PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Slip Kid (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mardo Samora (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Slip Kid has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Kid
vs
Samora

165 cm
22
134 lbs
5 - 3 - 1

170 cm
19
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 1, fighting out of New York, Slip Kid!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 1, fighting out of New York, Mardo Samora!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Russell Pearce and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kid rushes Samora and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Kid presses Samora against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Samora blocks a body shot from Kid.
Kid gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Samora.
Kid jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Samora walks away with a smile on his face. Kid gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Samora clinches with his opponent.
Kid tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Samora has Kid pushed against the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kid.
Kid pushes Samora back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kid creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Samora's defenses.

It looks like Mardo Samora has been cut.
Samora manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Kid unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Kid unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Kid controlling the action here for a moment.
Kid scores with a nice hook to the head.
A right hand to the body from Kid.
Nice body punch from Kid.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Samora can't get the takedown.
Samora tries to land knees in the clinch but Kid avoids the damage to the body.
Samora wants a takedown but no success here.
Slip Kid has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mardo Samora.
Samora looks gassed!
Kid lands a damaging elbow.
Samora tries to break the clinch but Kid is controlling the position.

Samora manages to pull guard.
Kid would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Samora tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Samora utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Samora keeping moving, preventing Kid from controlling successfully.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kid throwing strikes but missing.
Kid has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Samora tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kid prevents Samora from getting back to his feet.
Kid wants to control from the top but Samora keeps moving.

We're going to have a standup here because Slip Kid wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Samora tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kid paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kid shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Samora sprawls well. Samora wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kid gets slowly back to his feet.
Kid tries to clinch up but Samora circles away and keeps his distance.
Kid lands a nice shot to the body.
Samora keeps the fight on the outside.
Samora misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Kid feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Samora's calf.
Samora changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kid tries to avoid it but Samora manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kid to the ground. Kid escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Kid shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Samora is trying to defend but Kid finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Samora is doing well to control the position and prevent Kid from advancing to side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kid thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Samora's head.
Samora has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Kid is working away from the top position though.
Kid wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Samora is looking to control Kid's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Samora avoid being mounted?
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Samora tries to kick Kid off but Kid keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Samora is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Samora tries to kick Kid off but Kid keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Kid missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Samora wants to control but Kid is keeping busy and won't allow it.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mardo Samora was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Kid closes the distance looking to clinch

and Samora counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
It looks like Samora is going to stand back up.
Kid misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Samora thows a huge punch but Kid dodges it nicely.
Kid is not content to let Samora control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Slip Kid dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mardo Samora's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Samora shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Kid sprawls well. Kid wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Samora gets slowly back to his feet.
Samora showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kid.
Slip Kid is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kid closes the distance but Samora moves to the side

and Samora counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Samora gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

Samora drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Kid tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Samora wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Kid can't do much from the bottom here.
Kid wants to get back to his feet but Samora drags him back down.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Samora wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kid keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kid is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Kid is trying to get back to half guard.
Kid gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

Samora is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Kid to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Kid shrugs it off.
Kid is bucking up trying to escape but Samora cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Samora controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Samora with a couple of short strikes.
Samora content just to control the position here.
Samora scoring with strikes but Kid is staying in there.

Samora is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Kid to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Kid shrugs it off.
Kid tries to improve his position but instead Samora has taken his back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good control from Samora.
Kid tries to break free.
A lull in the action here.
Samora softening up his opponent with strikes here.
Samora is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Kid is really stuck here.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Samora controlling the positon.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kid trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Samora looking to hold on to the position here but Kid rolls and ends up regaining guard.
Samora landing with the ground and pound.
Samora controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Kid keeping full guard, as Samora tries to pass.
Samora stopping the sweep attempt from Kid.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mardo Samora showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mardo Samora's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Samora pushes Kid up against the cage in a clinch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Kid.
Samora tries to pull guard but Kid won't allow it.
Samora trying to control the position but instead, Kid has worked for underhooks and has pushed Samora into the cage.
Kid gets underhooks to prevent Samora's takedown attempt.
Samora has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kid is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Slip Kid has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mardo Samora.
Samora looking for a takedown.
Kid landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Samora wants to stall.
A right hand to the body from Kid.
Stalling in the clinch from Kid.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kid working Samora over with knees to the body.
A right hook to the body lands for Kid.
Kid has Samora pressed against the cage, preventing Samora from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Kid lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Kid utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kid using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Kid.
Kid landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Kid tries to pull guard but Samora won't allow it.
Samora tries to circle away but Kid has him pinned against the cage.
Kid comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kid obliges.
Samora fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kid lands an elbow inside that Samora shrugs off.
Kid struggles to land a body shot inside as Samora controls his hands.
Samora blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Samora is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Samora wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kid has him pressed against the cage.
Samora working hard to break the clinch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Kid.
Samora avoiding damage as Kid throws knees to the body.

Samora pulls guard successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kid stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Samora swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mardo Samora has got the better of the ground game so far.
Samora has Kid pulled in close to control his posture.
Samora scores with a nice shot.
Samora trying to control the position here.
Kid with a flurry of punches that miss.
Samora keeping moving, preventing Kid from controlling successfully.
Kid throwing strikes from guard but Samora blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samora is adopting a defensive guard.
Samora manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Kid manages to get himself to full guard.
Kid wants to get back to his feet but Samora is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Samora lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Samora slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Kid working a defensive guard here.

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.
Samora stays in close to Kid's body and controls the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mardo Samora was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Samora shoots in looking for a takedown. Kid tries to sprawl out of it but Samora keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Kid manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Slip Kid seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Samora tries a head kick but it misses.
Samora tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Kid counters with a takedown into side control.
Samora is trying to improve his position.
Samora can't do much from the bottom here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Slip Kid showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Kid has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 28:28
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Slip Kid!