PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mano Thao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bobby TupperIII (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thao comes to the ring accompanied by Sabotage by Beastie Boys. Bobby TupperIII has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Thao
vs
TupperIII

197 cm
35
212 lbs
15 - 13 - 0

200 cm
36
215 lbs
26 - 24 - 0

Decent wrestler
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Museum of Monsters & Madmen

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Mano Thao!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 24 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bobby TupperIII!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Daniel Cesar and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that TupperIII has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
TupperIII jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Thao walks away with a smile on his face. TupperIII gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
TupperIII takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
We've been told by Thao's head coaches at Soco na mãe - Stand Up Striking that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
The fight stays on the outside here - Thao looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Thao keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Thao tries to close the distance and clinch up but TupperIII swats him away and circles back towards the center.
TupperIII moves out of range of the body kick from Thao.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Thao has taken the fight to the clinch.
Thao tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and TupperIII avoids it.
Thao landing some nice looking knees to the body.

Thao breaks from the clinch.
Thao throws a series of punches but TupperIII avoids them all with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thao throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
TupperIII looks winded!

Thao clinches up against the ropes.
Thao scores with a shot to the side of TupperIII's head.
Thao tries to land knees in the clinch but TupperIII avoids the damage to the body.
Thao working TupperIII over with knees to the body.
Thao misses with a punch to the body.
Thao with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Thao throws a knee to the head but misses.
TupperIII is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the ropes enables Thao to keep the fight standing.
Thao tries to land a knee to the head but TupperIII blocks with his arms.
Thao struggles to land a body shot inside as TupperIII controls his hands.

Thao escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thao tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and TupperIII is able to avoid easily.
Thao misses the shot to the body.
Thao is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Thao tries to land a front kick but TupperIII steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Thao's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Thao duly obliges.

It looks like Bobby TupperIII has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
TupperIII takes a kick to the side of the head.
Thao lands with a right hand.

Thao has taken the fight to the clinch.
Thao tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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

TupperIII has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Thao can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

TupperIII working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Thao doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Thao manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

TupperIII is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Thao defends well.
Thao wants to stand but TupperIII has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

TupperIII is working an open guard so Thao takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
TupperIII showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thao.
Thao throws a right and a left that TupperIII avoids nicely.
Thao tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. TupperIII manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Thao feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to TupperIII's calf.
TupperIII checks the leg kick.

Thao clinches up against the ropes.
Thao with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Thao scores a nice knee to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mano Thao dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bobby TupperIII's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

An inside leg kick lands from Thao.
Thao wants to clinch.
Thao misses with a wild combination.
TupperIII moves out of range of the strikes.
Thao misses with a two punch combination.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thao ducks down and throws a hook to the body but TupperIII moves away.
Thao cracks TupperIII with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Thao misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thao looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
TupperIII swats away the attempt to clinch by Thao.
Mano Thao is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thao goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Thao looks to throw the jab but TupperIII is out of range.
Thao misses with a hook
and TupperIII counters with a low kick, right behind Thao 's knee.
Thao pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Thao attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Thao misses with a low kick.
Thao throws a shot from downtown. TupperIII moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thao fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
TupperIII takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Thao tries to clinch up but TupperIII circles away and keeps his distance.
Thao is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that TupperIII can do to turn this around?

TupperIII gets tackled into the ropes by Thao. Thao maintains the clinch.
Mano Thao has scored more points in the clinch so far.
TupperIII tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thao lands a shoulder strike.
Thao tries to land knees in the clinch but TupperIII avoids the damage to the body.
Thao tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and TupperIII avoids it.
Thao tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and TupperIII avoids it.
Thao pushes off an throws an elbow but TupperIII leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.

Thao manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thao is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
TupperIII slips a jab from Thao.
Thao misses with a body kick.

Thao moves into the clinch successfully.
TupperIII blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Thao is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Thao misses with some punches.
Thao is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Thao misses with a knee to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thao tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
TupperIII blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Thao lands a shoulder strike.
Thao makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Thao escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Thao throws a head kick that misses.
Thao tries to clinch up but TupperIII circles away and keeps his distance.
Thao connects with a right hand. TupperIII shakes it off.

Thao clinches.
Thao swings away with an uppercut that misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thao throws a head punch that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mano Thao dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Bobby TupperIII'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!

TupperIII slips a jab and a cross from Thao.
Thao throws a sloppy head kick and TupperIII moves out of range easily.
Thao throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Mano Thao seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Thao is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Thao misses with a head kick.
TupperIII circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thao misses with a lunging right hand

and TupperIII counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

TupperIII is looking for a kimura but Thao is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for TupperIII to get the leverage.
Thao pushes TupperIII off looking to stand but TupperIII dives back in and keeps control.

TupperIII is working for a kimura but Thao is defending it quite comfortably.
Thao knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for TupperIII on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.

TupperIII is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Thao is trying to stand back up but TupperIII is controlling him

TupperIII is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

TupperIII is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Thao has managed to free his arm - good work.
Thao on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Thao tries to get out of the position.

That's two 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.

TupperIII wants to work for an arm triangle but Thao is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

TupperIII is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

TupperIII is looking for a kimura here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thao tries to kick TupperIII off but TupperIII keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
TupperIII wants to free his trapped foot but Thao is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Mano Thao is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
TupperIII prevents Thao from standing back up.

TupperIII is working for a submission of some sort.

Thao is defending against the submission attempts here by TupperIII.

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.

TupperIII is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Thao has managed to free his arm - good work.

TupperIII is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Thao defends it well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Thao is defending against the submission attempts here by TupperIII.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bobby TupperIII comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Thao 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 29:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 29:27
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mano Thao!
After winning the bout, Mano Thao thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.