PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jose Salcedo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jesus Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Salcedo
vs
Pope

184 cm
40
278 lbs
31 - 20 - 0

225 cm
38
283 lbs
28 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 31 - 20 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jose Salcedo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jesus Pope!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Paul Aken and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salcedo thows a leg kick but Pope checks it

and Pope counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Salcedo!
Pope wants to control but Salcedo is keeping him busy.
Pope fails to land a wild elbow strike.

Pope goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Salcedo has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Pope but great work by Salcedo.
Salcedo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Pope keeps working.
Pope tries to bench press Salcedo off him but Salcedo keeps the position.
Salcedo lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Pope down.
Pope is looking for a sweep.
Pope is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Salcedo scoring with punches and elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pope is trying to get back to half guard.

Salcedo working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Salcedo is looking to take a break and control but Pope is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Pope tries to improve position but can't.
Pope is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

It looks like Jesus Pope has been cut.
An elbow from Salcedo crashes against the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pope taking a bit of punishment here - Salcedo scoring with strikes.

That has opened up Jesus Pope's cut even more.
Pope gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Salcedo wants to take a breather but Pope is having none of it.
Pope is trying to get back to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Salcedo is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Salcedo is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Pope has managed to free his arm - good work.
Salcedo thows a huge punch but Pope dodges it nicely.
Pope is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Salcedo is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Pope slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Salcedo postures up.

Salcedo got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pope has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Salcedo has managed to get both his arms back between Pope's legs - danger averted.
Pope throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Pope lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Pope wants to control from the top but Salcedo keeps moving.
Salcedo has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Pope in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Pope scoring with some ground and pound.
Pope's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Pope loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Pope lands a couple of digs.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pope postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Pope in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Salcedo is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jesus Pope will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Jesus Pope's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Pope avoids the head kick by Salcedo.
Salcedo throws a head kick but Pope moves out of range.
Salcedo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Salcedo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Pope.
Salcedo cracks Pope with an open hand slap.
Pope dives in for a single leg takedown but Salcedo sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Pope misses with the head strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head punch on the inside from Pope fails to land.
Pope pushes off an throws an elbow but Salcedo leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Pope is pushing Salcedo up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Pope throws a punch but it's blocked by Salcedo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pope has Salcedo pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Salcedo manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
A bit of stalling here from Salcedo.
Pope misses with a punch on the inside.

Salcedo breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Salcedo misses with a low kick as Pope jumps back.
An inside leg kick from Salcedo misses.
Pope displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Salcedo throws out the jab.
A jab from Salcedo misses.
A head kick by Salcedo misses

so Pope counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Pope trying to control the position from guard on top but Salcedo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pope trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pope pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Salcedo is keeping the position for now.
Pope wants to control from the top but Salcedo keeps moving.
Salcedo is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Pope is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Pope keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Pope trying to control here.
Pope wants to get back to full guard.

Salcedo 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! Pope is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Jose Salcedo!
Jose Salcedo decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.