PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mike Morrison (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paulo Soares (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Soares has chosen AC/DC - Hells Bells as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Mike Morrison has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Morrison
vs
Soares

181 cm
18
186 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
23
181 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Mike Morrison!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Soares!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Emerson Jorge and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Soares lands a big head kick that sends Morrison tumbling to the mat! Soares takes a step backwards and waves Morrison back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Morrison is rocked!

It looks like Mike Morrison has been cut.
Soares staying out of range there.
Oh Morrison is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Paulo Soares seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Soares shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Morrison pinned against the cage. Morrison gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Morrison jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Morrison seems to have got his legs back now.
Morrison stuffs the takedown attempt from Soares. Soares gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice defenses there by Soares.
Morrison misses with a hook. Soares ducked under it nicely.
Soares shoots in for a takedown but Morrison shows good takedown defense.
Mike Morrison has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Soares.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrison fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A head kick by Morrison misses
and Soares makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Morrison really felt that one!
A swing and a miss from Morrison.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Soares.
Soares will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Soares keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Morrison.
Morrison has a takedown stuffed.
Morrison throws a big shot that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Soares.
Soares throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Morrison's waist but Morrison gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Soares off to one side.
Morrison misses the shot to the body.

Morrison gets caught flat footed, as Soares shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Morrison is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Morrison wants to sweep here but Soares controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soares wants to pass the guard but Morrison is keeping the position.
Morrison is trying to control the position but Soares postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Soares tries to free his leg and advance position but Morrison is retaining full guard.
Soares trying to control but Morrison is working from the bottom.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Paulo Soares was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Soares fails with a takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulo Soares dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mike Morrison's cut.
That's time! Morrison's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Soares throws a push kick but Morrison slaps the foot to one side.
A slapping body kick lands there for Soares.
Soares misses with a wild body shot.
Paulo Soares is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Morrison stuffs the takedown attempt from Soares. Soares gets slowly back to his feet.
Morrison wants to clinch but Soares slips to the side
and Soares counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Morrison throws a leg kick that is checked
and Soares counters with an inside leg kick.
Soares tries to clinch but Morrison moves away
and Morrison counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Soares circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soares wants to clinch up but Morrison keeps it at a distance.
Soares misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Soares fails to land the takedown.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Soares.
Mike Morrison has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Soares.
Soares fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Soares is breathing heavily.

Morrison closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

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.
Morrison gets underhooks to prevent Soares's takedown attempt.
Soares drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Morrison tries to pull guard but Soares won't allow it.
Soares on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Morrison struggles to land a body shot inside as Soares controls his hands.
Morrison manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Morrison jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Soares walks away with a smile on his face. Morrison gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soares dives in and grabs Morrison's left leg, looking for a takedown. Morrison pushes down on Soares's head and hops out.
Morrison tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Soares counters with a good, hard body kick but Morrison shrugs it off.
Soares closes this distance looking for a takedown but Morrison circles away.
Soares wants to clinch up but Morrison keeps it at a distance.
Morrison stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Morrison wants it to stay on the feet.
Nice sprawl there from Morrison as Soares shoots in.
Morrison misses with a hook to the body
and Soares counters with a stiff right hand.
Soares shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Morrison sprawls well. Morrison wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Soares gets slowly back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soares moves away from the strike by Morrison.

Soares tries to keep at a distance but Morrison has taken the fight into the clinch.
Morrison misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Soares.
Morrison lands a shot to the body.
Soares misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Morrison.
Soares prevents a body shot from Morrison.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paulo Soares showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mike Morrison's cut.
That's time! Morrison's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Soares slips a straight right by Morrison.
Morrison throws a body punch but Soares moves out of range.
Soares swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Morrison closes the distance and pushes Soares back into the cage.
Morrison tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Soares's elbow.
Morrison tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soares avoids it.
Soares goes for a takedown attempt but Morrison pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soares shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Morrison pinned against the cage. Morrison gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrison throws a jab when Soares was well out of range.
Soares fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Mike Morrison has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paulo Soares.
Soares tries to clinch up.
Soares with a poor takedown

and Morrison counters by clinching up.
Soares takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Soares tries for a takedown but Morrison manages to get underhooks.
Soares prevents a body shot from Morrison.
Morrison misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Soares managing to block the knees to the body from Morrison.
Morrison misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Morrison tries to work over Soares's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Morrison prevents the takedown attempt.

Morrison pulls Soares into guard.
Morrison is controlling Soares's posture.
Soares must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrison keeping moving, preventing Soares from controlling successfully.
Soares is fighting to break Morrison's control of his arms but Morrison is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nice takedown defense from Morrison. No joy for Soares on that attempt.
Paulo Soares seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Soares is trying hard to land a takedown here. Morrison sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Soares shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Morrison but Morrison pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Morrison slaps away a takedown attempt from Soares, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Morrison throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Soares sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Morrison closes the distance and clinches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Morrison showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Soares has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 28:29
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 28:29
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paulo Soares!