PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Tyrone Bate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan Jose Moreno Cuenca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Moreno Cuenca has chosen Yo, el vaquilla as his entrance music. 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.

Bate
vs
Jose Moreno Cuenca

166 cm
29
145 lbs
20 - 12 - 1

165 cm
28
139 lbs
17 - 11 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Tyrone Bate!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Juan Jose Moreno Cuenca!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Taro Takaoka and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Moreno Cuenca feints and then cracks Bate's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Bate down.
Moreno Cuenca throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Bate sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bate rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Moreno Cuenca moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nice defenses there by Moreno Cuenca.
Moreno Cuenca misses with a double jab.
Bate fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Moreno Cuenca will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Moreno Cuenca looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bate misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Moreno Cuenca.
Bate lands with a shot to the body.
Juan Jose Moreno Cuenca seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bate looks to score with a jab to the body but Moreno Cuenca is just out of range.
Moreno Cuenca attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

Bate closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Bate lands in his opponent's guard.
Bate in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bate controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Moreno Cuenca lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Bate!
Poor strikes thrown by Moreno Cuenca there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Moreno Cuenca landing strikes from the mount.
Bate is desperately trying to improve his position but Moreno Cuenca has a good base and remains in mount.
Moreno Cuenca landing punches.
Bate is working to get back to half guard.
Moreno Cuenca sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bate regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Moreno Cuenca trying to control from half guard but Bate is working away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Moreno Cuenca is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Moreno Cuenca wants to free his trapped foot but Bate is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Moreno Cuenca is trying to control. Bate wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Bate is trying to maintain the position but Moreno Cuenca is very close to passing his half guard.
Bate preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Bate is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Moreno Cuenca's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Moreno Cuenca's back!
Moreno Cuenca is trapped and Bate is scoring with shots to the head and body.

Bate is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Moreno Cuenca has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Moreno Cuenca trying to control but not successfully.
Moreno Cuenca is trapped and Bate is scoring with shots to the head and body.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Bate's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Moreno Cuenca turns into Bate and is now in his guard.
Moreno Cuenca trying to control but Bate is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bate has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Bate looking to hit a scissor sweep but Moreno Cuenca is one step ahead there.
Moreno Cuenca with a flurry of punches that miss.
Bate is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Moreno Cuenca throws an elbow that misses. Bate uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Moreno Cuenca's guard. Nice move by Bate!
Bate sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Moreno Cuenca keeping moving, preventing Bate from controlling successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Tyrone Bate.

Bate fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Moreno Cuenca to the ground. Bate is now in Moreno Cuenca's guard.
Moreno Cuenca 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.
Moreno Cuenca keeping moving, preventing Bate from controlling successfully.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Bate stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Moreno Cuenca swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Bate is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Moreno Cuenca trying to keep a closed guard but Bate is proving a slippery customer.

Moreno Cuenca has his foot on Bate's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Bate works his way back into a safe position though.
Moreno Cuenca looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bate is one step ahead there.
Moreno Cuenca keeping moving, preventing Bate from controlling successfully.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Bate postures up.
Moreno Cuenca is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Bate is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Bate's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Moreno Cuenca stalling away here and it's allowed Bate to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Bate working a defensive guard here.
Moreno Cuenca wants to control from the top but Bate keeps moving.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Bate holds on and takes a little breather.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Moreno Cuenca throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Moreno Cuenca throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Bate tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Moreno Cuenca is in Bate's guard.
Bate manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bate cracks Moreno Cuenca with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Bate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Bate has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Moreno Cuenca's face.
Bate lands a big shot there that rocks Moreno Cuenca but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Bate tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Moreno Cuenca manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Bate seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Moreno Cuenca does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bate lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bate tries to pass to full mount but Moreno Cuenca defends it.
Moreno Cuenca trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Bate manages to pass to mount!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bate landing punches.

Moreno Cuenca defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Bate.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrone Bate dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Bate shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Moreno Cuenca tries to get to full guard but Bate has control of the leg.
Moreno Cuenca keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Moreno Cuenca is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Bate works his way into full mount!
Bate looking to control but Moreno Cuenca is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Moreno Cuenca tries to hold on but Bate postures up.
Bate lands a big elbow.
Bate throwing strikes here but Moreno Cuenca is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Bate landing shots from mount.
Bate with shots to the head and body - Moreno Cuenca looks very uncomfortable down there.
Bate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Bate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Bate there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Moreno Cuenca wants to control but Bate is having none of it.
Moreno Cuenca is squirming around, avoiding Bate's attempts to control the action.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bate landing strikes, looking to finish!
Bate lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Bate has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Moreno Cuenca's face.
Bate is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Moreno Cuenca can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Moreno Cuenca takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Bate raining down hammerfists from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Moreno Cuenca that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

Moreno Cuenca is rocked!
Moreno Cuenca wants to control but Bate is having none of it.
Bate with the ground and pound from mount.
Moreno Cuenca is still in real trouble! Can Bate finish him?
Bate looking to finish here with some ground and pound. He lands one big shot that has Moreno Cuenca covering up... and two more big strikes land, forcing the referee to step in and put and end to proceedings! This fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:37 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Tyrone Bate!
Tyrone Bate tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.