PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Justin Morgan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Robert Arthur (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Arthur comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Remember The Name - Fort Minor kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Morgan
vs
Arthur

210 cm
25
135 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

160 cm
25
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Prefers standup

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Justin Morgan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Robert Arthur!
The judges for this bout are Peter Branson, Sandra Marshall and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Arthur jabs Morgan to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A lazy left from Arthur finds it's target.
Arthur fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Morgan manages to avoid it.
Morgan has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Clean and Green in the buildup to the fight.
Arthur getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Morgan takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Arthur moves into the clinch.
Morgan really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Arthur digs a right hand into Morgan's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Morgan's gas tank.
Morgan is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Arthur is defending well.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Arthur throws an elbow but it misses.
A short right from Arthur.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan keeps control of Arthur as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A shot in the inside from Arthur.
Arthur wants to break the clinch but can't.
Arthur is pushing Morgan up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Arthur tries to circle away but Morgan has him pinned against the cage.
Arthur working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Arthur wants to break free but Morgan has control.
Arthur misses with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Arthur doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Arthur wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Arthur throws an elbow but it misses.
Arthur gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Morgan.
A left hand lands to the body for Arthur.
Arthur prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Justin Morgan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Morgan tries for a takedown. No joy.
Arthur wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Morgan has him pressed against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Arthur breaks the clinch.
Morgan keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Arthur fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Arthur looks to land a left hand but Morgan moved out of range nicely.
Robert Arthur seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Arthur throws a looping overhand right but Morgan ducks down to avoid it.
A telegraphed right hand from Arthur misses the target.
Arthur throws an off balance right hand
and Morgan counters with a series of strikes. Arthur will be more careful next time no doubt.
Arthur misses with a body shot.
Arthur tries to close the distance and clinch but Morgan swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Arthur misses with a right hand
and Morgan counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Arthur swings and misses with a hook to the body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Arthur looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Arthur throws a hook to the side of Morgan's head but Morgan sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Arthur misses with a hook.
Arthur's coach down at Basics -LOD- was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Arthur's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Arthur misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Arthur rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Morgan counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Arthur dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Arthur closes the distance and clinches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Arthur.
Morgan misses with a punch on the inside.
Arthur lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Morgan wants a takedown.
Arthur lands a left hand that snaps the head of Morgan backwards.
Arthur wants to get back to striking at distance but Morgan won't allow it.
Arthur stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Morgan is looking to take this one to the mat.
Morgan managing to block the knees to the body from Arthur.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arthur has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Arthur misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Morgan.

Arthur breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Morgan is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Arthur.
Arthur swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Morgan counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Arthur tries to clinch but Morgan moves out of range.
Morgan takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Arthur misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Morgan.
The fighters circle momentarily. Arthur darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Arthur wants to clinch.
Arthur throws a right hand that Morgan ducks under and follows up with a left that Morgan also avoids with ease.
Morgan bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Morgan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Arthur.
A slow jab from Arthur misses its intended target.
Arthur tries to clinch up but Morgan circles away and keeps his distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arthur misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Arthur has managed to clinch.
Arthur is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Morgan is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Arthur is defending well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Justin Morgan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Morgan keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Arthur's efforts to push away.

Morgan escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Arthur 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Arthur throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Arthur fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Morgan on the side of the head.
Justin Morgan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Arthur paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Arthur throws a right hand that misses
and Arthur takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Arthur misses with a combination
and Arthur takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Arthur tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Morgan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Arthur falls off balance throwing a combination
and Morgan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Arthur 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. This is the final round!

A swing and a miss from Arthur.
Arthur fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Morgan manages to avoid it.
Arthur jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Arthur ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Morgan moves away.
Arthur wants to clinch.
Arthur just misses with a punch to the body.
A shot to the body from Arthur misses
and Morgan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arthur swinging wildly here.
Morgan on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Arthur throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Morgan sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Arthur tries to clinch but Morgan moves out of range.
Morgan walks into a jab.
Arthur throws a right hand that misses

and Morgan counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Arthur looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Morgan will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan wants to control from the top but Arthur keeps moving.
Morgan won't allow Arthur to sweep him here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Morgan connects with a couple of short punches.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Arthur can do anything to dispel that myth.
Morgan is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Morgan drops back looking for a leg! Arthur is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Arthur manages to kick Morgan off! Morgan jumps back into Arthur's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arthur looking to hit a scissor sweep but Morgan is one step ahead there.
Arthur has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

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.
Arthur tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Arthur throws a right and a left that both miss.
Robert Arthur is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Arthur closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Arthur fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Morgan moves away from the strike by Arthur.
Justin Morgan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Arthur rushes Morgan and presses him up against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Robert Arthur comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Arthur 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 Peter Branson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Robert Arthur!
Robert Arthur decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.