PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jason Morgan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juliano Rios (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Juliano Rios struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 156.1lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Morgan
vs
Rios

185 cm
18
148 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

170 cm
22
165 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jason Morgan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Juliano Rios!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Viktor Lagutenko and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rios shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Morgan pinned against the cage. Morgan gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Morgan really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Morgan fails with the takedown

and Rios counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rios.
Morgan keeping full guard, as Rios tries to pass.
Rios trying to control the position from guard on top but Morgan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Morgan is on top in guard.
Rios 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.
Rios keeping moving, preventing Morgan from controlling successfully.
Rios is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan controls from within his opponent's guard.
Rios is trying to hold Morgan in close to prevent damage but Morgan has managed to pass into half guard.
Morgan not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Rios wants to improve his position but Morgan is controlling well.
Morgan uses his free foot to push down on Rios's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Rios.
Morgan controlling his opponent.

That's two 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.
Rios slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.

Morgan stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

Morgan closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Morgan throws a strike aimed at the side of Rios's head but Rios avoids it well.
Rios tries to bench press Morgan off him but Morgan keeps the position.

Morgan tries for a kimura but Rios is defending well.
Rios looks gassed!
Rios is trying to control Morgan's posture but Morgan avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan slows the pace down.
You can see the frustration on Rios's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Rios is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Morgan misses with a straight left.

That's four 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.
Morgan misses with a takedown attempt

and Rios counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rios.
Morgan looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rios is one step ahead there.
Morgan seems keen to control Rios's posture.
Morgan'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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Morgan has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Morgan wants to stand up but Rios is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Juliano Rios dominated that round.
That's time! Morgan's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Morgan throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Rios was covering up waiting for the punch and Morgan finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Rios has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Morgan has passed into side control.
Morgan controlling the position.
Morgan trying to control the position but Rios is working away.
Morgan just content to control the position.
Rios is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Jason Morgan just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Rios has his takedown stuffed

and Morgan counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Morgan postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Morgan is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan with a flurry of punches that miss.
Morgan passes Rios's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Jason Morgan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Morgan thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Morgan slows the pace down in half guard.

Morgan is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Rios has managed to free his arm - good work.
Morgan works his way into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan taking a breather here.

Morgan is trying to get an arm triangle but Rios is defending well.
Morgan throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Rios being controlled for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Morgan creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Rios sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Morgan takes a little break here. Rios wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jason Morgan dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Morgan shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Morgan takes Rios's back. Could be looking for a rear naked choke here - either way, Rios is in trouble.
Morgan is hanging on to Rios's back as he tries to escape.
Morgan biding his time, looking for the opening.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Morgan here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Jason Morgan just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Morgan throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rios's waist but Rios gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Morgan off to one side.
Rios takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Morgan closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan controlling the action here.
Rios is looking to improve his position.
Still in half guard, Morgan seems content to control.
Rios trying to control but Morgan postures up.
Morgan seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

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.
Rios tries to roll over but Morgan keeps him under control.
Morgan is taking a breather. Rios says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Jason Morgan just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Rios tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Morgan changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Rios looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Morgan taking a breather here.
Sloppy strikes there by Morgan.
Morgan remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Morgan has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Jason Morgan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Morgan darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Morgan controlling the action here.
Morgan is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Rios!

And that's the end of the fight!
Jason Morgan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Morgan has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 29:26
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jason Morgan!