PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Gustavo Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Brown (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Souza
vs
Brown

180 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

187 cm
23
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Gustavo Souza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, James Brown!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Daniel Blasius and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Brown throws a body punch but Souza moves out of range.
Brown misses with a double jab.
Souza takes one on the button.
Souza ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Brown moves away.
Brown stalks Souza and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Souza's face. Souza staggers backwards, shaken.
Souza throws a combination that misses
and Brown counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Souza throws a hook to the side of Brown's head but Brown sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Souza misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Brown counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
No joy there for Souza, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Souza throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Brown sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Brown connects with a crisp jab.
Brown scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A left lands for Brown.
Souza throws a lazy right hand but Brown sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Brown swinging wildly here.
Souza misses with a hook.
Souza swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Some wild striking there from Souza.
Souza is breathing heavily.
Brown throws a right and a left that Souza avoids nicely.
Brown scores with a crisp jab that stopped Souza in his tracks.
Brown scores with a jab to the body.
Souza connects with a body shot.
A swing and a miss from Souza.
Souza misses with a combination
and Brown counters with a nice body shot.
Souza closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Souza gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Brown lands a right hook to the body.
Brown thuds a left hand into Souza's body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Souza gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Brown.
Brown throws a series of punches but Souza moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brown lands a nice shot to the body.
Brown throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Brown connects with the punch.
Brown fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Brown jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Souza takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Brown throws a shot to the body.
Brown throws a series of punches but Souza avoids them all with ease.
Brown will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Brown lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Souza at a distance.
Brown jabs at Souza's body.
Brown lands with a nice body punch.
A nice combination there by Brown.
James Brown seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brown swinging wildly here.
Nice cross by Brown.
A punch combination from Brown misses.
A punch combination from Brown misses.
Souza throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Brown.
Brown slips under a jab from Souza.
Brown lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Brown.
Brown throws a combination. Souza tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
A combination from Brown does no damage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Brown. Souza does a little dance to reset his feet.
A telegraphed right hand from Souza misses the target.
Brown misses with the combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Souza misses with the combination.
Souza avoids the body shot from Brown.
Souza throws a left and a right that both miss
and Brown counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Some wild striking there from Souza.
Souza takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Souza throws a left and a right that both miss
and Brown counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Brown throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Souza stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Brown jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Brown throws a series of strikes that have Souza backpedaling.
Brown throws a combination. Souza tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
No joy there for Brown, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Brown dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Souza tries to bum rush Brown with a series of wild strikes but Brown uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Brown keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Souza thows a body shot but no joy.
Souza rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Brown moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Brown has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Brown stuns Souza with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Souza misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Brown throws a combination that misses
enabling Souza to counter with a crisp jab.
Brown 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.
Brown swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Souza.
Brown cracks Souza with an open hand slap.
Souza throws an overhand right that lands on Brown's shoulder, as Brown tries to avoid the shot.
Souza gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Brown.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Brown fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A combination from Brown does no damage.
Gustavo Souza is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza misses with an uppercut. Brown saw that one coming.
Brown lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Souza misses with a body shot.
Souza is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Brown.
Souza fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Brown has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Brown throws a lazy right hand but Souza sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Souza is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Brown's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Souza throws a series of punches but Brown avoids them all with ease.
Souza thows a body shot but no joy.
James Brown seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A shot to de liver by Brown. Beautiful body shot.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Souza might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Brown dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Brown throws a right hand that Souza ducks under and follows up with a left that Souza also avoids with ease.
Brown throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Brown lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Souza throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Brown counters with a lovely shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brown cracks a nice hook into Souza's ribs.
Brown lands a jab to Souza's midsection.
Brown fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Souza looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Brown uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Souza.
Brown lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Souza dodges the punch combination from Brown.
Brown lands a nice hook to Souza's body. Souza takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Brown tries to bum rush Souza with a series of wild strikes but Souza uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Brown throws a predictable looking body shot
and Souza counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Brown is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Souza rather than just go for the knockout.
Souza looks to score with a jab to the body but Brown is just out of range.
Brown throws a series of punches but Souza avoids them all with ease.
Souza throws a good cross that connects.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Brown was well out of range. Poor timing from Souza.
Brown connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Souza's hands.
Souza throws a right and a left that both miss.
No joy there for Souza, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Souza on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Brown fails to land with a series of punches.
Brown throws a hook but Souza blocks it.
Brown throws a series of punches but Souza moves out of range.
Souza fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Souza misses with a jab, cross combination.
Souza misses with a body shot.
Brown punishes Souza's body with a nice straight punch.
Souza takes a shot to the body in his stride.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Brown scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Brown thuds his right hand into Souza's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Souza misses with a combination
and Brown counters with a straight right hand.
Brown moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Brown fails to land with a series of punches.
Souza misses with a series of wild punches.
Souza swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Brown cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Souza takes a swing at Brown's ribcage but misses.
Souza takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Brown lands a body shot.
A punch combination from Souza misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Brown 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. 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.

Brown lands a nice hook to Souza's body. Souza takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Brown jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Brown fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Brown takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Brown throws a sloppy body shot
and Souza counters with a straight right hand.
Brown lands with a nice body punch.
Souza throws a right and a left that both miss.
Nice uppercut lands for Brown. That snapped Souza's head back.
A punch lands to the side of Souza 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Brown lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Brown rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Souza moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Brown misses with the combination.
Souza keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Brown.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Brown takes a jab right on the kisser.
Brown throws a sloppy body shot
and Souza counters with a left and a right that stings Brown.
Souza lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Brown circles away quickly and effectively.
Souza needs to keep his hands up - Brown had a free shot at his head there.
Brown keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Souza throws a series of strikes that have Brown backpedaling.
Brown throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Souza throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Brown cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Brown ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Brown misses with a jab to the body
and Souza counters with a left and a right that stings Brown.
Brown throws a nice looking combination but Souza bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Souza fails to land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brown lands a jab to Souza's midsection.
Souza looks to land a combination but Brown avoids it well.
Brown slips under a jab from Souza.
Brown throws a combination. Souza tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Brown misses with a body shot.
Brown tries to bum rush Souza with a series of wild strikes but Souza uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Brown ducks under a wild hook from Souza.
Brown uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Souza has time to react.
Souza fails to land with a series of punches.
Souza takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Souza misses with a straight right.
Brown stalks Souza and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Souza's face. Souza staggers backwards, shaken.
Souza falls off balance throwing a combination
and Brown counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Brown.
Brown doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
The fighters circling - Souza throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Brown moves out of range of the strikes.
Brown lands a really nice looking cross but Souza seems unphased.
Brown throws a combination that misses
and Souza counters with a right hand to the body.
Souza throws a hook but Brown avoids it easily.
Brown throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Souza dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Souza pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Brown misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

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.
Brown connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Souza's hands.
Souza throws a right and a left that both miss.
Brown keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Brown avoids the body shot from Souza.
Gustavo Souza has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Brown fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Souza looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
James Brown is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Souza jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Brown fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Souza throws a lazy right hand but Brown sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Brown with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Brown swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Souza counters with a lovely shot to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Souza throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Brown goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Souza throws a combination that misses
and Brown counters with a lovely straight right hand!

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Gustavo Souza.
Well Brown has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 27:29
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 27:29
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Brown!