PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joao Garcia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Khris Murphey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Murphey has chosen Back in Black as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Garcia
vs
Murphey

190 cm
24
200 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

190 cm
24
211 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joao Garcia!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Khris Murphey!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Felipe Paraventi and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Murphey misses with a body shot.

Oh, that's a big right hand from Garcia and Murphey goes tumbling to the canvas! Garcia follows him to the ground and looks to finish from half guard.

It looks like Khris Murphey has been cut.
Murphey wants to improve his position but Garcia is controlling well.
Garcia throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Murphey tries to roll over but Garcia keeps him under control.
Garcia is thwarting Murphey's attempts to control the position.
Garcia seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Garcia drops an elbow to the side of Murphey's head.
Murphey tries to get to full guard but Garcia has control of the leg.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
A swing and a miss from Murphey.
Garcia lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Murphey circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A combination from Garcia does no damage.
Nice takedown defense from Garcia. No joy for Murphey on that attempt.
Garcia scores with a body shot.
Garcia misses the body punch

and Murphey counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Garcia!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garcia sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Garcia makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Garcia.
Murphey looks gassed!

Garcia has his foot on Murphey's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Murphey works his way back into a safe position though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Garcia has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Murphey off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Joao Garcia is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Garcia looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Murphey looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Garcia ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Murphey moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murphey walks into a jab.
Garcia lands with a shot to the body.
Garcia tries to bum rush Murphey with a series of wild strikes but Murphey uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Garcia lands a glancing blow to the side of Murphey's head.
A punch combination from Garcia misses.
Garcia lands a jab to Murphey's midsection.
Garcia fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Murphey manages to avoid it.
Garcia throws a left and a right that both miss

and Murphey counters with a nice double leg into side control. Garcia won't be happy with that.
Garcia gets back to half guard.
Garcia is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Murphey's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Murphey's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphey is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Garcia.
You can see the frustration on Murphey's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

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.

Garcia is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Murphey defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Murphey is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Garcia controlling the positon.

Garcia has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Garcia.
Murphey is trying to break free.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Murphey trying to control the hands but Garcia breaks the grip.
Garcia is trying to stick to Murphey's back but Murphey is turning into Garcia. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Garcia's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Murphey.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Joao Garcia.
Garcia swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Murphey.
Garcia throws a nice looking combination but Murphey bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao Garcia dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Khris Murphey's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Murphey on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Garcia misses with a hook. Murphey ducked under it nicely.
Garcia throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Garcia throws a body punch but Murphey moves out of range.
Murphey throws a sloppy body shot
and Murphey takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Garcia looks to land a combination but Murphey avoids it well.
Garcia looks to score with a jab to the body but Murphey is just out of range.
Garcia lands a slapping body shot.
Garcia throws a right and a left that Murphey avoids nicely.
Garcia is looking to wear down Murphey with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Murphey is breathing heavily.
Murphey shoots in but no luck this time.
Garcia scores with a jab to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice cross by Garcia.
Garcia misses with a shot to the body

and Murphey counters with a takedown into side control.
Garcia is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Murphey off and has taken his back!
Good control from Garcia.
Garcia lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Garcia cracks Murphey with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Murphey from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.
Murphey is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
Garcia gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
Garcia throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Murphey!
Garcia looking to soften up his opponent with punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Garcia lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
Garcia softening up his opponent with strikes here.
Garcia has the hooks in. Murphey is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Garcia really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Murphey.
Garcia has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Garcia'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.
Joao Garcia overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphey is covering up but some of the strikes from Garcia are getting through and doing damage.
Good control from Garcia.
Murphey manages to reverse the position and now he's in Garcia's guard. Nice work there by Murphey.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Joao Garcia.
Garcia cracks Murphey with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Garcia throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Garcia lands with an overhand left.
A looping hook to the body misses from Garcia. Murphey does a little dance to reset his feet.
Murphey fails with the takedown
and Garcia counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcia throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Garcia throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Garcia lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Murphey circles away quickly and effectively.
Nice cross by Garcia.
Garcia swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Garcia scores with a jab.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Garcia misses with an uppercut.
Garcia throws a series of punches but Murphey moves out of range.
Garcia throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao Garcia dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Khris Murphey's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Garcia pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Garcia scores with a jab.
Garcia digs a good hook to Murphey's body.
Garcia throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Murphey is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Garcia's half guard.
Garcia is pressing down on Murphey's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Garcia wants to stand and escape but Murphey is having none of it.

Garcia uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Garcia jabs at Murphey's body.
Garcia misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Garcia swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Garcia misses with a looping right.
Garcia fails to land with a series of punches.
Garcia dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Garcia looks to score with a jab to the body but Murphey is just out of range.
Garcia fails to land with a series of punches.
Murphey takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Garcia cracks Murphey with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Garcia fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Murphey manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murphey fails with the takedown
and Garcia counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Garcia keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Murphey slips a jab and a cross from Garcia.
Garcia throws a lazy right hand but Murphey sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Murphey throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Garcia.
Garcia scores with a body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Garcia throws a left and a right that both miss

and Murphey counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Garcia!
Murphey is the more experienced fighter here and he's going to need to draw on some of that experience if he's going to pull this one out the bag.
Garcia is trying desperately to improve position.
Murphey wants to control the pace but Garcia is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia tries to reverse the position but Murphey maintains control.
Garcia manages to regain half guard whilst avoiding the strikes.
Murphey looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Garcia is not content to let Murphey control the position.
Garcia works his way to full guard. Good work.
Garcia is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Murphey can do to turn this around?
Murphey wants to control from the top but Garcia keeps moving.

Garcia pushes Murphey off and gets back to his feet.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Garcia, as that shot connected.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcia throws a right and a left that both miss.
Joao Garcia is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Murphey shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Garcia counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Khris Murphey has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Murphey is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Garcia.
Garcia throws a series of strikes that have Murphey backpedaling.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Murphey misses with a double jab
and Murphey takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joao Garcia showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Garcia 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight for Joao Garcia!
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight for Joao Garcia!
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight for Joao Garcia!

Joao Garcia wins by unanimous decision!