PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Denver Morgan (ranked 24636 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jim Whyte (ranked 4121 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Morgan
vs
Whyte

200 cm
19
177 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

179 cm
22
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Denver Morgan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jim Whyte!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Morgan leaves Whyte with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Whyte gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Whyte can't break the clinch.

Whyte breaks from the clinch.
Morgan slaps away a takedown attempt from Whyte, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Whyte tries to clinch up but Morgan circles away and keeps his distance.

Whyte gets a 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Whyte drags the fight down to the ground.
Morgan postures up.
Whyte working a defensive guard but Morgan manages to pass into side control anyway.
Morgan is putting a hurting on Whyte here, landing some big shots from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Whyte's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Whyte is letting Morgan control him for a moment.
Whyte trying to control but Morgan flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Morgan has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Whyte has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whyte manages to reverse the position and now he's in Morgan's guard. Nice work there by Whyte.
Morgan looking to hit a scissor sweep but Whyte is one step ahead there.
Whyte wants to control from the top but Morgan keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whyte forces his way into half guard.
Morgan moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Morgan has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Whyte can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Morgan looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Whyte puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Whyte looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whyte not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Whyte controlling the action here.

Whyte is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Morgan sees it coming and defends easily.
Morgan won't allow Whyte to pass to mount.
Morgan has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Whyte is working away from the top position though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Whyte prevents Morgan from improving his position.
Morgan slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jim Whyte will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Morgan tries for a takedown but Whyte sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Whyte lands with a nice combination. Morgan backs away looking to recover.

It looks like Denver Morgan has been cut.

Whyte scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Morgan manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Morgan looks for a takedown but Whyte sprawls well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Morgan throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Whyte's waist but Whyte gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Morgan off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Denver Morgan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Whyte is trying hard to land a takedown here. Morgan sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Whyte decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Whyte prevents Morgan from improving his position.
Whyte looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morgan is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Morgan is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Whyte jumps into side control!

Whyte stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Whyte stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Whyte wants it to stay on the feet.
Whyte scores with a leg kick.

Whyte shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Morgan's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Whyte tries to stand but Morgan is controlling from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Morgan escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Whyte gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Whyte has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Whyte trying to control the position from guard on top but Morgan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Whyte is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Morgan is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Morgan has escaped and now he's on top!

Morgan engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morgan with a flurry of punches that miss.
Morgan sitting in guard here, content to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whyte looking to hit a scissor sweep but Morgan is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Whyte looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Morgan puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Morgan seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Whyte keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Whyte wants to get back to full guard but Morgan has passed into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jim Whyte will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Denver Morgan's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Whyte keeps Morgan at a distance using the push kick.
Whyte throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Morgan counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Whyte thinking.
Whyte misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Whyte dives in and scores a takedown into Morgan's guard.
Morgan has control of Whyte's left arm, preventing Whyte from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Morgan throws a couple of heel strikes.

Morgan throws his legs up looking for a submission but Whyte uses it to pass to side control.
Morgan manages to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whyte throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Morgan to regain full guard.
Morgan keeping full guard, as Whyte tries to pass.
Morgan wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Morgan is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Morgan is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morgan looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Whyte wants to get back to full guard.
Morgan controlling the action here.
Whyte is looking to control Morgan's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Whyte avoid being mounted?
Morgan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Whyte with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Morgan in particular looking to stall.
Whyte wants to get back to full guard.
Morgan is thwarting Whyte's attempts to control the position.
Morgan keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Morgan shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Whyte napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Denver Morgan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Whyte takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Morgan controls the position.
Check out the look on Morgan's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whyte is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Morgan is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Morgan will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Morgan controlling from mount.
Morgan seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Whyte for as long as he can get away with.
Morgan avoids the attempt from Whyte to control.
Whyte is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Morgan connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Denver Morgan showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Whyte has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jim Whyte!