PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Florentino Murray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hussein Eissa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Murray
vs
Eissa

175 cm
18
214 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

193 cm
18
200 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Florentino Murray!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Hussein Eissa!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Konstantin Menshow and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Eissa clinches up with Murray and pushes him back against the cage.
Eissa jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Murray walks away with a smile on his face. Eissa gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Eissa tries to clinch up
and Murray counters with a three punch combo that has Eissa backing up. Eissa nods at Murray to acknowledge the strikes.
Eissa pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Eissa wants to clinch but Murray slips to the side

and Murray counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Eissa!

Murray is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Eissa knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Murray throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Eissa is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Murray tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Murray is trying to get an arm triangle but Eissa is defending well.
Eissa is trying to improve his position.
Eissa pushes Murray away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Murray gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Eissa is looking to regain half guard here but Murray keeps moving and retains side control.
Eissa dodges the ground and pound from Murray.

Murray wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Eissa, who protects the arm well.
Eissa is trying to get back to half guard.
Eissa can't do much from the bottom here.
Murray could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Murray tries for a kimura but Eissa is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murray misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

Murray is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Eissa has escaped the position, nice work there.
Eissa avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Murray.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Murray moves forwards but Eissa connects with a nice, crisp jab.

Florentino Murray's cut is getting worse.
Eissa misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Murray counters with a straight right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Eissa fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Murray feinted with a counter takedown.
Eissa tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Murray counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Murray has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Eissa looks winded!
Murray throwing strikes from guard but Eissa blocks nicely.
Eissa avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Murray throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Eissa works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Murray is looking to work some ground and pound but Eissa has wrist control.

Murray drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Eissa manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Murray has Eissa in his guard.

Murray is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Florentino Murray dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Florentino Murray's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Murray looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Murray is looking for a kimura but Eissa is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Murray to get the leverage.

Murray is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Murray is working for a submission of some sort.
Florentino Murray overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Eissa makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Eissa.
Murray is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Eissa can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Eissa controls Murray momentarily but Murray frees himself.
Murray postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Eissa utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Murray throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Eissa is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Murray is controlling him.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Hussein Eissa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Eissa gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Eissa tries to pull guard but Murray won't allow it.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Murray.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murray fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Murray throws a head punch that misses.
Murray taking a breather.
Murray is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Eissa blocks an uppercut.
Murray misses with a punch on the inside.
Eissa jumps guard but Murray turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Murray.
Murray prevents Eissa from breaking the clinch.

Murray breaks from the clinch.
Murray swats away the attempt to clinch by Eissa.
Murray changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eissa closes the distance but Murray moves to the side

and Murray counters with a nice double leg into side control. Eissa won't be happy with that.
Check out the look on Murray's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Eissa gets back to half guard.
Eissa is breathing heavily.
Eissa wants to get back to his feet.
Murray is thwarting Eissa's attempts to control the position.
Murray thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Eissa's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Murray is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Murray prevents Eissa from improving his position.

Eissa is defending against the submission attempts here by Murray.

Murray is working for a submission of some sort.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Eissa tries to kick Murray off but Murray keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Florentino Murray dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Florentino Murray's cut.
That's time! Murray's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Murray takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Eissa closes the distance looking to clinch

and Murray counters with a nice double leg into side control. Eissa won't be happy with that.
Eissa is pushing Murray's head away, looking to escape. Murray manages to hold on to the position though.

Murray is trying to get an arm triangle but Eissa is defending well.
Eissa is trying to escape the position but Murray is controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Eissa is trying to improve his position.

Murray is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Eissa has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Eissa is looking for a sweep.
Eissa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Murray throws a strike aimed at the side of Eissa's head but Eissa avoids it well.
Murray misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
The ground and pound from Murray seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Eissa tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Murray wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Murray is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Eissa is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Murray goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Eissa has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Murray but great work by Eissa.
Eissa controlling from side mount.
Murray wants to control but Eissa postures up.
Eissa works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murray is not content to let Eissa control the position.

Eissa is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Murray is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Eissa wants to stand but Murray is controlling his arm.
Eissa cracks Murray with a big elbow.
Murray is not content to let Eissa control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Murray throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.
Eissa tries to stand but Murray is controlling his head.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Eissa dives in for a single leg takedown but Murray sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Hussein Eissa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Eissa throws a leg kick
and Murray counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Eissa swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Murray counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A head kick by Eissa misses

and Murray counters with a shoot takedown. Eissa fights it but they end up in guard.
Florentino Murray is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Eissa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Murray gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Florentino Murray showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Murray has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Florentino Murray!