PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mick Richards (ranked 5097 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ronaldo Souza (ranked 24535 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Richards
vs
Souza

185 cm
23
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
19
185 lbs
4 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Mick Richards!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ronaldo Souza!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Sam Margolis and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Richards misses with a double jab
and Souza counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Richards with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Souza throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Souza shoots for a takedown but Richards saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Souza has Richards up against the cage in a clinch.
Souza has Richards pressed against the cage, preventing Richards from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Richards drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Souza gets the underhooks and prevents it.

Souza is fighting off a takedown attempt but Richards is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Souza to the mat. Souza regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Souza really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Richards. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Richards throws an elbow that misses. Souza uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Richards's guard. Nice move by Souza!

Souza wants to get up but he can't break Richards's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Souza postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Richards is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Richards controlling the action here.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Souza can do anything to dispel that myth.
Souza trying to control here.

Richards is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Souza landing strikes from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Souza looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Souza wants to control but Richards is keeping busy.
Richards keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Souza is staying active underneath Richards, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Richards looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Souza with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Richards controlling the pace.
Richards'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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Richards is working for a kimura but Souza is defending it quite comfortably.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Richards works his foot free and advances to mount.
Souza looks out of his depth in this position - he's holding on tight.

That's four 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.
Richards controlling from the full mount.
Richards in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Souza tries to hold on but Richards postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Richards looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Richards trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Souza takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Richards controlling from mount.
Further stalling from Richards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mick Richards 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.

Richards closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Souza avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Richards.
Richards seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Souza does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Richards controlling the action here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Richards is working for a submission of some sort.
Richards content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza tries to roll over but Richards keeps him under control.
Richards is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Souza can do to turn this around?
Richards 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.

Souza looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Richards wants to pass the guard but Souza is defending well.
Richards 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.
Richards is working hard here to advance position.
Richards with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Richards wants to work for an arm triangle but Souza is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Richards performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Richards thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Souza's head.
Richards wants to lay and pray for a moment but Souza keeps working.
Souza is looking for a sweep. Richards is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza wants to improve his position but Richards is controlling well.
Souza taking some punishment here, with Richards in his half guard.
Richards passes the guard and advances to mount!
Richards looking to control but Souza is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Richards sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Souza looks a forlorn figure.
Souza trying desperately to get to his feet.
Souza tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Richards landing strikes, looking to finish!
Souza is looking to get to half guard.
Richards looking to control but Souza is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Richards takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Richards wants to take Souza's back here but Souza is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mick Richards dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Richards bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Richards controls the position.
Souza taking punishment in the form of punches.
Souza tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Richards wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Richards is looking to take a break and control but Souza is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Richards lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Souza is looking to reverse the position.

Richards is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Souza knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza is looking to regain half guard here but Richards keeps moving and retains side control.
Richards landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Souza is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Richards has just dragged him back down to the mat.

Richards looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
A lull in the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Richards is trying to get an arm triangle but Souza is defending well.
Richards passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Souza!
Richards controlling the position easily from mount.
Souza is trying desperately to improve position.
Richards can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Souza is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards controlling from mount.
Richards breaks from Souza's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Richards controlling from the full mount.

Richards looking for a guillotine from mount but Souza is having none of it.
Richards lands a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards raining down shots from the mount!
Richards raining down shots from the mount!
Souza is looking to get to half guard.
Richards landing strikes from the mount.
Richards takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Souza wants to control but Richards is having none of it.
Ronaldo Souza has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mick Richards is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Richards controlling his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mick Richards showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Richards, 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mick Richards!