PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Cain Laborina (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thiago de Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). de Souza is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Dry County. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Thiago de Souza was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Laborina
vs
de Souza

176 cm
22
185 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

183 cm
22
177 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Determined

*²³* CHAINSAW SHACK *²³* still sponsoring
Black Skull Clothing

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 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Cain Laborina!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thiago de Souza!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Laborina connects with the punch.

Laborina closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
A right hand to the body from Laborina.
Laborina digs a right hand into de Souza's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on de Souza's gas tank.
Laborina stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
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!
de Souza being controlled against the ropes.
de Souza tries to land knees in the clinch but Laborina avoids the damage to the body.
Laborina gets through de Souza's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Laborina lands a nice shot to the body.
de Souza looks gassed!
Laborina works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Laborina is leaning against de Souza and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
de Souza takes an elbow to the temple.
Laborina lands a body shot in the clinch.
Laborina lands with a light punch inside.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Laborina.
Laborina has de Souza pressed against the ropes.
Laborina working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Laborina dodges an elbow strike from de Souza.
A short uppercut from Laborina.
Laborina works on de Souza's body with a couple of short punches.
Laborina softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Laborina unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Laborina lands a body shot.
A short left from Laborina.
Laborina makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Laborina tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and de Souza avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right handed body shot lands from Laborina.
A left hand lands to the body for Laborina.
A hook to the body from Laborina.
Laborina looking to slow down the pace here.
A left hand lands to the body for Laborina.
de Souza on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A short right from Laborina on the inside.
A short body shot lands from Laborina as the two fighters clinch.
de Souza misses with the head strike.
Laborina digs a right hand underneath de Souza's ribcage. de Souza let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Laborina scores with a shot to the side of de Souza's head.
A body shot lands from Laborina.
A body shot lands from Laborina.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Laborina lands a left hand.
A left hand lands to the body for Laborina.
Laborina lands a left hand.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, de Souza just misses with a elbow thrown towards Laborina's brow.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Laborina.
Laborina stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Laborina works on de Souza's body with a couple of short punches.
Laborina digs a right hand underneath de Souza's ribcage. de Souza let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Laborina lands a left hand.
A right hand to the body from Laborina.
Laborina cracks de Souza with a nice body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laborina lands a body shot.
Laborina lands a right hand that snaps the head of de Souza backwards.
Nice body punch from Laborina.
Laborina wants to stall.
Laborina lands a shot to the body.
A body shot lands from Laborina.
Laborina works on de Souza's body with a couple of short punches.
de Souza on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Laborina putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has de Souza in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Laborina lands a body shot.
de Souza has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Laborina avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Laborina works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Laborina scores with a shoulder strike.
Laborina gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
de Souza misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Laborina.
Laborina softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Laborina throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Laborina creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Laborina lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.
Laborina lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Laborina lands a body punch in the clinch.
de Souza wants a takedown.
Laborina digs a right hand into de Souza's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on de Souza's gas tank.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Laborina.
Laborina lands an elbow inside.
de Souza tries to land knees in the clinch but Laborina avoids the damage to the body.
A right hand to the body from Laborina.
Nice body punch from Laborina - that landed with a thud.
Laborina lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.
Laborina lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down de Souza.
de Souza goes for a takedown attempt but Laborina pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Cain Laborina has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thiago de Souza.
Laborina tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but de Souza was well out of range. Poor timing from Laborina.
Laborina misses with a body shot.
de Souza misses with a straight left.
Good work by de Souza as he checks the leg kick.
de Souza circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
de Souza circles away from the clinch attempt.
Laborina ducks down and throws a hook to the body but de Souza moves away.
de Souza tries to clinch up.
Cain Laborina seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
de Souza throws a head kick but Laborina moves out of range.
de Souza misses with a low kick.
A jab lands there for Laborina.
Laborina tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
de Souza takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

de Souza shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. de Souza showed some decent athleticism there.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

de Souza is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Laborina doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time de Souza.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cain Laborina dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Laborina lunges at de Souza with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by de Souza's hand.
Laborina is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that de Souza can do to turn this around?
Laborina throws a leg kick

