PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Leo Cooper (ranked 4286 p4p, 430 weight class) and Eliezer Kubanza (ranked 25465 p4p, 694 weight class). Cooper comes to the cage accompanied by Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger. Leo Cooper has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cooper
vs
Kubanza

187 cm
25
170 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

183 cm
25
158 lbs
0 - 5 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

Annihilation Apparel
KAGED

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Leo Cooper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Eliezer Kubanza!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, George Francis and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cooper scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Cooper throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Kubanza wants to get back to his feet but Cooper drags him back down.
Cooper in side control, throwing shots but Kubanza defends.
Kubanza is trying to control Cooper's posture but Cooper avoids it.
Kubanza is looking for a sweep.
Cooper working away.
Cooper definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Cooper has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

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

Cooper is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Kubanza knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kubanza is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Kubanza is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Cooper working the body and head with strikes.

Kubanza is rocked!
Kubanza tries to buck Cooper off but Cooper is having none of it.
Kubanza is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Kubanza is still in real trouble! Can Cooper finish him?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cooper is looking to take a break and control but Kubanza is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Cooper wants to stand but Kubanza has his arm trapped.
Kubanza seems to have recovered his senses.
Kubanza misses with a strike from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooper wants to stand but Kubanza is controlling his arm.
Cooper misses with the ground and pound.
Cooper trying to control the position but Kubanza is working away.
Kubanza tries to bench press Cooper off him but Cooper keeps the position.
Cooper lands a nice forearm strike.
Cooper working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Kubanza sneaks back into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Cooper stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Cooper shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kubanza as he avoids it easily.

Cooper shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Cooper was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cooper sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Kubanza is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

Cooper thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Cooper is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Kubanza is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Cooper tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

Cooper stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Cooper manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Kubanza on his heels. He'll look to pass Kubanza's guard now, I'm sure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kubanza is trying to control the position but Cooper postures up.
Cooper trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Cooper lands a couple of digs.
Cooper in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Cooper won't allow Kubanza to get back to his feet.
Kubanza has momentary wrist control but Cooper slips an elbow through the middle.
Cooper stands and throws Kubanza's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Kubanza looks winded!
You can see the frustration on Kubanza's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Cooper stands up.
Kubanza is looking to clinch but Cooper is avoiding it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo Cooper dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Cooper.
Kubanza shoots in for a takedown but Cooper shows good takedown defense.
Kubanza looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kubanza swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kubanza fails in his attempt to clinch.
Cooper half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Horrible takedown attempt by Kubanza or perhaps it was just good defense by Cooper, which made it look bad.
Leo Cooper has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eliezer Kubanza.
Cooper pulls out of a head kick attempt.
No luck for Cooper with that takedown attempt.
Leo Cooper seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kubanza tries to sprawl but Cooper drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Kubanza is breathing heavily.
Cooper throwing shots but Kubanza is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Ground and pound from Cooper.

Cooper is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Kubanza is just riding it out for now. Cooper eventually gives up the hold.
Still in half guard, Cooper seems content to control.
Leo Cooper overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kubanza tries to get to full guard but Cooper has control of the leg.
Kubanza avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Cooper.

Cooper gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooper throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kubanza.
Kubanza shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Cooper as he avoids it easily.
Kubanza uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cooper.
Kubanza shoots in looking for a takedown. Cooper tries to sprawl out of it but Kubanza keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cooper manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Cooper tried to counter with a leg kick but Kubanza avoided it.

Cooper gets a takedown into half guard.
Kubanza wants to control but Cooper is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Cooper is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cooper is looking for submissions but instead, Kubanza has regained full guard.
Cooper working some strikes from top position.
Cooper trying to control but Kubanza is working from the bottom.

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

Cooper is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kubanza's half guard.
Cooper is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kubanza can do to turn this around?
Cooper missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Cooper throwing shots but Kubanza is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cooper drops an elbow to the side of Kubanza's head.
Cooper looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kubanza with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cooper is trying to control. Kubanza wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Cooper decides to stand up.

Cooper throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Kubanza was covering up waiting for the punch and Cooper finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Cooper postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cooper looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Cooper is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo Cooper dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Kubanza dives in and grabs Cooper's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cooper pushes down on Kubanza's head and hops out.
Cooper throws a sloppy head kick and Kubanza moves out of range easily.
Kubanza throws a counter combo.

Kubanza tries to sprawl but Cooper drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Cooper seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Kubanza trying to get back to full guard but Cooper takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Cooper in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

Cooper has hold of Kubanza's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Kubanza manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Cooper is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Kubanza can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Kubanza takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cooper looking to finish Kubanza with some ground and pound. This is bad for Kubanza!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kubanza tries to hold on but Cooper pushes him away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Kubanza can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Cooper looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Cooper can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Kubanza is looking to escape.
Cooper has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kubanza taking shots to the head.
Cooper scoring with strikes but Kubanza is staying in there.
Kubanza swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Cooper controlling from the full mount.
Cooper lands a heavy shot. That's hurt Kubanza! Cooper sees the opportunity and turns up the heat - strike after strike land to the defenseless Kubanza and the ref dives in to save him! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Leo Cooper!
Leo Cooper looked relieved post fight as he said the following; 'I personally think after this performance, I should be consider as the face of this promotion. '.