PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between La Tigre Munanaposa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mr Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Munanaposa comes to the cage accompanied by I'm an Adult Now. 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.

Tigre Munanaposa
vs
Ward

171 cm
30
135 lbs
11 - 16 - 0

165 cm
24
143 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Decent elbows
Cardio machine

BJJ Red Belt
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

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 11 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, La Tigre Munanaposa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mr Ward!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Ryoma Takatsuka and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Munanaposa throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Ward tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Munanaposa is in Ward's guard.

Ward is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Munanaposa is aware though and is defending well.
Munanaposa trying to control but Ward is working from the bottom.
Ward trying to control the position here.
Munanaposa knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Ward on the ground.
Munanaposa stopping the sweep attempt from Ward.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ward keeping full guard, as Munanaposa tries to pass.
Munanaposa passes easily into side control. Nice work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ward wants to control but Munanaposa postures up.

Munanaposa looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Ward manages to work his way to half guard, despite Munanaposa's best efforts.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward is trying to control but can't.
Ward works his way to full guard. Good work.
Munanaposa scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Ward is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Munanaposa trying to control here.
Munanaposa tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Munanaposa trying to hold on to Ward's head to control him but Ward postures up.
Ward stalling.
Munanaposa tries to roll over but Ward keeps him under control.
I've been told that Ward has been drilling his wrestling of late, which has already helped him take this fight to the mat. Let's see how much of an impact it has on the outcome of the ground game.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Munanaposa tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Munanaposa has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ward is working away from the top position though.

Ward is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Ward trying to control from half guard but Munanaposa is working away.
Ward trying to pass the guard but Munanaposa defending well.
Ward is thwarting Munanaposa's attempts to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Munanaposa is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ward is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Munanaposa is staying active underneath Ward, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Munanaposa gets full guard.
Munanaposa wants to sweep but no luck.
Ward slips nicely into half guard.
Munanaposa punching from the bottom.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ward lands a nice short elbow.
We've been hearing good reports from Munanaposa's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Munanaposa trying to control here.
Munanaposa trying to get back to full guard but Ward takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Munanaposa is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Munanaposa is trying to stand but he's not in a good position to be doing that! Ward has taken his back!
Ward tries to keep control of the position but Munanaposa is staying busy.

Ward is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Munanaposa knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Munanaposa for a finish.

Ward sinks in the hooks and is looking for the choke. He's got it! Munanaposa taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:47 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Mr Ward!
Mr Ward decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.