PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bruce Kiwi (ranked 190 p4p, 549 weight class) and Gilbervan Soares (ranked 23 p4p, 62 weight class). Kiwi's entrance music is Reaper. A fine choice. Bruce Kiwi could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Gilbervan Soares's chin.

Kiwi
vs
Soares

185 cm
31
186
21 - 7 - 0

183 cm
35
183
26 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
KO power

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Kersikov's Vitamin Clinic (160)
Bondi MMA 🏝️

Furnace Performance 🔥
Silverguard Outfitters 🛡

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Bruce Kiwi!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gilbervan Soares!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Dillan Fox and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Soares throws a right and a left that Kiwi avoids nicely.
Soares avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Soares fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Kiwi, pushing him back against the cage.
Kiwi wants to break the clinch but can't.
Soares lands a hook to the side of the head.
Soares doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kiwi lands a hook that snaps the head of Soares backwards.
Kiwi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Soares fails to pull guard.
Soares has Kiwi pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Kiwi manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Kiwi is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Bruce Kiwi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gilbervan Soares.
Kiwi tries to land knees in the clinch but Soares avoids the damage to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soares has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kiwi avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
A short left from Kiwi.
Soares misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kiwi blocks a body shot from Soares.
Soares wants a takedown.
Soares misses with a punch to the body.
A body shot lands from Kiwi.
Kiwi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiwi lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Soares blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Soares creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Soares tries to work over Kiwi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kiwi throws a head punch that misses.

Soares gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Kiwi tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Kiwi has an active guard here but Soares has managed to pass into half guard.
Kiwi is looking for a sweep. Soares is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Soares lands with a punch from half guard.
Soares trying to control the action but Kiwi is working from the bottom.
Kiwi is looking for a sweep. Soares is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soares working over Kiwi with some ground and pound. Kiwi looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Kiwi is pressing down on Soares's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Kiwi looking for a sweep. Not yet Kiwi, not yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Soares wants to control from the top but Kiwi keeps moving.
Soares has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kiwi wants to sweep here but Soares controlling him for the moment.
Kiwi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Soares wants to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kiwi is looking to pass Soares's guard but actually Soares recovers to full guard.
Soares wants to stand but Kiwi is controlling the position.
Soares tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kiwi slips nicely into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Soares is not content to let Kiwi control the position.
Kiwi is looking to advance position but Soares won't allow it.
Soares regains full guard. Nicely done.
Kiwi stops Soares from standing up.
Soares is adopting a defensive guard.
Kiwi is looking to stand up but Soares won't let him.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Soares keeping moving, preventing Kiwi from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Gilbervan Soares will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Kiwi misses the shot to the body.
Soares slips under a jab.
Soares uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kiwi has time to react.
A head kick misses from Soares.
Kiwi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Soares.
Soares takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soares blocks a leg kick.
Kiwi lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

Soares closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Kiwi quickly recovers to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiwi regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Soares.
Kiwi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Soares working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Soares lands a couple of elbows.
Soares content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Soares controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gilbervan Soares has got the better of the ground game so far.
Soares throws a big elbow that misses.
Soares lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Soares postures up and lands a big shot to Kiwi's brow.
Soares cracks Kiwi with a solid left hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kiwi wants to sweep here but Soares controlling him for the moment.
Soares is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Some bone on bone action there as Kiwi checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Soares clinches up with Kiwi and pushes him back against the cage.
Kiwi scores with a shoulder strike.

Soares has hold of one of Kiwi's legs. Kiwi is fighting the takedown attempt but Soares gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Kiwi wants to sweep here but Soares controlling him for the moment.
Soares scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kiwi is on top in guard.

Soares keeping moving, preventing Kiwi from controlling successfully.
Kiwi is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Soares is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Kiwi has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Kiwi stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Soares swivels though and keeps the full guard.

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.

Kiwi drops back, looking for a kneebar! Soares looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Soares looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Soares!

Soares scores with a couple of short elbows.
Soares controlling from side mount.
Soares looks up at the clock and then as Kiwi takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Soares smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Soares working the ground and pound.
Kiwi takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Gilbervan Soares showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kiwi scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Soares tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kiwi manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Soares throws a jab when Kiwi was well out of range.

Soares clinches with his opponent.
I was talking to Kiwi's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Soares jumps guard but Kiwi turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Soares has Kiwi pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Kiwi manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Soares has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kiwi works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Kiwi lands a right hand that snaps the head of Soares backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kiwi gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Soares.
Bruce Kiwi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gilbervan Soares.

Soares has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Kiwi is trying to keep an underhook but Soares manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Kiwi wants to control but Soares is keeping busy.
Kiwi is pressing down on Soares's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soares tries to free his leg and advance position but Kiwi is retaining full guard.
Soares scoring with some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Soares accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kiwi can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Soares controls the pace.
Kiwi controls Soares momentarily but Soares frees himself.
Soares content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Kiwi is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Soares is in close to Kiwi's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Soares trying to control the position from guard on top but Kiwi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kiwi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Soares manages to get to full guard.
Kiwi trying to control the position from guard on top but Soares is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kiwi looking to pass the guard.
Kiwi trying to move into half guard but instead Soares has managed to sweep!

