PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Darnell Olson (ranked 25021 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Sousa (ranked 6019 p4p, 0 weight class). Darnell Olson has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Olson
vs
Sousa

218 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

185 cm
23
185 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Darnell Olson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Chris Sousa!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Richard Clark and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sousa shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Olson as he avoids it easily.
Olson tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Sousa manages to circle out of the way.
Darnell Olson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Olson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sousa takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Nice takedown defense from Sousa. No joy for Olson on that attempt.
Sousa unleashes a big counter combination but Olson bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.

Sousa forces Olson back against the cage and clinches.
Olson's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sousa escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Sousa blocks a head kick by Olson.
Sousa drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Olson defends it well.
Olson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Olson lands a jab-cross combination.
Olson bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Olson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darnell Olson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Sousa clinches.
Sousa tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Olson smiles and moves away.
Sousa looks winded!
Sousa misses with a few strikes there.
Olson lands a nice hook to Sousa's body. Sousa takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Olson scores with a head kick.
Olson misses with a jab to the body
and Sousa counters with a series of strikes. Olson will be more careful next time no doubt.
Olson moves in looking to clinch but Sousa pushes him off.
Olson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sousa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Olson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Olson swings for the body but Sousa moves out of range.
Olson is looking to clinch.
Olson tries a head kick but it misses.
Olson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sousa as he avoids it easily.
Sousa looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Olson avoids the body shot from Sousa.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sousa stuffs the takedown attempt from Olson. Olson gets slowly back to his feet.
Sousa wants to counter with a clinch but Olson pushes him away.

Sousa clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Olson tries for a takedown but Sousa manages to get underhooks.

Sousa successfully pulls guard.
Olson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Sousa utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Olson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Sousa on the ground.
Olson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sousa wants to sweep but no luck.
Olson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Olson works over Sousa with some ground and pound from guard.
Olson wants to stand but Sousa is controlling his posture from full guard.

Sousa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Olson gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Olson with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sousa seems keen to control Olson's posture.

Olson decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Olson shoots in for a takedown but Sousa shows good takedown defense.
A big right from Sousa misses.
Olson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sousa is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.

Sousa moves into the clinch.

Sousa pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Sousa dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Olson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Olson shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sousa but Sousa pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Olson takes a swing at Sousa's ribcage but misses.

Olson moves into range and clinches up with Sousa.
Olson tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Sousa just stands there and leans against the cage.

Sousa breaks from the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A chopping leg kick lands by Sousa.
Olson tries for a takedown but Sousa circles away easily
and Sousa counters with a series of strikes. Olson will be more careful next time no doubt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darnell Olson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sousa is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sousa throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Olson blocks a head kick by Sousa.
Olson fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Sousa avoids it really well and circles away.
Olson moves in looking to clinch but Sousa pushes him off.
Sousa avoids the head kick by Olson.
Despite the aggression on Sousa's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Sousa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Olson gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Olson fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Olson is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Sousa gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Olson wants to take the fight to the mat but Sousa manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

Sousa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Good work by Olson as he checks the leg kick.
Olson has a takedown stuffed.

Sousa moves into range and clinches up with Olson.
Sousa stalling in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sousa breaks the clinch.
Olson wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Olson is looking to wear down Sousa with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
No luck for Sousa with that takedown attempt.

Sousa takes the fight into the clinch.

Olson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Sousa doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Sousa swings for the body but Olson moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Olson fails to land the takedown.
Olson throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Sousa scores with a kick to the midsection.
Olson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Sousa is fending him off so far but Olson persists. Nope, Sousa circles away and we're back to standing.
Olson throws a right and a left that Sousa avoids nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sousa avoids the head kick by Olson.
Sousa throws a push kick but Olson slaps the foot to one side.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Sousa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Olson fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Sousa avoids it really well and circles away.
Olson fails to land the takedown.
Olson shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sousa as he jumps to the side.
Sousa tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darnell Olson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Olson dives in and scores a takedown into Sousa's guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Sousa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Olson gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Olson tries to stand but Sousa is controlling from the bottom.
Sousa wants to sweep here but Olson controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Olson drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Olson jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Olson preventing the sweep.

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.

Sousa looking for a guillotine here but Olson defends easily.
Olson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sousa works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sousa tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Olson tries to stand but Sousa is controlling from the bottom.
Olson trying to control the position from guard on top but Sousa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Sousa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Olson gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Sousa has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Olson tries to stand but Sousa is controlling from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Olson jabs at Sousa's body.
Olson throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Olson closes this distance looking for a takedown but Sousa circles away.
It seemed like Sousa was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Nice takedown defense from Sousa. No joy for Olson on that attempt.
Sousa is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Sousa lands with a kick to the ribs.

Olson drives through and clinches with Sousa against the cage.

Sousa decides to pull guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Olson wants to get up but he can't break Sousa's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Olson stopping the sweep attempt from Sousa.

Sousa has his foot on Olson's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Olson works his way back into a safe position though.
Sousa 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.
Olson throwing strikes from guard but Sousa blocks nicely.
Olson preventing the sweep.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Olson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Darnell Olson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Chris Sousa is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Olson thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Chris Sousa.
Well Sousa 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 27:30
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 27:30
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chris Sousa!