PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Marion May (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Moran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). James Moran will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

May
vs
Moran

158 cm
24
151 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

182 cm
24
145 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Marion May!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, James Moran!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, James Glass and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Moran gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and May connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Moran has his takedown stuffed

so May counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Moran throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
May throwing strikes from guard but Moran blocks nicely.
Moran avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
May throwing strikes from guard but Moran blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as May accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Moran escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. May gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
May tries to stand but Moran is controlling from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
May throws a big right hand that misses.
Moran preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
May postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
May has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Moran isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. May stacks Moran on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by May!
May tries to score with some ground and pound. Moran controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Moran regains half guard.
May thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
May tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Moran.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. May connects with a nice short shot to Moran's temple.
May is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
May not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Moran looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
May throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
May is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marion May dominated that 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.

Moran fails with the takedown

and May moves into the clinch.
Moran fails to pull guard.
May manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
May trying to stall but Moran improves his position.
May pushes Moran back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Moran jumps guard but May turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Marion May has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Moran.

Moran gets control of May's arms and successfully pulls guard. Moran will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Marion May overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

May gets to his feet - Moran follows without any prompting.

May closes the distance and clinches.
May looking to stall.
Moran tries to pull guard but May holds him up against the cage and eventually Moran drops back down to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Moran jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as May walks away with a smile on his face. Moran gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

May moves into the clinch successfully.
May slowing the pace effectively.
Moran is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables May to keep the fight standing.
May looking to slow down the pace here.
May misses with an elbow over the top.
Moran is trying to pull guard but May has him pressed against the cage.
May is trying to stall.
May lands an uppercut.

May lands a takedown into guard.
Moran has momentary wrist control but May slips an elbow through the middle.
May throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Moran works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
May is looking to stand up but Moran won't let him.
Moran utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as May accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
May wants to stand but Moran is controlling his posture from full guard.
Moran utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Marion May.
Moran doesn't succeed with the takedown
and May counters with a one-two to the body.
James Moran seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Moran looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

May closes the distance and clinches.
May is trying to stall.
Moran is trying to pull guard but May has him pressed against the cage.
Moran is trying to pull guard but May turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Moran tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Moran is breathing heavily.
Still in the clinch, May scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Moran gets control of May's arms and successfully pulls guard. Moran will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
May loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
May throws an elbow that misses. Moran uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in May's guard. Nice move by Moran!
May trying to keep a closed guard but Moran is proving a slippery customer.

May throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marion May dominated that second round.
That's time! May's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Moran tries for a takedown but May circles away easily
and May counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Moran doesn't succeed with the takedown

and May holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Moran gets control of May's arms and successfully pulls guard. Moran will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
May working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
May could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Moran working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. May doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. May manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
May lands a couple of elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
May landing some decent shots from guard.
May missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
May makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
May wants to stand but Moran has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

May stands up and waves to Moran to follow him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Moran shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and May counters with a left and a right that stings Moran.
Marion May has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Moran.

May clinches with his opponent.
May just leaning against Moran, taking a breather.
May taking a breather.

Moran manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

May stands and steps away. Moran gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Moran takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Moran fails with the takedown

and May holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
May is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Moran is defending well for now.
May gets through Moran's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Moran tries to pull guard but May forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Moran fails to pull guard.
A shot in the inside from May.
May's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Moran is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables May to keep the fight standing.

May jumps guard.
May controls Moran momentarily but Moran frees himself.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Moran won't allow May to get back to his feet.
Moran is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
May bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Moran's guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells May's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
May lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
May chips away with some ground and pound.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

May avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
James Moran has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marion May is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
May throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Moran works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marion May showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for May, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marion May!