PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Masters Max (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kevin Courageous (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Max comes to the cage accompanied by Cypress Hill - Insane In The Membrane. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Max
vs
Courageous

195 cm
19
225 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

183 cm
18
240 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

ZSTAR

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Masters Max!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kevin Courageous!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Matheus Silva and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Courageous fails in his attempt to clinch.
Courageous circles away from the clinch attempt

and Courageous counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Courageous.
Courageous prevents Max from breaking the clinch.
Courageous should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Courageous managing to block the knees to the body from Max.

Courageous lands a takedown into guard.
Max is trying to keep Courageous in close.
Max will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Max is working an open guard so Courageous takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Max clinches up against the cage.
Max is looking to break free of the clinch but Courageous has double underhooks.
Max is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Courageous is keeping busy.
Max misses with an elbow strike.
Max pushes off an throws an elbow but Courageous leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

Courageous is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Max can't fight it off and eventually Courageous manages to take the fight to the floor. Max looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Courageous is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Courageous stops Max from standing up.
Courageous looking to pass the guard.
Courageous slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Max trying to keep a closed guard but Courageous is proving a slippery customer.
Max wants to get back to his feet but Courageous is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

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.
Courageous has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Max is proving hard to escape from.
Courageous is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Let's hope that Courageous has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Courageous must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Max is trying to control the position from the bottom.

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.
Courageous showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Despite being in the dominant position, Kevin Courageous just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Courageous closes the distance and clinches up with Max, looking for a takedown. Courageous pushes Max against the cage but Max circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Max darts in trying to clinch

so Courageous counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Max wants to stand and escape but Courageous is having none of it.
Max is trying to control the position but Courageous postures up.
Courageous trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kevin Courageous 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.

Courageous shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Max but Max pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Max throws a head kick that lands with a deafening thwack! The crowd roars as Courageous stumbles backwards and falls to the mat. Max follows into mount!

Courageous is rocked!

It looks like Kevin Courageous has been cut.
Courageous is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Max looking to control but Courageous is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Courageous sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Courageous tries to roll over but Max keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Courageous is controlling Max's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Max sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Courageous defending well though.
Max performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Max is looking to take a break and control but Courageous is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Max wants to stand up but Courageous has a hold of him and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Max is thwarting Courageous's attempts to control the position.
Courageous wants to get back to full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Courageous looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Max is fending him off so far but Courageous persists. Nope, Max circles away and we're back to standing.
Max tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Courageous counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Courageous is breathing heavily.
Courageous performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Max is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Courageous's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Courageous's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Courageous rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Courageous trying to control from the bottom.
Courageous is trying to stand back up but Max is controlling him
Courageous wants to improve his position but Max is controlling well.
Max is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Max missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's four 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.
Courageous controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Courageous can do anything to dispel that myth.
Courageous has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Max is working away from the top position though.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Courageous takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Max closes the distance but Courageous moves to the side

and Courageous counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Courageous.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Max has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Courageous stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Max swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kevin Courageous showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Kevin Courageous's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Courageous shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Max as he jumps to the side.
Masters Max seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Max wants to clinch

and Courageous counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Max is looking to stand up but Courageous isn't so interested in that idea.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Courageous throwing strikes but missing.
Courageous trying to control the position from guard on top but Max is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Courageous tries to stand but Max is controlling from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Courageous trying to control the position from guard on top but Max is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Courageous stops Max from standing up.
Courageous stopping the sweep attempt from Max.
Max keeping full guard, as Courageous tries to pass.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Max tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Courageous decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Max's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Courageous advances to half guard.
Courageous is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Max is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Courageous seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Max does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Max wants to control but Courageous is keeping busy.
Max is trying to get back to full guard.
Masters Max has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Courageous trying to pass the guard but Max defending well.
Max avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Courageous.
Courageous is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Courageous thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Max's head.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Max tries to clinch but Courageous moves away

so Courageous counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Max had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Courageous is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Max Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Courageous's back instead.
Courageous covering up well under a series of strikes from Max.
Max scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Courageous covering up well under a barage of strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Max is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Courageous trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kevin Courageous comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Courageous winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 27:30
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kevin Courageous!