PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ronaldo Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and BJ Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). BJ Penn will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Souza
vs
Penn

183 cm
25
184 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

176 cm
25
191 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo Souza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, BJ Penn!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Luis Engracia and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Penn scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Souza fails with the takedown.
A left and a right from Penn both land. Nice combination.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Souza fails to land the takedown.

A jab-cross combination lands for Penn and sends Souza crashing to the mat! Penn follows him down to the mat - Souza regains half guard but he's not out of trouble yet!

Souza is rocked!
Penn seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Souza does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Penn with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Souza wants to control but Penn is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Penn throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn trying to control the action but Souza is working from the bottom.
Penn trying to pass the guard but Souza defending well.
Penn controlling the action here.
Penn looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Souza is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Penn lands a jab to Souza's midsection.
Penn rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Souza moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Penn misses with a two punch combination.
Souza takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Penn rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Souza moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Souza moves out of range of the body kick.
Souza uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Penn.
BJ Penn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza shoots in looking for a takedown but Penn manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Souza's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ronaldo Souza. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Souza is breathing heavily.
Souza fails with the takedown
and Penn counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A combination from Penn does no damage.
Souza closes this distance looking for a takedown but Penn circles away.
Penn lands a two punch combo.
Souza with a lazy takedown attempt
and Penn counters with a two punch combo.
Penn connects with a single shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Souza takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Penn misses with a few strikes there.

Souza shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Souza showed some decent athleticism there.

Souza is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Penn doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Souza.
Penn really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Souza. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Souza is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Penn throws a series of strikes that have Souza backpedaling.
Nice sprawl there from Penn as Souza shoots in.
Souza shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Penn counter with a right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Souza looks for a takedown but Penn sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ronaldo Souza. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Souza scoring well with a low kick there.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Souza shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Souza working Penn over with strikes.
Penn is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Souza scores with a couple of nice shots.
Souza seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Souza has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Penn defend it? Souza steps over the head and cranks it - Penn is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for Souza!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:33 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Ronaldo Souza!