marshal scores with a nice short uppercut.
Marshal has Morgan pushed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marshal lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Marshal lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Marshal working Morgan over with knees to the body.
Marshal working some nice short punches in the clinch.

Marshal escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Marshal keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
A little jabbing left from Marshal on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ceasar Morgan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Marshal misses with a head kick.

Morgan has Marshal up against the cage in a clinch.
Marshal lands an elbow that stopped Morgan in his tracks for a moment.
Marshal stalling against the cage.
Marshal lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marshal content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Marshal is struggling to control the position.
The crowd are getting on Marshal's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
Marshal is pushing Morgan up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Morgan pulls Marshal into guard.
Morgan looking to control but Marshal passes into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marshal content to control rather than advance.

Morgan looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Marshal decides to stand up.

Marshal drives through and clinches with Morgan against the cage.
Marshal lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Morgan backwards.
Marshal lands an elbow inside.
Marshal lands a nice elbow.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morgan is looking for a takedown.
Morgan is looking to take this one to the mat.
Marshal working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Marshal lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Marshal prevents a takedown attempt there.
Still in the clinch, Marshal scores with a nice short uppercut.
Morgan is trying to push Marshal away but Marshal has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Marshal lands with a left to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Morgan tries for a takedown but Marshal manages to get underhooks.
A bit of stalling here from Marshal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eliah Marshal showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action!

Marshal misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A low kick from Marshal misses
and Morgan counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Morgan walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Marshal looks to throw the jab but Morgan is out of range.
Morgan takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Morgan on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Marshal lands with a right hand.

Morgan is rocked!
Morgan on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Oh Morgan is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Marshal clinches up against the cage.
Morgan seems to have got his legs back now.

Marshal connects with a massive knee from the clinch and Morgan goes down! Marshal jumps into full mount looking to finish!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Morgan can't escape the position.
Marshal takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The adventures of Marshal the control monster continue. Boring.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marshal's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Morgan wants to control but Marshal is having none of it.
Marshal controlling the position easily from mount.
Morgan sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Marshal wants to stand but Morgan has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Marshal is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Marshal prevents Morgan from improving his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marshal tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Morgan regains full guard. Nicely done.
Marshal slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Marshal decides to stand up, so the ref orders Morgan to his feet.
Eliah Marshal seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Morgan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Marshal.
Eliah Marshal seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Marshal cracks Morgan with a right hand to the side of the head.
Marshal might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Morgan avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Marshal moves into range and clinches up with Morgan.
Morgan is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Marshal lands an elbow just above Morgan 's eye.
Marshal creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Morgan's defenses.
Marshal has Morgan pressed against the cage.
Marshal lands a shoulder strike.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Marshal manages to break the clinch.
Marshal tries to bum rush Morgan with a series of wild strikes but Morgan uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eliah Marshal really dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Morgan walks into a left hand.
Marshal throws a hook but Morgan avoids it easily.

Morgan darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Morgan tries to pass the half guard into mount. Marshal knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Marshal keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marshal keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Marshal gets full guard.
Marshal trying to control the position here.
Marshal keeping moving, preventing Morgan from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan is looking to work some ground and pound but Marshal has wrist control.
Marshal keeping moving, preventing Morgan from controlling successfully.
Marshal looking for a sweep. Not yet Marshal, not yet.
Morgan throwing strikes but missing.
Morgan with a flurry of punches that miss.
Morgan looking to sit in guard and control but Marshal gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan is trying to control the position but Marshal postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Morgan is looking for a triangle here but Marshal uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Morgan tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Marshal wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Marshal remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

Marshal decides to stand back up. Marshal steps back and let's Morgan get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Marshal clinches.
Marshal gets through Morgan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Morgan is trying to pull guard but Marshal has him pressed against the cage.
Marshal lands an elbow that stopped Morgan in his tracks for a moment.
Morgan tries to pull guard but Marshal forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Marshal lands an elbow that stopped Morgan in his tracks for a moment.
Marshal working Morgan over with knees to the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Marshal.
Marshal lands a damaging elbow.
Marshal lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Marshal utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Marshal is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

Marshal manages to break the clinch.
A slapping leg kick lands for Marshal.
Marshal throws out a loose jab but Morgan uses good head movement to avoid it.
Marshal throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Morgan on the side of the head.
Morgan misses with a hook. Marshal ducked under it nicely.
Marshal swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Morgan.
Morgan walks into a left hand.
BOOM! Marshal lands a beautiful left hook that drops Morgan. Morgan tries to recover but Marshal is having none of it, landing more punishing shots from mount. One final crushing shot and Morgan lies motionless on the canvas. The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 4, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Eliah Marshal! Eliah Marshal retains his featherweight title!
Eliah Marshal decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.