PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Sub Hero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Cope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hero's entrance music is Giant Squid - Panthalassa. A fine choice. Cope has chosen I Against I as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Hero
vs
Cope

164 cm
30
146 lbs
18 - 6 - 0

176 cm
25
146 lbs
14 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

ADCC Champion
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Perkele!
Perkele!

5th Round Clothing
Bushido Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sub Hero!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mike Cope!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Konstantin Menshow and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good standup being displayed there by Cope as he connects with a hook.
Cope just misses with a punch to the body.
Cope misses with a hook

and Hero counters with a shoot takedown. Cope fights it but they end up in guard.
Hero thows a big elbow that misses.
Cope looking to control.
Hero landing some decent shots from guard.
Cope keeping moving, preventing Hero from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hero missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Hero's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Hero keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Cope's head.
Hero stopping the sweep attempt from Cope.
Hero trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hero sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cope's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hero uses his free foot to push down on Cope's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Cope.
Cope avoids a series of strikes thrown by Hero.
Cope bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Cope postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Cope lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Cope throws a strike but Hero rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Hero trying to control the position from guard on top but Cope is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hero tries to free his leg and advance position but Cope is retaining full guard.

Cope is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Hero defends well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hero forces his way into half guard.
Hero thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cope's head.

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.
Hero throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Cope is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Hero pulls his head out easily.
Hero thows a huge punch but Cope dodges it nicely.
Ground and pound from Hero.
Hero wants to free his trapped foot but Cope is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Hero working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sub Hero dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Cope throws a leg kick
and Hero counters with a nice uppercut.
Cope throws a right hand that misses
and Hero counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hero misses with an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cope comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hero gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Hero is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

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.
Cope throws a hook to the side of Hero's head but Hero sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hero swings away with a body shot that misses
and Cope counters with a nice leg kick.
Cope jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Cope thuds his right hand into Hero's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cope throws an off balance right hand
and Hero counters with a nice uppercut.
Hero misses with a lunging right hand
and Cope cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A big left from Hero misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Cope throws a leg kick but Hero moved away.

Hero is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Cope's half guard.
Hero sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cope defending well though.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hero is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Cope has managed to free his arm - good work.
Cope slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Cope 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.

Cope throws a combination that misses
and Cope takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Hero manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Cope on his heels. He'll look to pass Cope's guard now, I'm sure.
Hero stopping the sweep attempt from Cope.
Hero wants to control from the top but Cope keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope can't keep his opponent in guard - Hero advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Hero throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Cope is trying to maintain the position but Hero is very close to passing his half guard.
Cope wants to improve his position but Hero is controlling well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hero sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cope defending well though.
Cope is looking for a sweep. Hero is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hero lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hero not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hero trying to control from half guard but Cope is working away.
Hero missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hero lands with a punch from half guard.
Hero winds up and cracks Cope with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Hero not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hero thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cope wants to get back to full guard.
Hero tries to pass to full mount but Cope defends it.
Cope tries to roll over but Hero keeps him under control.
Cope wants to sweep but Hero has passed to side control!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hero working the strikes but Cope uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sub Hero clearly takes that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Hero throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Cope on the side of the head.
Hero throws a hook to the side of Cope's head but Cope sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Cope misses with a shot to the body
and Hero counters with a right hand to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cope shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hero pinned against the cage. Hero gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hero misses with a hook
and Cope cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hero avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Cope takes one to the side of the head.

That's two 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.
Cope displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hero throws out the jab.
Cope doesn't succeed with the takedown

so Hero counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Cope bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hero's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cope in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Hero has an active guard here but Cope has managed to pass into half guard.
Sub Hero overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cope thows a huge punch but Hero dodges it nicely.
Cope is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Hero wants to sweep but no luck.
Hero is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Cope postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hero 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Cope wants to control from the top but Hero keeps moving.
Cope throwing strikes but missing.
Cope pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hero is keeping the position for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cope is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sub Hero had his way with Mike Cope in that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Cope pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Cope throws a body punch but Hero moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hero misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cope fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hero manages to avoid it.
A slow jab from Cope misses its intended target.
Donk. Cope catches Hero right on the button with a cross.

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

Cope tries to sprawl but Hero drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Hero passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Cope!

Hero goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Cope turns into him and now he's in Hero's guard.
Hero keeping moving, preventing Cope from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cope makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Cope wants to pass the guard but Hero is keeping the position.
Hero keeping moving, preventing Cope from controlling successfully.
Cope postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hero utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Cope throws a big right hand that misses.
Hero looking to hit a scissor sweep but Cope is one step ahead there.
Cope stands up over Hero, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Sub Hero is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hero is trying to keep Cope in close.
Cope passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Mike Cope has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sloppy strikes there by Cope.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Cope comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hero 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 48:47
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 48:47
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sub Hero!
Sub Hero retains his bantamweight title!