PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Seth Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jim Leo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Pope
vs
Leo

187 cm
24
279 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
250 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Seth Pope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jim Leo!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Taro Takaoka and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leo tries to clinch but Pope moves out of range.
Pope throws a series of punches but Leo moves out of range.
Leo misses with a head kick.

Leo closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Leo lands in his opponent's guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Leo sitting in guard here, content to control.
Leo postures up.
Pope is really struggling to control Leo but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Leo content to stall in guard here.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Pope gets caught napping as Leo dives in and scores a takedown. Pope manages to retain guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pope looking to hit a scissor sweep but Leo is one step ahead there.
Pope wants to stand up but Leo is controlling him.
Leo sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Leo looking to sit in guard and control but Pope gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Pope pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Leo is keeping the position for now.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Leo can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pope won't allow Leo to sweep him here.
Pope not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Pope trying to control but Leo is working from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Leo is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Leo tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pope swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Leo drives through with a takedown into guard.
Pope wants to sweep here but Leo controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leo connects with a couple of short punches.
Pope utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Leo really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pope. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pope is looking to stand up but Leo isn't so interested in that idea.
Pope really is a fat lump.
Leo content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Leo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Leo trying to stand up but can't free himself from Pope's guard.
Pope preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Leo wants to pass the guard but Pope is keeping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leo trying to control the position from guard on top but Pope is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pope looking to hit a scissor sweep but Leo is one step ahead there.
Leo tries to stand but Pope is controlling from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Pope is pulling down on Leo's head. It's preventing any offense from Leo, at least for the moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Pope dodges the punch combination from Leo.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jim Leo 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.

Leo shoots in looking for a takedown. Pope tries to sprawl out of it but Leo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Pope manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Leo closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Pope did well to prevent Leo getting side control.
Pope regains full guard. Nicely done.
Pope tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Pope has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Leo should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Pope has tightened it up now! Leo should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Seth Pope!