and de Souza holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Nice body punch from Laborina.
de Souza tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Laborina avoids it.
Laborina throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Laborina throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Laborina lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of de Souza backwards.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A left hand lands to the body for Laborina.
A right hand to the body from Laborina.
Laborina pushes de Souza back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Laborina pushes de Souza back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Nice body punch from Laborina.
Laborina stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Laborina creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Laborina lands a body punch in the clinch.
Laborina scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Laborina works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Laborina lands with a left to the head.
Laborina avoiding damage as de Souza throws knees to the body.
Laborina is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. de Souza is defending well for now.
Laborina digs a right hand into de Souza's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on de Souza's gas tank.
Laborina stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Laborina lands a left hand.
A left hand lands to the body for Laborina.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Laborina just misses with a elbow thrown towards de Souza's brow.
Laborina lands a body punch.
Cain Laborina has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Laborina is leaning against de Souza and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Laborina is working de Souza over against the ropes.
A right hand to the body from Laborina.
Laborina lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down de Souza.
A hook to the body from Laborina.
Laborina blocks a body shot from de Souza.
Laborina lands with a short punch from the clinch.
de Souza's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Laborina tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and de Souza avoids it.
Laborina pushes de Souza back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Laborina lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down de Souza.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Laborina lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
de Souza tries to pull guard but Laborina holds him up against the ropes and eventually de Souza drops back down to his feet.
Laborina lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of de Souza backwards.
A short uppercut from Laborina.
Laborina working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
de Souza pushes off an throws an elbow but Laborina leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Laborina lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
de Souza takes a shot to the head.
Laborina stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Laborina pushes de Souza back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Laborina works on de Souza's body with a couple of short punches.
de Souza tries for a takedown but Laborina manages to get underhooks.
Laborina lands a left hand.
de Souza takes a shot to the head.
A short right from Laborina.
Laborina working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
de Souza tries to pull guard but Laborina holds him up against the ropes and eventually de Souza drops back down to his feet.
Cain Laborina has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thiago de Souza.
Laborina digs a right hand into de Souza's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on de Souza's gas tank.
A body shot lands from Laborina.
Laborina lands a right hand.
A right handed body shot lands from Laborina.
Laborina scores with a hook to the body.
Laborina lands an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laborina throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A body shot lands from Laborina.
Laborina lands with a light punch inside.
Nice body punch from Laborina.
Laborina lands a shot to the body.
Laborina stalling in the clinch but de Souza improves position.
de Souza missing with knees to the body.
Laborina lands a body punch.
Laborina throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Laborina on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Laborina lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Laborina pushes de Souza back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
de Souza tries to land a knee to the head but Laborina blocks with his arms.
Laborina lands a body shot in the clinch.
Laborina stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Laborina lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down de Souza.
de Souza takes a shot to the head.
Good body shot from Laborina.
Laborina pushes de Souza back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Laborina lands with a short shot to the head.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Laborina creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
de Souza is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Laborina pulls him back up using the underhooks.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Laborina.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laborina works on de Souza's body with a couple of short punches.
Laborina working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Laborina lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down de Souza.
de Souza tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Laborina avoids it.
Laborina digs a right hand underneath de Souza's ribcage. de Souza let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Laborina lands with a light punch inside.
Laborina gets underhooks to prevent de Souza's takedown attempt.
Laborina is pressed up against the ropes. de Souza has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Laborina down to the mat. Laborina avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Laborina tries a head kick but it misses.
Laborina scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
de Souza keeps the fight on the outside.
Laborina throws out a leg kick but de Souza moves out of range and Laborina only half commits.
Laborina throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Laborina takes a swing at de Souza's ribcage but misses.
Laborina thows a leg kick but de Souza checks it
and de Souza counters with a three punch combo that has Laborina backing up. Laborina nods at de Souza to acknowledge the strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cain Laborina dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

de Souza uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Laborina.

de Souza shoots in and bounces Laborina off the ropes to secure the takedown into guard.
Laborina looking to control.
de Souza throwing strikes from guard but Laborina blocks nicely.
de Souza tries to free his leg and advance position but Laborina is retaining full guard.
de Souza in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Laborina holds on and takes a little breather.
de Souza has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
de Souza postures up and lands a big shot to Laborina's brow.
de Souza missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
de Souza advances position into side control!
Laborina is trying to control de Souza's posture but de Souza avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laborina is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Laborina manages to get to full guard.
de Souza with a nice head shot there.
Laborina keeping full guard, as de Souza tries to pass.
Laborina tries to land a sweep but no joy.
de Souza keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Laborina's head.

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.

de Souza has gone for a leg lock! Laborina slips out almost immediately though and dives into de Souza's guard.
Laborina passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Laborina 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.
de Souza tries to improve position but can't.
Laborina takes a little break here. de Souza wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
de Souza tries to improve position but can't.
Laborina controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Laborina decides to stand back up. Laborina steps back and let's de Souza get back to his feet.
Laborina is looking to wear down de Souza with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
de Souza tries to close the distance and clinch up but Laborina swats him away and circles back towards the center.
de Souza closes this distance looking for a takedown but Laborina circles away.
Laborina uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Laborina lands a slapping body shot.
Laborina moves in looking to clinch but de Souza pushes him off.
Laborina throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
de Souza looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
de Souza slips a jab from Laborina.
de Souza misses with a body shot.
Laborina waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract de Souza.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laborina with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Laborina gets off balance looking for a body kick
and de Souza counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Laborina thinking.
Laborina lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Good exchange - Laborina coming out on top.
Laborina tries a head kick but it misses.
Thiago de Souza has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Laborina tries to clinch up.

Laborina gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows de Souza to score an easy takedown into full guard.
de Souza pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Laborina is keeping the position for now.
Laborina 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.

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 Cain Laborina.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Laborina, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:26
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cain Laborina!