PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Omari Morales (ranked 2551 p4p, 2139 weight class) and Egor Kuznetsov (ranked 285 p4p, 244 weight class). Omari Morales has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Morales
vs
Kuznetsov

201 cm
30
200
7 - 3 - 0

183 cm
23
202
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Furnace Performance 🔥
Silverguard Outfitters 🛡

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 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Omari Morales!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Egor Kuznetsov!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Dmitry Maklakov and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Morales misses with the combination.
Kuznetsov throws out a counter right but Morales avoids it with no problem.
Nice jab there from Morales.
Morales's corner calls for a 1-2. Morales obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Morales seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Morales throws a lazy right hand but Kuznetsov sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuznetsov with a jab.
Morales misses with an uppercut.
Kuznetsov let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Morales waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morales uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Morales swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A jab from Morales misses.
Morales swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kuznetsov lands a body shot.

Kuznetsov moves into range and clinches up with Morales.
Morales makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Kuznetsov as Morales tries to tie him up.
Kuznetsov blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Kuznetsov lands a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov misses with a punch on the inside.
Morales lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Kuznetsov pressing his opponent against the cage.
Kuznetsov's coach down at Deathsquad was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Kuznetsov's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
A short right from Kuznetsov on the inside.
Kuznetsov lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Morales swings wildly with an uppercut but Kuznetsov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kuznetsov lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Morales or not.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Morales trying to control the position but instead, Kuznetsov has worked for underhooks and has pushed Morales into the cage.
Morales prevents a body shot from Kuznetsov.
Morales blocks an uppercut.
Kuznetsov prevents a body shot from Morales.
A short left from Kuznetsov.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morales has had enough of the clinch but Kuznetsov keeps him there for the moment.
Kuznetsov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Morales is trying to stall.
Morales is looking to control Kuznetsov's arms but Kuznetsov gets an underhook and turns him. Now Morales has his back to the cage.
Maybe Morales would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Morales blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Morales tries to stall but Kuznetsov uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
A short right from Kuznetsov.
Morales is trying to break the clinch but Kuznetsov has him pressed against the cage.
Morales looking to slow down the pace here.
Still in the clinch, Kuznetsov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Morales blocks an uppercut.
Kuznetsov misses with a hook from the clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Kuznetsov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morales tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kuznetsov pushes Morales back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Kuznetsov misses with the head strike.
Kuznetsov leaning against his opponent.
Kuznetsov throws a punch but it's blocked by Morales.
Morales misses with the head strike.
Kuznetsov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Morales misses with the head strike.
Kuznetsov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Kuznetsov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Morales misses with some punches.
Morales is trying to break free.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kuznetsov.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A short right from Morales.
Morales has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Kuznetsov misses with the head strike.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov tries to work over Morales's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Kuznetsov displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Kuznetsov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Morales was well out of range. Poor timing from Kuznetsov.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Kuznetsov jabs at Morales's body.
Morales moves away from the strike by Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov slips a jab and a cross from Morales.
Kuznetsov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Morales throws a looping overhand right but Kuznetsov ducks down to avoid it.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Kuznetsov in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuznetsov misses with a hook. Morales ducked under it nicely.
Morales misses with a double jab.
Kuznetsov misses with the combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morales throws a jab but it's blocked by Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov ducks under a wild hook from Morales.
Kuznetsov appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Morales lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Kuznetsov backs up against the cage.
Morales cracks Kuznetsov with a good jab.
Morales swats away the attempt to clinch by Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov feints a jab promting Morales to slip. Kuznetsov then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Morales slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov blocks a jab.
Kuznetsov lands with a good body shot.
Omari Morales is winning the standup battle so far.
Morales throws a hook but Kuznetsov avoids it easily.
No joy there for Morales, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Good exchange - Morales coming out on top.
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!
Morales throws a jab but it's blocked by Kuznetsov.
Morales fails to land with a series of punches.
Morales really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morales pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Morales throws a lazy uppercut
and Kuznetsov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nice shot by Morales.
Kuznetsov throws out a loose jab but Morales uses good head movement to avoid it.
Morales misses the jab.
Kuznetsov doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Kuznetsov jabs at Morales's body.
Morales lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kuznetsov circles away quickly and effectively.
Kuznetsov is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Morales with a body shot.
Omari Morales is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kuznetsov scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morales misses with a looping left.
Kuznetsov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Morales throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Kuznetsov is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Morales with a body shot.
Kuznetsov has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Kuznetsov there as he acknowledges the shot.
Morales is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Morales works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Morales loads up on a big right hand but Kuznetsov slips the punch.
Morales waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kuznetsov.
Morales throws a shot from downtown. Kuznetsov moves away and avoids it.
A nice side step and Kuznetsov releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Omari Morales dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Kuznetsov lands with a good body shot.
Morales scores with a jab.
Kuznetsov lands a nice looking body shot.
Morales swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Kuznetsov misses with a wild body shot.
Kuznetsov moves out of range of the strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuznetsov scores with a jab to the body.
Kuznetsov staying out of range there.
Kuznetsov digs a good body shot into Morales's ribs.
Morales is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morales missing with a left hand there. Kuznetsov was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Morales misses with a body shot.
Kuznetsov stuns Morales with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Kuznetsov connects with a body shot that sends Morales's belly button to the back.
Kuznetsov punishes Morales's body with a nice straight punch.
Kuznetsov is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Morales rather than just go for the knockout.
Morales misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kuznetsov.
A nice side step and Kuznetsov releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Morales throws a good cross that connects.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov just misses with a punch to the body.
Kuznetsov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Kuznetsov lands a nice hook to Morales's body. Morales takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Morales throws a jab but it's blocked by Kuznetsov.
Morales takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Morales connects with a single shot there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kuznetsov just misses with a punch to the body.
Morales loads up on a big right hand but Kuznetsov slips the punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov looks to land a left hand but Morales moved out of range nicely.
Morales throws a big counter combination but Kuznetsov scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Kuznetsov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Morales loads up on a big right hand but Kuznetsov slips the punch.
Nice defenses there by Kuznetsov.
Morales throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Kuznetsov counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Morales throws a shot from downtown. Kuznetsov moves away and avoids it.
Kuznetsov slips a straight right by Morales.
Kuznetsov unleashes a big counter combination but Morales bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Kuznetsov swings away with a body shot that misses
letting Morales counter with a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morales misses with a combination
and Kuznetsov counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Morales takes a swing at Kuznetsov's ribcage but misses.
Morales throws a good cross that connects.
Morales doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Kuznetsov ducks under a wild hook from Morales.
Kuznetsov now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Morales jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kuznetsov ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Egor Kuznetsov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kuznetsov 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Egor Kuznetsov!
A less than humble Egor Kuznetsov misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.