Soares working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Soares chips away with some ground and pound.
Soares postures up and lands a big shot to Kiwi's brow.
Kiwi is trying to control the position but Soares postures up.
Kiwi wants to sweep here but Soares controlling him for the moment.
Soares is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soares is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Soares postures up and lands a big shot to Kiwi's brow.
Kiwi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Soares is one step ahead there.
Kiwi keeping moving, preventing Soares from controlling successfully.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kiwi throws a right hand that Soares ducks under and follows up with a left that Soares also avoids with ease.
Kiwi throws a big shot that misses.
As Kiwi backs off Soares throws a huge counter combo but Kiwi manages to avoid it all.
Kiwi misses with a hook. Soares ducked under it nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close third round but Gilbervan Soares just about did enough to take it.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Soares darts in and clinches Kiwi up against the cage.
Soares tries to pull guard but Kiwi won't allow it.
A head punch on the inside from Kiwi fails to land.
Kiwi lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Kiwi lands a left hand that snaps the head of Soares backwards.
Soares softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Kiwi struggles to land a body shot inside as Soares controls his hands.
Soares lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Kiwi or not.
Kiwi can't find room to land a body shot as Soares controls the action.
Kiwi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Soares struggles to land a body shot inside as Kiwi controls his hands.
Soares working some nice short punches in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soares is looking to take this one to the mat.
Kiwi misses with some punches.
Soares throws a punch but it's blocked by Kiwi.
Kiwi lands a shoulder strike.
Soares has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Kiwi after a bit of a struggle.
Bruce Kiwi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gilbervan Soares.
Kiwi lands a left hand that snaps the head of Soares backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soares scores with a shoulder strike.
Soares tries to pull guard but Kiwi won't allow it.
Soares is trying to pull guard but Kiwi turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Kiwi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soares avoids it.
Soares working aggressively here.
Kiwi gets through Soares's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kiwi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Kiwi stops a takedown attempt from Soares.
A left hand lands to the body for Soares.
Kiwi throws a punch but it's blocked by Soares.
Kiwi prevents the takedown attempt.

Soares tightens his grip and picks Kiwi up, before dumping him to the ground. Kiwi manages to land in guard.
Kiwi working a defensive guard here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Soares accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kiwi keeping moving, preventing Soares from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kiwi has momentary wrist control but Soares slips an elbow through the middle.
Soares postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Soares cracks Kiwi with a solid left hand.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Soares connects with a couple of short punches.
Soares wants to control from the top but Kiwi keeps moving.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Soares throws a push kick but Kiwi slaps the foot to one side.
Soares checks a leg kick.
Kiwi is looking to slow Soares down with leg kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soares moves forwards but Kiwi connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Kiwi keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Kiwi tried to counter with a leg kick but Soares avoided it.
Soares shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kiwi pinned against the cage. Kiwi gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kiwi is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Soares misses with a hook. Kiwi ducked under it nicely.
Kiwi misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Soares.
Soares is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Soares wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Kiwi stuffs the takedown attempt from Soares. Soares gets slowly back to his feet.
Gilbervan Soares is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soares tries to land a body kick
and Kiwi counters with a straight right hand.
Soares throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A telegraphed right hand from Kiwi misses the target.
Kiwi connects with an inside leg kick.
Kiwi stuffs the takedown.
Kiwi lands a jab.
Kiwi thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kiwi throws a nice outside leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Soares dips to his left and cracks Kiwi with an uppercut!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bruce Kiwi had his way with Gilbervan Soares in that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Kiwi staying out of range there.
Kiwi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Soares.
Kiwi connects with a leg kick.

Soares moves into range and clinches up with Kiwi.
Soares misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kiwi stops a takedown attempt from Soares.
Soares is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Kiwi gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Soares lands with a short shot to the head.
Soares is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Kiwi gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Bruce Kiwi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gilbervan Soares.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kiwi misses with the head strike.
Kiwi scores with a hook to the body.
Soares lands a body shot.
Bruce Kiwi has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Kiwi misses with some punches.
A left hand lands to the body for Kiwi.
Soares is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Kiwi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Soares is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiwi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kiwi lands with a light punch inside.
Soares blocking some punches.
Kiwi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Soares fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Soares doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Soares jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kiwi walks away with a smile on his face. Soares gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Soares throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Bruce Kiwi is winning the standup battle so far.
Nice straight punches there by Kiwi. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Kiwi.
Kiwi fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Soares has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

Kiwi gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Soares to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Kiwi lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soares keeping moving, preventing Kiwi from controlling successfully.
Kiwi wants to pass the guard but Soares is keeping the position.
Bruce Kiwi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Soares is on top in guard.

The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Soares throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soares passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Kiwi tries to bench press Soares off him but Soares keeps the position.
Soares scoring with punches from side control.
Gilbervan Soares is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Soares's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Kiwi tries to buck Soares off but Soares is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Soares controlling the position from side mount.
Kiwi tries to buck Soares off but Soares is having none of it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kiwi is working hard here to advance position.
Soares lands a few punches from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Gilbervan Soares.
I think Soares 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 46:49
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 46:49
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Gilbervan Soares!
Gilbervan Soares is the new middleweight champion!
Gilbervan Soares really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Fantasy Nutrition & Laundry (15%) logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.