PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight kickboxing rules bout between Ubaldo Cortez (ranked 1707 p4p, 21510 weight class) and Wesley Taurus (ranked 218 p4p, 562 weight class). Taurus has chosen Country Boy - Aaron Lewis as his entrance music. 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.

Cortez
vs
Taurus

186 cm
33
180
23 - 17 - 0

183 cm
36
180
28 - 26 - 4

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

Conquer
Conviction

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 23 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ubaldo Cortez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 26 - 4, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Wesley Taurus!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Albert Achterberg and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A nice inside leg kick there by Cortez. That's going to slow Taurus down.
Cortez swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Cortez has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Primal Concrete Gym in the buildup to the fight.
Cortez takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Taurus moves out of range of the strikes.
Sloppy strikes from Taurus. Those never looked like landing.
Cortez lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

It looks like Wesley Taurus has been cut.
Cortez lands a head shot.
Cortez uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Taurus.
Cortez feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Taurus takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Taurus misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Cortez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Taurus moves away.
Cortez slips a straight right by Taurus.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Taurus.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cortez throws a head kick but Taurus moves out of range.
Taurus swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taurus slips under a jab.
Cortez throws a sloppy head kick and Taurus moves out of range easily.
Taurus lands a really nice looking cross but Cortez seems unphased.
Taurus ducks under a wild hook from Cortez.
Cortez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Taurus lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Taurus ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Cortez takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Cortez throws a leg kick that is checked
and Taurus counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Taurus misses with a looping right.
Taurus slips a straight right by Cortez.
Wesley Taurus seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cortez throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Taurus uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cortez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taurus takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Cortez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Crunch! Taurus slams his shin into Cortez's torso.
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!
Taurus misses the jab.
It looked like Cortez wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
A nice inside leg kick there by Taurus. That's going to slow Cortez down.
Cortez throws a wild body kick that Taurus sees coming a mile off.
Cortez connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Taurus misses with a wild body shot.
Cortez staying out of range there.
Taurus lands with a nice body kick.
Cortez throws a sloppy head kick and Taurus moves out of range easily.
Cortez scores with a jab to the jaw.
Cortez throws a front kick aimed at Taurus's knee but Taurus avoids it well.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ubaldo Cortez will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Wesley Taurus's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Taurus throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Cortez takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Taurus goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Taurus scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Cortez misses with a straight left.
Cortez tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cortez walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Taurus checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Taurus shapes to counter with a head kick.
Taurus throws a head kick that half lands.
Cortez throws a right hand that misses
and Taurus counters with a nice low kick that buckles Cortez's knee momentarily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cortez connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Taurus's hands.
Cortez takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
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!
Cortez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Taurus manages to avoid it.
Taurus swings widly with a right hand

and Cortez counters with a big 3 punch combo that drops Taurus on his ass! Taurus wobbles back to his feet half way through the count and though looking a bit dazed, the referee is going to allow the fight to continue!

Taurus is rocked!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Taurus sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Taurus is still on wobbly legs! Can Cortez finish him?
Taurus throws a low kick but Cortez avoids it.
Cortez looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
Taurus seems to have recovered his senses.
Cortez takes a swing at Taurus's ribcage but misses.
Cortez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Taurus was well out of range. Poor timing from Cortez.
Taurus punishes Cortez's body with a nice straight punch.
Taurus lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Cortez throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Cortez is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Taurus works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Cortez throws a hook to the side of Taurus's head but Taurus sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Cortez on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Wesley Taurus seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Taurus moves out of range of the strikes.
Taurus scores with a head kick.
Cortez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Taurus.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Taurus slips under a jab from Cortez.
Cortez looks to score with a jab to the body but Taurus is just out of range.
Taurus has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Taurus, as that shot connected.
Taurus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Taurus is looking to slow Cortez down with leg kicks.
Taurus throws a head kick that misses.
Cortez lands with a kick to the ribs.
A jab from Cortez misses.
Taurus checks the leg kick nicely there.
Cortez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Taurus.
Cortez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Taurus.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice straight punches there by Taurus. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Taurus.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ubaldo Cortez will take that round after scoring the only knockdown of the round.
The cut man is working on Wesley Taurus's cut.
That's time! Cortez's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Cortez blocks a head kick by Taurus.
An inside leg kick lands from Cortez.
Taurus lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Cortez at a distance.
A shot to the body from Cortez misses
and Taurus counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nice shot lands for Taurus.
Taurus loads up on a big right hand but Cortez slips the punch.
An attempted straight right counter from Cortez misses the target.
Taurus scores with a sloppy right hand. Cortez should have avoided that one.
A lazy left from Taurus finds it's target.
Cortez throws an off balance right hand
letting Taurus counter with a right hand.
A good leg kick by Taurus.
Taurus chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Cortez takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Taurus scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taurus throws out a loose jab but Cortez uses good head movement to avoid it.
A little feinted left hand from Cortez on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Taurus slips under a jab.
Taurus blocks a head kick by Cortez.
Taurus scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Cortez throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Taurus lands with a kick to the temple. Cortez shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Taurus thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Cortez if he has to take too many more of those.
Taurus throws a nice inside leg kick.
Taurus throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Taurus moves forwards but Cortez connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Taurus scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Cortez misses with a right hand
and Taurus counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Taurus throws an overhand right that lands on Cortez's shoulder, as Cortez tries to avoid the shot.
Cortez throws a lazy right hand but Taurus sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
And Taurus responds with a good body kick, but Cortez manages to step out the way in time.
Taurus throws a body shot but no joy.
Cortez ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Cortez is looking to counter punch.
Cortez scoring well with a low kick there.
Cortez misses with an uppercut.
A countering left hand to the body from Taurus misses.
Cortez is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Cortez throws a poor cross that misses
and Taurus counters with a right hand to the body.
Taurus throws a sloppy head kick and Cortez moves out of range easily.
Cortez swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A telegraphed right hand from Cortez misses the target.
Cortez takes a swing at Taurus's ribcage but misses.
Cortez throws a wild body kick that Taurus sees coming a mile off.
Decent striking displayed by Taurus there.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cortez lunges at Taurus with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Taurus's hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Wesley Taurus comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Taurus has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight 28:28
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 29:27
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Ubaldo Cortez!
Ubaldo Cortez thanked the fans post fight for their support.