PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Malakai Rios (ranked 2645 p4p, 3784 weight class) and Finley Cowan (ranked 220 p4p, 363 weight class). Finley Cowan is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Rios
vs
Cowan

175 cm
26
155
5 - 5 - 0

170 cm
27
155
6 - 5 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Experienced

Good wrestler
Basic striking
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 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Malakai Rios!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 1, fighting out of London, Finley Cowan!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Yuuki Gou and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cowan misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rios.
Rios tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Cowan paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Cowan closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Cowan lands in his opponent's guard.

Rios looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Rios looking to control.
Cowan won't allow Rios to sweep him here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cowan makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Cowan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Cowan cracks Rios with a solid left hand.
Rios wants to stand but Cowan is controlling the position.
Cowan chips away with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rios looking to control.
Cowan landing with the ground and pound.
Rios keeping moving, preventing Cowan from controlling successfully.
Cowan content to stall in guard here.
Cowan landing with the ground and pound.
Cowan chips away with some ground and pound.

That's two 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.
Cowan stopping the sweep attempt from Rios.
Rios bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Cowan's guard.

Cowan has Rios pulled in close to control his posture.
Cowan keeping full guard, as Rios tries to pass.
Rios trying to control the position from guard on top but Cowan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Cowan can do anything to dispel that myth.
Cowan 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.
Cowan keeping moving, preventing Rios from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cowan looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rios is one step ahead there.
Cowan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rios trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Cowan dives in and scores a takedown into Rios's guard.
Cowan slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Cowan's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rios looking to control.
Cowan postures up in Rios's guard and throws a big left but Rios blocks it.
Rios keeping full guard, as Cowan tries to pass.
Rios is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Rios is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cowan works his way to full guard. Good work.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Finley Cowan dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Cowan feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Cowan scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Cowan controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rios keeping moving, preventing Cowan from controlling successfully.
Cowan showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Cowan has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Cowan makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rios is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finley Cowan has got the better of the ground game so far.
Cowan tries to free his leg and advance position but Rios is retaining full guard.
Cowan throws a big right hand that misses.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Cowan throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Rios tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Cowan is in Rios's guard.
Cowan with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Cowan works over Rios with some ground and pound from guard.

Rios is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Cowan works over Rios with some ground and pound from guard.
Rios has momentary wrist control but Cowan slips an elbow through the middle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cowan postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Cowan lands a couple of digs.
Cowan lands a couple of digs.
Rios being controlled here, momentarily.
Cowan scoring with some ground and pound.
Cowan trying to control but Rios is working from the bottom.
Cowan trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Cowan works over Rios with some ground and pound from guard.

Rios is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Cowan defends well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cowan working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rios's head.
Cowan with a nice head shot there.
Cowan won't allow Rios to sweep him here.

Rios has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Cowan can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Rios seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Rios keeping moving, preventing Cowan from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rios looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

That's four 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.
A bone on bone clash there as Rios blocks the leg kick.
Rios fails with a takedown attempt.

Cowan looking to score a takedown here. Rios is defending well but Cowan drives through and ends up in Rios's guard.
Rios working a defensive guard here.
Cowan with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cowan is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Cowan stands up over Rios, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Finley Cowan showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Rios closes the distance and clinches.

Rios has picked Cowan up - he's going for a ride! Rios dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Rios trying to control from Cowan's half guard. Cowan has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Cowan trying to control the position here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rios wanted to stand there but Cowan had control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cowan has control of Rios's left arm, preventing Rios from doing any damage.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Rios not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Cowan takes a swing at Rios's ribcage but misses.
Rios seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Nice takedown defense from Cowan. No joy for Rios on that attempt.
Cowan fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rios avoids it really well and circles away.

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.

Cowan gets a double leg takedown into Rios's guard.
Cowan throws a big elbow that misses.
Cowan scoring with punches to the head and body.
Cowan landing with the ground and pound.
Cowan chips away with some ground and pound.
Cowan with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Cowan pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rios is keeping the position for now.
Cowan seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cowan works over Rios with some ground and pound from guard.
Cowan trying to control the position from guard on top but Rios is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cowan won't allow Rios to get back to his feet.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Rios controls Cowan momentarily but Cowan frees himself.

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

That's four 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.
Rios shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Cowan defends it nicely.
Rios throws a body shot but no joy.
Cowan scores with a shot to the body.
Cowan slaps away a takedown attempt from Rios, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Malakai Rios. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cowan misses with a hook.
Rios misses with a series of wild punches.
Cowan swings away with a body shot that misses
and Rios counters with a low kick, right behind Cowan 's knee.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Nice sprawl there from Cowan as Rios shoots in.
Cowan throws a half hearted mid kick.
Malakai Rios has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rios throws a body kick, spinning off balance

and Cowan decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Rios's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Finley Cowan comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Cowan winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Finley Cowan!