PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between The Metaphysical Magician (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Russell Paulman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Paulman has chosen War is my Love as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Metaphysical Magician
vs
Paulman

177 cm
26
179 lbs
9 - 0 - 0

183 cm
32
180 lbs
9 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, The Metaphysical Magician!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Russell Paulman!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Seu Braga and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Paulman pushes Magician up against the cage in a clinch.
Paulman utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Paulman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Paulman with a knee to the head.
Paulman using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Paulman scores with a knee to the head.
Paulman gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Paulman lands a nice knee to the body.
Magician is breathing heavily.
Magician is trying to pull guard but Paulman turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Magician takes a knee right on the jaw!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Magician pulls guard successfully.
Paulman is stalling in the full guard.

Magician throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Paulman is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Paulman stands and throws Magician's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magician is letting Paulman control him for a moment.
Magician is looking for a sweep.
Paulman just content to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Paulman trying to control the position but Magician is working away.
Paulman throws a strike aimed at the side of Magician's head but Magician avoids it well.
Magician sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Paulman sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Magician is in trouble now - Paulman has advanced to mount!
Magician taking shots to the head.
Magician's coaches at The OHIO State have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paulman lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Magician is looking to improve his position but Paulman isn't that keen on the idea.
Magician takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Paulman controlling the pace for now.
Let's hope that Paulman has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Magician is trying to escape the mount.
Magician is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Paulman looking to control but Magician is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Paulman takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magician slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Magician gets full guard.
Paulman trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Paulman must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Paulman trying to control the position from guard on top but Magician is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Paulman trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Paulman controls from within his opponent's guard.

Magician is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Magician keeping full guard, as Paulman tries to pass.

Magician is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Magician utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Paulman sitting in guard here, content to control.
Magician not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paulman pushing down on Magician's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

Magician looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Paulman is looking to take a break and control but Magician is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Paulman 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.
Magician wants to get back to full guard.
Paulman trying to control the action but Magician is working from the bottom.
Paulman landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Paulman is trying to control the action in half guard but Magician is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Paulman controlling the pace.
Paulman is trying to control the action in half guard but Magician is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Paulman trying to pass the guard but Magician defending well.
Magician wants to control but Paulman is keeping busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Russell Paulman dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Magician scores with a takedown into Paulman's guard.
Magician pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Paulman is keeping the position for now.

Magician is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Magician won't allow Paulman to sweep him here.
Paulman is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Paulman looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Magician trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Paulman pulls Magician in to control the position.
Magician stopping the sweep attempt from Paulman.
Magician in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Paulman keeping moving, preventing Magician from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paulman managing to control the position.
Magician tries to free his leg and advance position but Paulman is retaining full guard.
Magician is pushing down on Paulman's leg trying to pass to half guard. Paulman is fighting to maintain full guard but Magician has managed to sneak the leg through.
Magician content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Magician is trying to control. Paulman wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Russell Paulman has got the better of the ground game so far.
Paulman wants to control but Magician is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Magician lands a nice short elbow.
Paulman has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Magician with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Magician is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Paulman sees it coming and defends easily.
Paulman tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Magician has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paulman is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Magician takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Paulman is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Magician fails to take his opponent's back.
Paulman wants to hold on but Magician pushes him away.
Magician can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Paulman is looking to escape.
Paulman is trying desperately to improve position.
Paulman keeps trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paulman wants to control but Magician is having none of it.
Paulman is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Magician is staying active.
Paulman bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Paulman won't allow Magician to sweep him here.
Paulman trying to control but Magician is working from the bottom.
Paulman is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Paulman trying to control but Magician is working from the bottom.
Magician wants to sweep but no luck.
Magician manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Paulman manages to get himself to full guard.

Paulman looking to control.
Magician wants to control from the top but Paulman keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Magician being controlled here momentarily.
Magician pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Paulman is keeping the position for now.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Paulman holds on and takes a little breather.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Magician pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Paulman is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

The Metaphysical Magician dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Paulman takes the fight into the clinch.
Magician is trying to pull guard but Paulman turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Magician tries to pull guard but Paulman holds him up against the cage and eventually Magician drops back down to his feet.
Paulman connects with a nasty looking knee right to Magician's face.

It looks like The Metaphysical Magician has been cut.
A knee to the head by Paulman.
Russell Paulman seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Paulman tries a knee to the head but Magician blocks it.
Paulman creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Magician's defenses.
Paulman landing knees to the head.
Magician jumps guard but Paulman turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for The Metaphysical Magician. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Paulman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Paulman with a knee to the head.
Paulman lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Paulman landing knees to the head.
Magician tries to pull guard but Paulman holds him up against the cage and eventually Magician drops back down to his feet.
Magician tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Paulman just stands there and leans against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Paulman landing knees to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paulman lands an elbow inside that Magician shrugs off.
Paulman scores with a knee to the head.
Paulman looking to throw knees to the head but Magician is blocking nicely.

Magician pulls guard successfully.
Paulman pushing down on Magician's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Magician is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Paulman's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Paulman's back!

Magician is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Magician controlling from the back.
Paulman manages to reverse the position and now he's in Magician's guard. Nice work there by Paulman.
Paulman controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Magician trying to keep a closed guard but Paulman is proving a slippery customer.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Magician keeping moving, preventing Paulman from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paulman won't allow Magician to sweep him here.
Paulman wants to control from the top but Magician keeps moving.
Magician is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Magician keeping moving, preventing Paulman from controlling successfully.
Paulman postures up.

Magician is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Paulman is aware though and is defending well.

Magician throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Paulman slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Magician looking for a guillotine here but Paulman defends easily.

Magician is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Paulman defends well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paulman trying to control but Magician is working from the bottom.
Magician looking to control.
Paulman distracts Magician with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Magician escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Paulman gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Paulman is pushing down on Magician's leg trying to pass to half guard. Magician is fighting to maintain full guard but Paulman has managed to sneak the leg through.
Paulman throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Paulman thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Magician's head.
Paulman wants to control but Magician is keeping him busy.
Magician is looking to control Paulman's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Magician avoid being mounted?
Paulman seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Magician does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Paulman trying to mount his opponent but Magician defends it.

Magician looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Magician actively working from the bottom here.
Paulman perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Magician is pressing down on Paulman's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Magician is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Magician keeping moving, preventing Paulman from controlling successfully.

Magician working for a triangle but Paulman defends it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Russell Paulman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Paulman has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 28:29
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Russell Paulman!
During a confident post fight interview, Russell Paulman thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.