PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Soto (ranked 416 p4p, 432 weight class) and Richard Hall (ranked 21 p4p, 23 weight class). Soto comes into the arena with Death con carne by - SEPULTURA blaring out of the sound system. Both these fighters are unbeaten, so somebody's 0 has got to go! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Soto
vs
Hall

160 cm
26
138
8 - 0 - 0

170 cm
26
145
10 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Highland Clothing
UnderGround Threads

UnderGround Threads
Highland Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Rafael Soto!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Richard Hall!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, David Hoff and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Soto clinches up against the cage.
Soto is trying to pull guard but Hall turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Hall stalling in the clinch but Soto improves position.
Soto is trying to pull guard but Hall has him pressed against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Soto tries to pull guard but Hall holds him up against the cage and eventually Soto drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael Soto. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Hall pulls guard.
Hall manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Soto manages to get himself to full guard.

Soto isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Hall stacks Soto on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Hall!
Hall looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Hall wants to lay and pray for a moment but Soto keeps working.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hall controlling the position from side mount.
Soto struggling a bit here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soto tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Hall easily slips into full mount!
Hall seems to be looking to move to his opponent's back but Soto is holding on tight.
Soto wants to hold on but Hall pushes him away.
Hall trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Soto is controlling an arm, preventing Hall from taking his back. Although keeping him in mount is no better to be honest.
Soto reaches up to try and control the position but Hall seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Soto rolls and tries to escape and now Hall has his back!

Hall is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Soto is defending well though. Hall let's go of the attempt for now.
Hall gets his hands free as Soto looks to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Soto defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Soto wants to control his opponent's hands but Hall gets his hands free.

Hall has the hooks in and he's looking for a rear naked choke here. Soto is defending well but eventually Hall manages to get an arm under the chin and he's locked on the RNC! Soto has no choice but to tap now! He does! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:47 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Richard Hall!
Richard Hall is the new bantamweight champion!
Richard Hall was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.