PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Marcellus Ford (ranked 24899 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anderson Morais (ranked 24237 p4p, 0 weight class). Anderson Morais looks lathargic as he enters the arena. Wake up son, you're about to have a fight!

Ford
vs
Morais

181 cm
19
151 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

170 cm
19
150 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marcellus Ford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Anderson Morais!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Felipe Paraventi and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ford closes the distance and pushes Morais back into the cage.

Ford manages to pull guard.
Ford trying to control the position here.

Morais has gone for a leg lock! Ford slips out almost immediately though and dives into Morais's guard.

Ford keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Morais's head.
Ford controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Ford has gone for a leg lock! Morais slips out almost immediately though and dives into Ford's guard.

Ford knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Morais on the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ford has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ford throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Ford is pulling down on Morais's head to control his posture.
Ford is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Morais tries to free his leg and advance position but Ford is retaining full guard.
Ford has Morais pulled in close to control his posture.
Ford continues to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Morais preventing the sweep.
Ford has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Ford'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.

Morais thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Morais looks winded!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ford controlling Morais's posture.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ford misses with a head kick.
Morais is looking for the big counter here.
Morais tries to score a power double leg takedown but Ford sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Morais somewhat.
Ford throws a combination. Morais tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Ford lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Morais tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ford smiles and moves away.
Morais takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Ford clinches up with Morais and pushes him back against the cage.

Ford wants the takedown. Morais is fighting it off but Ford persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Morais's guard against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ford scoring with some ground and pound.
Morais controls Ford momentarily but Ford frees himself.

Ford drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Ford jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcellus Ford dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Morais shoots in and drives through. Ford sprawls well.

Ford closes the distance and clinches.

Ford has hold of one of Morais's legs. Morais is fighting the takedown attempt but Ford gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Ford wanted to stand there but Morais had control of the position.
Morais can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ford controls the pace.
Ford is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Morais can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ford controls the pace.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ford distracts Morais with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Morais is breathing heavily.
Ford cracks Morais with a solid left hand.
Ford tries to stand but Morais is controlling from the bottom.
Ford sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ford seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Morais for as long as he can get away with.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Ford has gone for a leg lock! Morais slips out almost immediately though and dives into Ford's guard.

Ford has Morais pulled in close to control his posture.
Ford is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ford working over Morais with some ground and pound. Morais looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Ford is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Morais sees it coming and defends easily.
Ford scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Morais actively working from the bottom here.

Ford seems to be trying to get a kimura but instead Morais has recovered full guard.
Marcellus Ford overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Ford stands and steps away. Morais gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Morais dives in for a single leg takedown but Ford sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Ford is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Morais can do to turn this around?
Ford lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ford fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Morais to the ground. Ford is now in Morais's guard.
Ford would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Ford cracks Morais with a solid left hand.
Ford controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Ford gets to his feet - Morais follows without any prompting.
Ford lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Morais shoots in but no luck this time.
Marcellus Ford has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anderson Morais.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morais takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Marcellus Ford is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Morais tries to score a power double leg takedown but Ford sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Morais somewhat.
Ford scores with a hook.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ford fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcellus Ford dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Ford bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Morais tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ford swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Ford drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Ford sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Morais wants to sweep but no luck.
Ford trying to stand up but can't free himself from Morais's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ford landing some decent shots from guard.
Ford lands a couple of digs.
Ford slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Morais takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ford scoring with some ground and pound.
Ford trying to stand up but can't free himself from Morais's guard.
Ford is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Ford is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Morais has momentary wrist control but Ford slips an elbow through the middle.

Ford is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Morais is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Morais has escaped and now he's on top!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ford looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
My spies in Cozad MMA Rio inform me that Morais has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Morais advances position into side control!
Who's going to make the next move?
You can see the frustration on Ford's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Morais tries for a kimura but Ford is defending well.

Morais goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Ford has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Morais but great work by Ford.
Morais tries to bench press Ford off him but Ford keeps the position.

Ford is trying to get an arm triangle but Morais is defending well.
Ford lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ford in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
A lull in the action here.
Ford will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Morais is trying to get back to half guard.
Ford taking a breather here.
Morais is looking for a sweep.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ford creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Anderson Morais has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marcellus Ford is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcellus Ford showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ford has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marcellus Ford!