PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between IP Freely (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Morrison (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Morrison comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Metalingus kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Freely
vs
Morrison

160 cm
26
140 lbs
12 - 12 - 0

170 cm
31
139 lbs
15 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
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 12 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, IP Freely!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, John Morrison!
The judges for this bout are Robert Douchet, William Peck and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Freely fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Morrison sprawls well initially but Freely persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Freely is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Morrison defends it well.

Morrison looking for submissions off his back.
Morrison punching from the bottom.
Freely lands with a punch from half guard.
Morrison is looking to control Freely's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Morrison avoid being mounted?
Morrison keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Morrison tries to roll over but Freely keeps him under control.
Morrison has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Freely is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Freely prevents Morrison from improving his position.
Morrison trying to control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrison is staying active underneath Freely, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Morrison is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Freely pulls his head out easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Morrison is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Morrison misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Freely is controlling the pace.
Morrison is looking for a sweep. Freely is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Freely passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Morrison!
Freely cracks Morrison with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
We've been hearing good reports from Freely'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.
Morrison working to try and regain half guard.
Freely lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Freely cracks Morrison with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freely dominating with strikes here.
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!
Freely manages to capitalize on a mistake by Morrison to take his back!
Freely doesn't have the hooks in and Morrison manages to turn into his guard.
Morrison cracks Freely with a solid left hand.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Morrison working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Freely working a defensive guard here.
Morrison stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Freely swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Freely throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Morrison stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Freely swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Morrison lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Freely is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Morrison defends well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrison throws a strike but Freely rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Freely throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Freely preventing the sweep.
Morrison will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Morrison wants to sweep here but Freely controlling him for the moment.
Morrison trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Freely working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Morrison wants to sweep here but Freely controlling him for the moment.
Freely keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Morrison's head.
Morrison tries to strike from the bottom.
Freely missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrison keeping full guard, as Freely tries to pass.
Freely wants to control from the top but Morrison keeps moving.
Freely lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Morrison working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Freely.
Morrison is striking but Freely is not phased and passes to half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Morrison is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Freely wants to take a breather but Morrison is having none of it.

Freely is working for a submission of some sort.
Morrison is in trouble now - Freely has advanced to mount!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Morrison is trying desperately to improve position.
Freely tries to control but Morrison wriggling away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Freely looks to score with a jab to the body but Morrison is just out of range.
Morrison with a lazy takedown attempt

and Freely counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Morrison is looking for a sweep. Freely is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Morrison regains full guard. Nicely done.
Freely passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Freely decides to stand up, so the ref orders Morrison to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Freely misses with a wild body shot.
Morrison tries to score a power double leg takedown but Freely sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Morrison somewhat.

Freely drives through with a takedown into Morrison's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
IP Freely overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Morrison looking for a sweep. Not yet Morrison, not yet.
Freely with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Morrison looking to control.
Morrison has momentary wrist control but Freely slips an elbow through the middle.
Freely postures up in Morrison's guard and throws a big left but Morrison blocks it.
Freely works over Morrison with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freely wanted to stand there but Morrison had control of the position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Morrison is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Freely is aware though and is defending well.
Morrison looking to control.
Freely landing with the ground and pound.
Freely wants to control from the top but Morrison keeps moving.
Freely controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Morrison keeping moving, preventing Freely from controlling successfully.
Freely lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Morrison wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Freely trying to control but Morrison is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up because IP Freely just wasn't active enough.
Morrison bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Freely throws a hook but Morrison blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Morrison shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Freely is trying to defend but Morrison finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Morrison missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Freely trying to control here.
Morrison blocks the strikes from Freely.
Freely avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Morrison.
Morrison not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Freely tries to kick Morrison off but Morrison keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Freely is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freely wants to get back to his feet.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Morrison wants to free his trapped foot but Freely is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Freely wants to improve his position but Morrison is controlling well.
Freely trying to hold on to Morrison's head to control him but Morrison postures up.

Morrison seems to be looking for submissions.

Freely looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrison is nestled in close to Freely, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Morrison winds up and cracks Freely with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Freely works his way to full guard. Good work.
Morrison loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Freely wants to stand and escape but Morrison is having none of it.
Morrison throwing strikes but missing.
Morrison postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Morrison trying to control the position from guard on top but Freely is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Freely working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Morrison doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Morrison manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

IP Freely dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Freely misses with an uppercut. Morrison saw that one coming.
Morrison looks for a takedown but Freely sprawls well.
Morrison throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Freely's waist but Freely gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Morrison off to one side.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Morrison.
IP Freely has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Morrison.
Freely throws a right and a left that both miss.
Morrison misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Horrible takedown by Morrison or perhaps it was just good defense by Freely which made him look bad.

Nice combo by Freely! Oh, that's hurt him - Morrison falls to the canvas and Freely follows him into side control.

Morrison is rocked!

It looks like John Morrison has been cut.
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!
Morrison is trying to escape the position but Freely is controlling the position.
Morrison is still in real trouble! Can Freely finish him?
Freely working the body and head with strikes.
Freely blocks the strikes from Morrison.
Morrison is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Freely's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Freely working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freely landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Freely is working for a submission of some sort.
Freely slips a nice elbow through Morrison's hands, connecting with Morrison's forehead.
Freely wants to lay and pray for a moment but Morrison keeps working.
Freely missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Morrison looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Morrison seems to have recovered his senses.

Freely looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Morrison is trying to control but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morrison is trying to get back to full guard.
Freely working the head and body with strikes.
Freely trying to control from half guard but Morrison is working away.
Freely tries to stand but can't do so whilst Morrison controls his leg.

Morrison actively working from the bottom here.
Morrison keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Morrison works his way to full guard. Good work.

Morrison throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Morrison throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrison trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Freely preventing the sweep.
Morrison has momentary wrist control but Freely slips an elbow through the middle.
Morrison is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Freely trying to control the position from guard on top but Morrison is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Morrison looking for a guillotine here but Freely defends easily.
Morrison takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Freely lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Morrison not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Freely stands and throws Morrison's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Freely stands up and we're back to a striking position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Freely. That snapped Morrison's head back.
Freely lands with a hook. Morrison tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
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!
Morrison looks for a takedown but Freely sprawls well.
IP Freely is winning the standup battle so far.

Morrison tries to sprawl but Freely drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Freely lands strikes from half guard.
Morrison is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Freely scores with a couple of nice shots.
Morrison on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Morrison wants to improve his position but Freely is controlling well.
IP Freely is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Morrison misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Freely performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
John Morrison has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Morrison is trying to get back to full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
IP Freely showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Freely has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... IP Freely!
A very excited looking IP Freely made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.