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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Bot Botanovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and EJ Tap (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Tap's choice of entrance music: Pop Lock and Drop It. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.
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| 180 cm
26
175 lbs
10 - 3 - 0 |
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170 cm
27
180 lbs
12 - 6 - 0 |
Powerful takedowns
Dangerous knees
Granite chin |
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ADCC Champion
Decent boxing
Powerful |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Bot Botanovic!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
12 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, EJ Tap!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Robert Douchet and Trevor Gratis.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice cross by Tap.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Botanovic.
Botanovic slips a jab from Tap.
Tap takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
A slapping leg kick lands for Botanovic.
Tap looks to land a combination but Botanovic avoids it well.
Tap wants to clinch up but Botanovic keeps it at a distance.
Botanovic throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Tap misses with a straight right.
Botanovic feints and as Tap raises his hands in defense, Botanovic changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Botanovic is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Tap wants to sweep but no luck.
Tap is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Botanovic passes into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Botanovic wants to lay and pray for a moment but Tap keeps working.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Tap is defending against the submission attempts here by Botanovic.
Tap trying to control from the bottom.
Botanovic sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tap defending well though.
Tap is refusing to be controlled, as Botanovic sits in half guard.
Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Tap misses the shot to the body.
Tap will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Tap misses with a wild combination.
Tap is looking to clinch.
Botanovic tries a head kick but it misses.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Botanovic fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Botanovic chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Botanovic gets a takedown into half guard.
Botanovic content to control rather than advance.
Botanovic is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Tap wants to control but Botanovic is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Botanovic in particular looking to stall.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Tap won't allow Botanovic to pass to mount.
Botanovic is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Tap doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Botanovic.
Botanovic trying to control from half guard but Tap is working away.
Botanovic wants to pass to mount but Tap is defending the position.
It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Tap takes a head kick and keeps coming.
EJ Tap seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Botanovic steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Tap.
Tap tries to clinch up but Botanovic circles away and keeps his distance.
Botanovic dodges the punch combination from Tap.
Botanovic lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Tap darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Tap prevents Botanovic from standing back up.
Botanovic regains full guard. Nicely done.
Botanovic keeping moving, preventing Tap from controlling successfully.
Tap prevents Botanovic from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Bot Botanovic dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Botanovic shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Botanovic landing punches.
Botanovic with the ground and pound from mount.
Botanovic looking to control but Tap is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Tap really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Tap tries to lock up and control but Botanovic gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Botanovic working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Tap wants to hold on but Botanovic pushes him away.
Tap is trying desperately to improve position.
Tap gets back to half guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Botanovic wants to take a breather but Tap is having none of it.
Tap has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Botanovic is working away from the top position though.
Botanovic is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Tap doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Botanovic.
Tap is trying to get back to full guard.
Tap has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Botanovic is working away from the top position though.
Tap tries to get to full guard but Botanovic has control of the leg.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Botanovic is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Tap looking for submissions off his back.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Botanovic tries for a takedown but Tap sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Botanovic throws a chopping leg kick but Tap manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Tap wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Tap moves out of range of the body kick from Botanovic.
Bot Botanovic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Botanovic throws a leg kick but Tap sees it coming and moves out of range.
Tap throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Tap throws a series of punches but Botanovic avoids them all with ease.
Botanovic cracks the inside of Tap's front leg.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Botanovic wants to clinch up but Tap keeps it at a distance.
Tap chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Botanovic can pounce on him.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Botanovic - that will leave a mark!
Tap is breathing heavily.
Botanovic scores with a kick to the body.
Botanovic drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Botanovic lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Tap taking punishment in the form of punches.
Botanovic wants to control but Tap is keeping him busy.
Botanovic tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Botanovic wants to control but Tap is keeping him busy.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tap sneaks back into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Botanovic lands strikes from half guard.
Botanovic is looking to advance position but Tap won't allow it.
Botanovic wants to control but Tap is keeping him busy.
Botanovic lands with a punch from half guard.
Botanovic keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Botanovic passes into side control, despite Tap's attempt to control the position.
Botanovic cracks Tap with an elbow. That is naaassty.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Bot Botanovic dominated that second 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.
Botanovic attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Botanovic lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Tap fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Botanovic manages to avoid it.
Botanovic steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Tap.
Botanovic throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Botanovic dives in and grabs Tap's left leg, looking for a takedown. Tap pushes down on Botanovic's head and hops out.
The fight stays on the outside here - Botanovic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A bone on bone clash there as Tap blocks the leg kick.
Botanovic defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Tap.
Botanovic 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.
Tap wants to sweep here but Botanovic controlling him for the moment.
Botanovic trying to control but Tap is working from the bottom.
Tap is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Botanovic defends well.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Botanovic wants to stand but Tap is controlling his posture from full guard.
Tap takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Botanovic stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Tap swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Tap working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Botanovic has passed into half guard!
Botanovic is looking for a kimura but Tap is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Botanovic to get the leverage.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Tap is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Tap won't allow Botanovic to pass to mount.
Botanovic passes the guard and advances to mount!
