PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bruno Formiga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Borislav Shopov (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.

Formiga
vs
Shopov

189 cm
21
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

176 cm
23
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bruno Formiga!
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, Borislav Shopov!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Paulo Santos and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shopov's jab looks to have found its range, popping Formiga under the eye.
Formiga thows a body shot but no joy.
Shopov leaves Formiga with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Shopov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick misses from Shopov.

Formiga has closed the distance and engaged Shopov in a clinch.
Formiga goes for a takedown in the clinch but Shopov prevents it.
Formiga really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Formiga jumps guard but Shopov stands there with Formiga around his waist. Formiga gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bruno Formiga. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shopov tries to pull guard but Formiga won't allow it.
Formiga stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Formiga pulls Shopov into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Formiga is pulling down on Shopov's head. It's preventing any offense from Shopov, at least for the moment.

Formiga has his foot on Shopov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Shopov works his way back into a safe position though.
Formiga looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Formiga will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Formiga bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Shopov's guard.
Shopov wants to stand but Formiga is controlling the position.
Formiga in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shopov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Formiga stands up and waves to Shopov to follow him.
Left hook, right uppercut from Shopov.
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!

Formiga clinches up with Shopov and pushes him back against the cage.
Formiga dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Shopov tries to circle away but Formiga has him pinned against the cage.

Formiga's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shopov throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Shopov ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Shopov scores with a nice head shot.
Formiga ducks under a wild hook from Shopov.

Formiga closes the distance and clinches.
Shopov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Formiga gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Shopov is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Shopov tries to circle away but Formiga has him pinned against the cage.
Formiga tries to pull guard but Shopov holds him up against the cage and eventually Formiga drops back down to his feet.

Formiga has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Shopov uses from the top position.

Formiga scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Formiga scores with a leg kick.

Formiga has Shopov up against the cage in a clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Formiga is looking for a takedown.
Formiga changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Shopov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Shopov misses with a double jab.
Borislav Shopov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shopov stuffs the takedown.
Shopov lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Some wild striking there from Shopov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Bruno Formiga will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Shopov lands with a cross.
Formiga looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Shopov is fending him off so far but Formiga persists. Nope, Shopov circles away and we're back to standing.
Shopov misses with a head kick.
Shopov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Shopov wants it to stay on the feet.
Formiga closes the distance and clinches up with Shopov, looking for a takedown. Formiga pushes Shopov against the cage but Shopov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bruno Formiga. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Formiga is trying hard to land a takedown here. Shopov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Formiga doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

Nice combo by Shopov! Oh, that's hurt him - Formiga falls to the canvas and Shopov follows him into side control.

Formiga is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shopov wants to stand but Formiga is controlling his arm.
Oh Formiga is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Formiga is trying to improve his position.
Formiga can't do much from the bottom here.
Formiga is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Shopov asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shopov wants to control but Formiga is keeping him busy.
Formiga seems to have got his legs back now.
Shopov wants to stand but Formiga has him controlled and pulls him back into his guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Shopov wants to pass the guard but Formiga is keeping the position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Borislav Shopov wasn't active enough on the ground.
Shopov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Formiga shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Shopov but Shopov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Borislav Shopov seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Shopov throws a leg kick that misses.
Formiga misses with a two punch combination.
Formiga blocks a head kick by Shopov.

Formiga dives in and scores a takedown into Shopov's guard.
Formiga postures up in Shopov's guard and throws a big left but Shopov blocks it.
Formiga sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Formiga drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Formiga jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Formiga controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Bruno Formiga just wasn't active enough.

Formiga closes the distance and clinches.
Formiga blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Shopov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Formiga escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shopov lands a slapping body shot.
Formiga has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Formiga there as he acknowledges the shot.
Shopov thumps Formiga with a low kick.
Shopov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Formiga closes the distance and clinches up with Shopov, looking for a takedown. Formiga pushes Shopov against the cage but Shopov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Shopov lands with a shot to the body.
Formiga takes one to the chin there.
Formiga throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Shopov's waist but Shopov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Formiga off to one side.
Formiga blocks a head kick by Shopov.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A head kick misses from Shopov.
Formiga shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Shopov but Shopov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Formiga shoots in looking for a takedown. Shopov tries to sprawl out of it but Formiga keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Shopov manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Borislav Shopov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Formiga jumps guard.
Formiga not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Formiga looking for a sweep. Not yet Formiga, not yet.
Formiga is trying to keep Shopov in close.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Formiga manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Shopov manages to get himself to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Formiga decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Shopov, up you get!
Nice defenses there by Formiga.
Formiga darts in looking for a takedown but Shopov gets double underhooks and turns Formiga into the cage.
Shopov tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Formiga just stands there and leans against the cage.
Formiga is stalling here.
Formiga is looking to take this one to the mat.
Formiga misses with a punch to the body.
Nice body punch from Formiga - that landed with a thud.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shopov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Formiga is trying to drag Shopov to the mat but Shopov just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bruno Formiga. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Formiga blocking some punches.
Shopov is looking to break free of the clinch but Formiga has double underhooks.

Formiga turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Shopov is looking to regain half guard here but Formiga keeps moving and retains side control.
Formiga is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Formiga throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Formiga looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Shopov is avoiding damage well.
Formiga throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Formiga controlling the position.
Formiga is looking to take a break and control but Shopov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shopov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Formiga. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Bruno Formiga.
Shopov tries a head kick but it misses.
Bruno Formiga is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A good leg kick by Shopov.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Some bone on bone action there as Formiga checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bruno Formiga showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Formiga 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight for Bruno Formiga!
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight for Borislav Shopov!
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight for Bruno Formiga!

Bruno Formiga wins by split decision!
During a confident post fight interview, Bruno Formiga thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.