PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matthew Morrison (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Maynard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Morrison
vs
Maynard

165 cm
24
279 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
22
240 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Matthew Morrison!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Marcus Maynard !
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, Jorge Garcia and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maynard tries to clinch there but Morrison circles away.
Marcus Maynard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Maynard fails to land the takedown.
Morrison seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Morrison misses with a hook
and Maynard counters with a three punch combo that has Morrison backing up. Morrison nods at Maynard to acknowledge the strikes.
Good work by Maynard as he checks the leg kick.
Morrison throws a head kick that misses

and Maynard counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Morrison tightens his grip and picks Maynard up, before dumping him to the ground. Maynard manages to land in guard.
Morrison wants to stand but Maynard is controlling his posture from full guard.
Maynard is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Morrison not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Maynard has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

Maynard looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Morrison could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Morrison decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Maynard has Morrison up against the cage in a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Morrison.
Maynard gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Morrison.

Morrison manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Morrison seems keen to control Maynard 's posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maynard wants to pass the guard but Morrison is keeping the position.
Morrison might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Morrison has a closed guard, preventing Maynard from standing up.
Morrison controlling the position.
Morrison has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maynard wanted to stand there but Morrison had control of the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Morrison manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Morrison will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Maynard really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Morrison. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Maynard with a flurry of punches that miss.
Maynard trying to control the position from guard on top but Morrison is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Morrison is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrison wants to sweep but no luck.
Maynard postures up in Morrison's guard and throws a big left but Morrison blocks it.

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

Morrison decides to stand back up. Morrison steps back and let's Maynard get back to his feet.
Maynard shoots and misses

and Morrison counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Morrison sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Maynard working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Morrison.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Maynard closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Morrison to the mat! Morrison manages to get full guard.
Maynard is fighting to break Morrison's control of his arms but Morrison is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Maynard has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Morrison is proving hard to escape from.
Morrison keeping full guard, as Maynard tries to pass.
Morrison is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.

Morrison stands up from Maynard 's guard - Morrison perhaps looking for a knockout.

Morrison drives through and clinches with Maynard against the cage.
Morrison wants to take the fight to the mat but Maynard manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Morrison throws a head punch that misses.
Morrison has Maynard pushed against the cage.
Morrison misses with a punch to the body.
Morrison lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Maynard backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morrison working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Morrison lands with a short shot to the head.
Morrison goes for a takedown in the clinch but Maynard prevents it.

Morrison has hold of one of Maynard 's legs. Maynard is fighting the takedown attempt but Morrison gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Maynard working a defensive guard here.

Morrison decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Maynard , up you get!

Morrison drives through and clinches with Maynard against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Maynard is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Morrison can't fight it off and eventually Maynard manages to take the fight to the floor. Morrison looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Morrison has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrison keeping moving, preventing Maynard from controlling successfully.
Maynard must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Morrison is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Well, if Morrison 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.

That's four 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.
Morrison's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Morrison.
Morrison stops Maynard from getting back to his feet.
Morrison keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Morrison connects with a nice short shot to Maynard 's temple.
Maynard is trying to stand up here but Morrison is controlling him well.
Morrison slows the pace down in half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Maynard is trying to stand up here but Morrison is controlling him well.

Morrison escapes and gets back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthew Morrison dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Maynard fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Morrison has closed the distance and engaged Maynard in a clinch.
Maynard wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Morrison has him pressed against the cage.
Morrison stalling the fight.

Maynard 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Morrison slips a jab and a cross from Maynard .
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Morrison closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Morrison jumps guard.
Morrison has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Morrison tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrison throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Morrison is adopting a defensive guard.
Maynard is looking to advance position but Morrison has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

Morrison controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maynard wants to hold on but Morrison pushes him away.
Morrison sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Maynard sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Maynard is trying to get back to full guard.
Morrison controlling the pace.

Morrison stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Maynard dives in for a single leg takedown but Morrison sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Maynard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maynard takes a swing at Morrison's ribcage but misses.
Maynard avoids a kick to the body.
Maynard misses with a takedown attempt - Morrison sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Matthew Morrison has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marcus Maynard .

Morrison moves into the clinch.
Morrison taking a breather.
Morrison throws a head punch that misses.
Maynard jumps guard but Morrison stands there with Maynard around his waist. Maynard gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Morrison pulls guard effortlessly.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maynard wants to pass the guard but Morrison is keeping the position.
Maynard throws a strike but Morrison rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Morrison connects with a couple of short punches.
Morrison showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Maynard working a defensive guard here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Morrison controlling from the top position.

Morrison stands up and waves to Maynard to follow him.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matthew Morrison showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Morrison, 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 Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matthew Morrison!