BOOM! Botanovic connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Tap tries to lock up and control but Botanovic gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Botanovic prevents Tap from getting the reversal.
Botanovic is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Tap has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Botanovic looking to control and managing it successfully.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tap slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Botanovic throwing shots but Tap is blocking nicely.
Botanovic is looking to advance position but Tap won't allow it.
Botanovic missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Botanovic controlling the action here.
Tap taking some punishment here, with Botanovic in his half guard.
Tap trying to hold on to Botanovic's head to control him but Botanovic postures up.
Botanovic keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Tap tries to roll over but Botanovic keeps him under control.
Tap trying to get back to full guard but Botanovic takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Botanovic is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Tap can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Bot Botanovic overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Botanovic postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Tap looks a forlorn figure.
Botanovic is working for a guillotine from mount but Tap frees his head quite easily.
Botanovic with the ground and pound from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Bot Botanovic clearly takes that round.
That's time! Botanovic's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Tap listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Tap dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Tap looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Botanovic!
Botanovic wants to hold on but Tap pushes him away.
Botanovic is working to get back to half guard.
Tap avoids the attempt from Botanovic to control.
Tap working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Tap avoids the attempt from Botanovic to control.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Botanovic holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Tap tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Botanovic tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Tap avoids the attempt from Botanovic to control.
Botanovic is in all sorts of trouble here.
Tap looking to secure an arm triangle but Botanovic defends it well.
Botanovic wants to control but Tap is having none of it.
Tap won't let Botanovic get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Botanovic is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Botanovic is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Tap landing shots from mount.
Botanovic can't escape the position.
Botanovic holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Tap tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Tap with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Tap is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Botanovic wants to control but Tap is having none of it.
Botanovic is trying to escape the mount.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Botanovic sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Tap tries to pass the half guard into mount. Botanovic knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Botanovic is trying to maintain the position but Tap is very close to passing his half guard.
Tap is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Botanovic makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Botanovic.
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.
Tap postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Botanovic keeping moving, preventing Tap from controlling successfully.
Botanovic wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Tap manages to pass to side control.
Botanovic moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Botanovic wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tap is fighting to break Botanovic's control of his arms but Botanovic is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Botanovic has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
EJ Tap dominated that fourth round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!
Botanovic throws a low kick, looking for Tap's leg but Tap calmly moves out of range.
Botanovic tries a head kick but it misses.
Tap decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Botanovic wants to get back to full guard but Tap has passed into side control.
Tap goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Botanovic turns into him and now he's in Tap's guard.
Botanovic is stalling in the full guard.
Tap is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Botanovic with a flurry of punches that miss.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Botanovic sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Tap tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Botanovic sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Tap's guard.
Tap tries to roll over but Botanovic keeps him under control.
Botanovic is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Tap defends it well.
Botanovic is nestled in close to Tap, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Botanovic is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Tap sees it coming and defends easily.
Botanovic wants to pass the guard but Tap is defending well.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Botanovic is keen to just control but Tap is a slippery customer.
Tap wants to improve his position but Botanovic is controlling well.
Botanovic looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Tap cracks Botanovic with an open hand slap.
Tap throws a shot from downtown. Botanovic moves away and avoids it.
Botanovic tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Tap is able to avoid easily.
Tap throws a hook to the side of Botanovic's head but Botanovic sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Tap tries to close the distance and clinch but Botanovic swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Botanovic defending well as Tap loads up on a big left hand.
Botanovic fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Tap is out of range.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good shot there by Tap.
Botanovic throws a head kick that misses.
Tap throws a right and a left that Botanovic avoids nicely.
Botanovic tries to clinch there but Tap circles away.
Tap looks to clinch
and Botanovic counters by moving into the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Tap.
Tap wants a takedown but no success here.
Botanovic takes a shot to the head.
Botanovic connects with a nasty looking knee right to Tap's face.
Botanovic tries to land a knee to the head but Tap blocks with his arms.
Botanovic misses with a knee to the head.
Botanovic with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Tap lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
EJ Tap has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tap looking for a takedown.
Tap throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Tap lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Botanovic is working for takedown but Tap is calmly controlling the position for now.
Botanovic tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Botanovic gets underhooks to prevent Tap's takedown attempt.
Bot Botanovic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of EJ Tap.
Tap managing to block the knees to the body from Botanovic.
Tap scores with a shot to the side of Botanovic's head.
Tap trying to stall but Botanovic improves his position.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Botanovic tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A short right from Tap.
Botanovic tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tap avoids it.
Tap blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Tap has clasped his hands together around Botanovic's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Botanovic is trying to work for a sweep but Tap has mounted him!
Tap looking to secure an arm triangle but Botanovic defends it well.
Botanovic holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Tap tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Bot Botanovic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Botanovic slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Botanovic moves into full guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Botanovic holds on and takes a little breather.
And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to EJ Tap.
Well Botanovic 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 49:47
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 49:46
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 48:47
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bot Botanovic!
Bot Botanovic retains his welterweight title!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
66% |
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