PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Thomas More (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Cope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cope has chosen I Against I as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

More
vs
Cope

172 cm
31
145 lbs
20 - 7 - 0

176 cm
27
144 lbs
16 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

ADCC Champion
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Resistance

5th Round Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Thomas More!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mike Cope!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Konstantin Menshow and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cope changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. More tries to avoid it but Cope manages to keep hold of a leg and drag More to the ground. More escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
More takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
More throws a lazy uppercut
and Cope counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Cope slips a jab from More.
Thomas More seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
More walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A jab lands there for Cope.
Cope ducks under a wild hook from More.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Cope, right into the meat.
Cope moves into range and connects with a jab.
Cope throws a quick head kick that skims the top of More's head.
Cope tests More's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Cope scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
More throws a jab when Cope was well out of range.
More misses with a left hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Cope lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Cope scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Cope getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Cope moves away from the strike by More.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Cope feints and as More raises his hands in defense, Cope changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
More wants to sweep here but Cope controlling him for the moment.
More keeping moving, preventing Cope from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope is looking to work some ground and pound but More has wrist control.
More on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if More tries to get out of the position.
Cope wants to pass the guard but More is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cope working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Cope loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
More wants to stand up but Cope is controlling him.
Cope wants to pass the guard but More is keeping the position.
Cope missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cope stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. More swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Cope working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Cope throws a big elbow that misses.
Cope throws a big elbow that misses.
Cope is looking to work some ground and pound but More has wrist control.
Cope postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Cope is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Cope looking to pass the guard.
More can't keep his opponent in guard - Cope advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cope thows a huge punch but More dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cope is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cope takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Cope tries to pass the half guard into mount. More knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Cope wants to take a breather but More is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cope not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Cope is trying to control. More wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Cope.
More is trying to stand.
Cope not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Cope takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Cope is looking for a kimura but More is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Cope to get the leverage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cope thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed More's head.
More is looking for a sweep. Cope is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Cope stops More from getting back to his feet.
Nice strikes from Cope there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cope working over More with some ground and pound. More looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
More taking some punishment here, with Cope in his half guard.
More knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Cope on the ground.
More has hold of Cope's hands but Cope slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Cope dominated that round.
That's time! More's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Cope lands a slapping body shot.
More throws a looping overhand right but Cope ducks down to avoid it.
More is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Cope.
Cope fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and More has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Cope takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Cope with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
More swings widly with a right hand
and Cope counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps More thinking.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Cope.
More throws a hook but Cope avoids it easily.
More misses with a hook
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
More throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Cope counters with a nice leg kick.
More throws an overhand right that lands on Cope's shoulder, as Cope tries to avoid the shot.
More walks forward, straight into a front kick from Cope.
A shot to the liver by Cope. Beautiful body shot.
Cope keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Cope cracks a nice hook into More's ribs.
Cope thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on More if he has to take too many more of those.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Cope scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
More blocking the ground and pound attempt from Cope.
Mike Cope has got the better of the ground game so far.
Cope winds up and cracks More with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Cope is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cope looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks More with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cope is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cope throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Cope looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks More with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cope working More over with strikes.
Cope working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
More is trying to stand back up but Cope is controlling him
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cope working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Cope has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
More looks like he's trying to stand up.
Cope seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Nice strikes from Cope there.
More on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Cope not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
More on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
More keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Cope is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cope working the head and body with strikes.
Cope trying to control from half guard but More is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cope missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Cope missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Cope throwing shots but More is blocking nicely.

Cope is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! More is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:38 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Mike Cope!
Mike Cope made sure to mention his sponsor, ACME-Blood Red Q158 Always $30 in his post fight interview.