PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Eduardo De Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Helder Ninja Passos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

De Souza
vs
Ninja Passos

210 cm
22
250 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
20
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo De Souza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Helder Ninja Passos!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Alexandre Firmino and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ninja Passos tries to keep at a distance but De Souza has taken the fight into the clinch.
De Souza wants a takedown.

De Souza jumps guard.
De Souza is pulling down on Ninja Passos's head. It's preventing any offense from Ninja Passos, at least for the moment.
Ninja Passos wants to control from the top but De Souza keeps moving.
De Souza wants to control the position but Ninja Passos says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Ninja Passos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ninja Passos tries to stand but his hand is stuck under De Souza.

Ninja Passos looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Ninja Passos is working for a submission of some sort.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ninja Passos not doing much here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De Souza is trying to stand back up but Ninja Passos is controlling him

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
De Souza tries to roll over but Ninja Passos keeps him under control.
De Souza is trying to control but can't.
De Souza is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Ninja Passos is sneakily working for an arm triangle but De Souza sees it coming and defends easily.
Ninja Passos is thwarting De Souza's attempts to control the position.
Ninja Passos is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Eduardo De Souza wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Ninja Passos shoots in for a takedown but De Souza shows good takedown defense.
A jab lands there for De Souza.

Ninja Passos pushes De Souza up against the cage in a clinch.
Ninja Passos throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Ninja Passos's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ninja Passos shoots in but no luck this time.
Ninja Passos fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Souza fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Ninja Passos stuffs the takedown.

De Souza shoots in and gets a takedown into Ninja Passos's guard.
De Souza throwing strikes from guard but Ninja Passos blocks nicely.
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 slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Ninja Passos wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

De Souza thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De Souza trying to control the position but Ninja Passos is working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eduardo De Souza 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.

A decent looking body kick lands there for Ninja Passos.
De Souza shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Ninja Passos as he jumps to the side.
No joy there for De Souza, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ninja Passos fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Ninja Passos tries for a takedown but De Souza sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Ninja Passos instigates a clinch.
Ninja Passos lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Souza backwards.
De Souza keeps control of Ninja Passos as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Ninja Passos has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. De Souza avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

De Souza escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
De Souza shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Ninja Passos but Ninja Passos pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's one minute gone in the round.

De Souza looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ninja Passos is trying to stand.
De Souza wants to stand but Ninja Passos has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Ninja Passos tries to kick De Souza off but De Souza keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Ninja Passos flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Ninja Passos is trying to stand back up but De Souza is controlling him
Ninja Passos trying to control here.
De Souza is looking to take a break and control but Ninja Passos is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

De Souza is trying to work for a kimura but Ninja Passos is defending well.
Ninja Passos trying to hold on to De Souza's head to control him but De Souza postures up.
De Souza trying to control the action but Ninja Passos is working from the bottom.

De Souza stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Ninja Passos to get to his feet.
Ninja Passos tries to clinch up but De Souza circles away and keeps his distance.
Ninja Passos scores with a slapping inside leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Souza misses with a body shot.

Ninja Passos closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
De Souza gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Ninja Passos.
Eduardo De Souza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Helder Ninja Passos.

De Souza pulls guard successfully.
Ninja Passos throws a strike but De Souza rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Ninja Passos is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Ninja Passos looking for a guillotine here but De Souza defends easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Souza trying to control but Ninja Passos is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ninja Passos tries to strike from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as De Souza accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

De Souza is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Ninja Passos had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. De Souza defends it easily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De Souza prevents Ninja Passos from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Helder Ninja Passos will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. And we move into the final round!

De Souza closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Ninja Passos's guard.
De Souza advances to half guard.
Ninja Passos pushes De Souza off looking to stand but De Souza dives back in and keeps control.
De Souza wants to pass to mount but Ninja Passos is defending the position.
Ninja Passos pushes De Souza off looking to stand but De Souza dives back in and keeps control.

Ninja Passos looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ninja Passos trying to get back to full guard but De Souza takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Ninja Passos has given up his back here.
Ninja Passos takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ninja Passos is trying to get back to his feet but De Souza has full control of the position and if anything, Ninja Passos has just worked his way into a worse spot.
De Souza has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Ninja Passos's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Can Ninja Passos hold on?! De Souza is landing more strikes to his hapless foe.
De Souza tries to get the hooks in deep but Ninja Passos pushed the leg off.
Ninja Passos grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
De Souza controlling from the back.
Ninja Passos staying busy and making it hard for De Souza to control.
Ninja Passos holding both De Souza 's hands and preventing any damage.
De Souza loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Ninja Passos hold on?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ninja Passos is keeping busy.
Ninja Passos wants to escape the position.
A lull in the action here.
This has been an exciting period of action!

De Souza patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Ninja Passos holding both De Souza 's hands and preventing any damage.
Ninja Passos can't escape the position.
Ninja Passos trying to get back to his feet but De Souza is in full control for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Souza controlling the position well here. Ninja Passos rolled but De Souza kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Ninja Passos trying to get back to his feet but De Souza is in full control for now.
De Souza gets his hands free as Ninja Passos looks to control.
De Souza wants to control but Ninja Passos is keeping busy.

Ninja Passos fending off the submission attempt from De Souza.
What can Ninja Passos do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ninja Passos controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.

De Souza patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
De Souza trying to control momentarily.
Ninja Passos wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

De Souza is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Ninja Passos is defending well though. De Souza let's go of the attempt for now.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ninja Passos holding both De Souza 's hands and preventing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eduardo De Souza showed his dominance in that final round.
I think De Souza 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:28
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eduardo De Souza!