PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Paolo Souza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lord Set (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Paolo Souza has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Souza
vs
Set

193 cm
20
265 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

210 cm
22
269 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Organic Peak Performance

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paolo Souza!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lord Set!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Matheus Silva and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Set drives through and clinches with Souza against the cage.

Souza manages to pull guard.
Souza on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Souza tries to get out of the position.
Setis looking to pass into half guard but Souza pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Souza is in guard.
Set is striking from the bottom but Souza uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Still in half guard, Souza seems content to control.
Set is trying to stand up here but Souza is controlling him well.
Set is looking to get back to full guard here but Souza has managed to pass to side control instead.
Souza wants to control the pace but Set is squirming around nicely.
Set keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Set swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Set is desperately trying to improve his position but Souza has a good base and remains in mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Souza raining down shots from the mount!
Set is desperately trying to improve his position but Souza has a good base and remains in mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Set is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Set looks gassed!
Souza sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Set throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Set tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Souza controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Souza prevents Set from getting the reversal.
Set throwing hammer fists to the chest of Souza. What's that going to do exactly?
Set really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Set in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Set really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

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.
Souza controlling from mount.
Set tries to improve his position but instead Souza has taken his back!
Set is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Souza.
Souza controlling well, preventing Set from escaping the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Set is trying to get back to his feet but Souza has full control of the position and if anything, Set has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Set is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Souza is hanging on to Set's back as he tries to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paolo Souza dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Set clinches.
Set gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Souza.
Souza fails to pull guard.
Set working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Set tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Souza's elbow.
Set throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Souzas head.
Set goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Souza blocking some punches.
Souza tries to pull guard but Set won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Paolo Souza. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Souza tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Set smiles and moves away.
Souza circles away from the clinch attempt.

Set scores a takedown into full mount!
Set unloads with some shots from mount but Souza bucks and avoids them well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Set pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Poor strikes thrown by Set there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Set unloads with some shots from mount but Souza bucks and avoids them well.
Souza is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Souza in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

Souza is rocked!
BOOM! Set connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Oh Souza is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Set landing strikes from the mount.
Souza in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Set lands a big shot there that rocks Souza but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Set lands with some strikes.
Set avoids the attempt from Souza to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza avoids a strike by Set and manages to complete a very nice reversal in the process, to end up in Set's guard! Fantastic escape!
Souza seems to have got his legs back now.
Souza not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Set trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Souza is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza wants to control from the top but Set keeps moving.
Set can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Souza controls the pace.
Set wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Souza manages to pass to side control.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Souza in particular looking to stall.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Paolo Souza just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Set moves in looking to clinch but Souza pushes him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Set circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nice sprawl there from Souza as Set shoots in.

Souza changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Set looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Set seems a little lost for a moment, as Souza dominates the positioning.
Set is trying to work for a sweep but Souza has mounted him!
Set really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Set slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Set throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Souza stops Set from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lord Set showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Set closes the distance looking to clinch

and Souza holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Set working aggressively here.
Set fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Set lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Souza backwards.
Set swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Souza fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Souza working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Set misses with a punch to the body.
Souza can't get the takedown.
Souza is looking to break free of the clinch but Set has double underhooks.
A body shot lands from Set.
Souza blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Set misses with a short punch on the inside.
Set swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Souza prevents a body shot from Set.
Set is looking to control Souza's arms but Souza gets an underhook and turns him. Now Set has his back to the cage.
Souza tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Set smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Paolo Souza. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Souza has a takedown stuffed.

Set rushes Souza and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Set works on Souza's body with a couple of short punches.
Set is pressed up against the cage. Souza has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Set down to the mat. Set avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Set avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Set scores a takedown into full mount!
Set takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Set scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Souza?
Set looking to finish with strikes here!
Set throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Souza because Set loaded up on that one.
Souza tries to hold on but Set postures up.
Set thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Souza wants to control but Set is having none of it.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Set cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Souza tries to hold on but Set postures up.
Set misses with a head shot.
Set throwing strikes but Souza uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Souza trying to control here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Set throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Set missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Set lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Set with the ground and pound but Souza uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Souza working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Set.
Set is looking to stand up but Souza won't let him.
Souza might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Set with a flurry of punches that miss.
Set content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Set postures up in Souza's guard and throws a big left but Souza blocks it.
Souza keeping full guard, as Set tries to pass.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Souza 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.
Souza fails in his attempt to clinch.

Souza clinches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Set.
Souza lands with a light punch inside.
Souza wants to break free but Set has control.

Souza pulls Set into guard.
Souza is pulling down on Set's head. It's preventing any offense from Set, at least for the moment.
Lord Set has got the better of the ground game so far.
Souza is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lord Set really dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Set shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Souza closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Souza lands in his opponent's guard.
Souza stops Set from standing up.
Souza slips nicely into half guard.
Set pushes Souza off looking to stand but Souza dives back in and keeps control.
Set wants to sweep but Souza has passed to side control!
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Set is pushing Souza's head away, looking to escape. Souza manages to hold on to the position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Set is looking to regain half guard here but Souza keeps moving and retains side control.
Set is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Souza has just dragged him back down to the mat.

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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Souza misses the jab.
Set looks to clinch

and Souza counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Set throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Souza is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Set wants to stand up but Souza is controlling him.
Set is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Souza dives into side control.
Set tries to bench press Souza off him but Souza keeps the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Set is trying to work for a sweep but Souza has mounted him!
Set tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Souza content just to control the position here.
Set tries to reverse the position but Souza maintains control.
Souza controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Set looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Good control from Souza.
Set holding both Souza 's hands and preventing any damage.
Souza is hanging on to Set's back as he tries to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paolo Souza had his way with Lord Set in that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Souza shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Set is trying to escape the mount.
Set sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Set wants to improve his position but Souza is controlling well.
Souza prevents Set from standing back up.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Souza seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Set does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Set is looking to improve his position.
Souza works his foot free and advances to mount.
Set is looking to get to half guard.
Souza sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Set is in a horrible position here. Souza smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Set can't escape the position.
Set looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Souza biding his time, looking for the opening.
Souza has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Souza controlling well, preventing Set from escaping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Souza really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Set.
Set trying to get back to his feet but Souza is in full control for now.
Set is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Paolo Souza showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Souza 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 48:47
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 48:47
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paolo Souza!
Paolo Souza is the new heavyweight champion!