PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Oleg Popov (ranked 4129 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eleazar Munoz Morales (ranked 2323 p4p, 0 weight class). Eleazar Munoz Morales has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Popov
vs
Munoz Morales

189 cm
25
157 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

180 cm
25
157 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Oleg Popov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Eleazar Munoz Morales!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Columbo Gatti and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Morales looks to land a right hand but Popov moved out of range.
Morales misses with a hook.
It looked like Popov was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Popov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Popov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Popov shoots for a takedown but Morales saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Morales displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Popov.
Morales misses with an uppercut
and Popov counters with a one-two to the body.
Morales waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Popov.
Popov really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Morales looks to land a left hand but Popov moved out of range nicely.
Morales loads up on a big right hand but Popov slips the punch.
Morales misses with a jab, cross combination.
Popov throws a quick counter kick to the body but Morales avoids it.
Morales throws a series of punches but Popov moves out of range.
Morales swinging wildly here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Morales misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Morales stalks Popov and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Popov's face. Popov staggers backwards, shaken.
Morales looks winded!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Popov steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Morales.
Popov seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Popov shoots in but Morales avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Oleg Popov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Morales scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Popov tries to work over Morales's front leg with a kick but Morales checks it.

Popov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Popov jumps guard and drags Morales to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Morales gets to his feet. Popov looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Popov showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Morales.
Morales smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Morales keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Morales displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Popov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Popov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
A jab from Morales misses.
Morales throws a right and a left that Popov avoids nicely.
Morales throws a combination that misses
and Popov counters with a two punch combo.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Morales swinging wildly here.
Popov lands an overhand right.
Popov shoots in looking for a takedown but Morales manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Popov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Popov looks for a takedown but Morales sprawls well.
Morales feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Popovs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morales scores with a jab to the jaw.

Popov is rocked!
Morales throws a right and a left that both miss.
Popov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nice sprawl there from Morales as Popov shoots in.
It seemed like Morales was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
The crowd cheers as Morales lands an impressive looking overhand right. Popov doesn't seem phased though.
Oh Popov is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Morales lands with a nice combination. Popov backs away looking to recover.
Morales looks to land a combination but Popov avoids it well.
Popov shoots in for a takedown but Morales shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Morales fails to land with a series of punches.
Morales thuds a left hand into Popov's body.
Morales checks a low kick from Popov.
Eleazar Munoz Morales is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Morales rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Popov counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Morales keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Morales falls off balance throwing a combination

and Popov counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Popov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Popov effectively controlling the action here.
Popov seems to have got his legs back now.
Morales is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Popov manages to pull guard.

Morales gets to his feet - Popov follows without any prompting.
Popov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Morales.
Popov half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Popov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Morales.
Morales scores with the left hand. Popov knows he should have avoided that one.

Popov has closed the distance and engaged Morales in a clinch.
Morales wants to break free but Popov has control.
A frustrated look appears on Morales's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Popov keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Morales's efforts to push away.
Morales is defending well against a takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eleazar Munoz Morales 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.

Popov takes the fight into the clinch.

Popov manages to break the clinch.
Morales throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Popov counters with a two punch combo.

Popov has managed to clinch.
Popov jumps guard but Morales stands there with Popov around his waist. Popov gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Popov lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Morales backwards.
Popov lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Morales backwards.
Morales is pressed up against the cage. Popov has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Morales down to the mat. Morales avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Morales throws a series of punches but Popov moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A combination from Morales does no damage.
Eleazar Munoz Morales seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Morales misses with the combination.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Popov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morales is pressed up against the cage. Popov has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Morales down to the mat. Morales avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Oleg Popov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Morales throws a looping overhand right but Popov ducks down to avoid it.

Popov drives through and clinches with Morales against the cage.
Popov misses with an elbow strike.

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

Morales stands up from Popov's guard - Morales perhaps looking for a knockout.
Morales swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Morales throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Popov counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Morales throws a series of punches but Popov avoids them all with ease.
Morales throws a right hand that Popov ducks under and follows up with a left that Popov also avoids with ease.

Popov has taken the fight to the clinch.

Popov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Morales catches Popov with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Morales scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Eleazar Munoz Morales seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Popov fails with a takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Popov steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Morales.

Popov moves into the clinch successfully.
Popov has Morales pressed against the cage, preventing Morales from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Morales wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Popov has him pressed against the cage.
Morales tries to break the clinch but Popov is controlling the position.
Popov pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Popov is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Popov wants to take the fight to the mat but Morales manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Morales has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Morales is trying to break the clinch but Popov has him pressed against the cage.
Morales has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Come on Popov - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Morales is looking to break free of the clinch but Popov has double underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morales working hard to break the clinch.
Popov keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Morales's efforts to push away.

Popov manages to pull guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Morales gets to his feet - Popov follows without any prompting.
Morales throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Popov wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Oleg Popov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Morales throws a nice looking combination but Popov bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Popov takes the fight into the clinch.
Morales wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Popov has him pressed against the cage.

Popov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Popov pushes Morales up against the cage in a clinch.
Morales has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A frustrated look appears on Morales's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Morales manages to break the clinch.
Morales lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Popov clinches up against the cage.

Popov drags the fight down to the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Popov is working an open guard so Morales takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Morales works the jab nicely.
Popov misses with a low kick.
Popov slips under a jab from Morales.
Sloppy strikes from Morales. Those never looked like landing.
Popov shoots in looking for a takedown but Morales manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Popov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Morales rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Popov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Morales misses with a wild combination.
Popov shoots in for a takedown but Morales shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Oleg Popov will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Popov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Morales swings widly with a right hand

and Popov holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Popov keeps control of Morales as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Morales wants to break free but Popov has control.

Morales breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Popov.
No luck for Popov with that takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Popov takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Morales misses with a wild combination.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Popov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Morales defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Oleg Popov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morales throws a right hand that Popov ducks under and follows up with a left that Popov also avoids with ease.
Morales fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Popov pushes Morales up against the cage in a clinch.
Oleg Popov has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Morales wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Morales is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Popov lands a nice shot to the body.
Popov is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Morales is defending well for now.

Popov successfully pulls guard.
Morales stops Popov from standing up.
Popov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morales is looking to stand up but Popov won't let him.
Morales won't allow Popov to get back to his feet.

Popov looking for a guillotine here but Morales defends easily.

Morales decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Morales misses with a few strikes there.

Popov clinches up with Morales and pushes him back against the cage.
Popov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Morales wants to break free but Popov has control.
Popov has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Morales is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Popov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Morales up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Popov is trying to pull guard but Morales has him pressed against the cage.
Morales is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Morales looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Morales has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Popov prevents Morales from breaking the clinch.
Popov lands a right hand.

Morales manages to break the clinch.
Morales misses with a double jab

and Popov moves into the clinch.
Popov tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Morales avoids it.

Popov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Morales lands a jab.

Popov closes the distance and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morales is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Popov keeps control of Morales as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Morales is trying to break free.
Popov has Morales pressed against the cage, preventing Morales from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Popov manages to break the clinch.
Sloppy strikes from Morales. Those never looked like landing.
Popov shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Morales but Morales pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Morales tries to bum rush Popov with a series of wild strikes but Popov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Morales swings widly with a right hand
and Popov counters with a three punch combo that has Morales backing up. Morales nods at Popov to acknowledge the strikes.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Popov slips under a jab from Morales.
Morales throws a body punch but Popov moves out of range.
Morales swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Popov counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Popov.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Eleazar Munoz Morales.
I think Morales 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 29:29
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Eleazar Munoz Morales!