PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Red McCarthy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hans Gruber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

McCarthy
vs
Gruber

186 cm
22
200 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

180 cm
22
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Red McCarthy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Hans Gruber!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gruber feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Gruber chips away with some ground and pound.
Gruber scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
McCarthy looking for a sweep. Not yet McCarthy, not yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gruber cracks McCarthy with a solid left hand.
McCarthy looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gruber is one step ahead there.
Gruber slips nicely into half guard.
Gruber drops an elbow to the side of McCarthy's head.
McCarthy is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Gruber scores with a couple of nice shots.

Gruber is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
McCarthy regains full guard. Nicely done.
Gruber thows a big elbow that misses.
McCarthy throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCarthy controls Gruber momentarily but Gruber frees himself.
McCarthy manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Gruber manages to get himself to full guard.
McCarthy postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Gruber seems keen to control McCarthy's posture.

Gruber escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. McCarthy gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Gruber looks gassed!
McCarthy is working Gruber over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
McCarthy throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gruber keeping moving, preventing McCarthy from controlling successfully.
McCarthy lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gruber keeping moving, preventing McCarthy from controlling successfully.
McCarthy chips away with some ground and pound.
McCarthy scoring with some ground and pound.
McCarthy thows a big elbow that misses.
McCarthy trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
McCarthy lands a couple of elbows.
Gruber keeping full guard, as McCarthy tries to pass.
Gruber is trying to keep McCarthy in close.
McCarthy is looking to work some ground and pound but Gruber has wrist control.
McCarthy working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
McCarthy won't allow Gruber to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gruber will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Gruber moves out of range as McCarthy throws a body kick.
McCarthy doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Gruber counters with a single leg into guard. McCarthy didn't expect that.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
McCarthy striking off his back, scoring a few points.
McCarthy lands a good elbow from the bottom.
McCarthy 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.
Gruber wants to control from the top but McCarthy keeps moving.
McCarthy thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Gruber not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
McCarthy will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy is trying to control the position but Gruber postures up.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
McCarthy tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Gruber counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for McCarthy!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
McCarthy is in all sorts of trouble here.

Gruber is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. McCarthy can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Gruber breaks from McCarthy's wrist control and lands an elbow.
McCarthy throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McCarthy is trying to escape the mount.

Gruber looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
McCarthy tries to lock up and control but Gruber gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hans Gruber dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

McCarthy misses with an uppercut. Gruber saw that one coming.
McCarthy misses with an uppercut. Gruber saw that one coming.
McCarthy misses the jab.
McCarthy misses with an uppercut.
Gruber needs to keep his hands up - McCarthy had a free shot at his head there.
McCarthy throws a series of punches but Gruber moves out of range.
Gruber fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Gruber shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Gruber showed some decent athleticism there.

Gruber decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Gruber gets cracked there but stands up to it.
McCarthy throws a right hand that Gruber ducks under and follows up with a left that Gruber also avoids with ease.
Hans Gruber is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gruber gets the takedown into side control.
Gruber creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Gruber tries to move to mount but McCarthy blocks the move with his legs.
Gruber working the ground and pound.
McCarthy is trying to get back to half guard.
McCarthy is not content to let Gruber control the position.
Gruber lands a nice forearm strike.
McCarthy regains half guard.
McCarthy manages to get to full guard.
Gruber makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

McCarthy has his foot on Gruber's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Gruber works his way back into a safe position though.
McCarthy trying to keep a closed guard but Gruber is proving a slippery customer.
Gruber passes easily into side control. Nice work.
McCarthy tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Gruber lands an elbow.
The ground and pound from Gruber seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
McCarthy tries to bench press Gruber off him but Gruber keeps the position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts McCarthy, as that shot connected.
Gruber fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
McCarthy scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy throws a jab when Gruber was well out of range.
Gruber lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but McCarthy circles away quickly and effectively.
Horrible takedown by Gruber or perhaps it was just good defense by McCarthy which made him look bad.
Red McCarthy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hans Gruber.
Jab by McCarthy.
Gruber shoots for a double leg takedown but McCarthy sprawls well. He's pushed Gruber's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Gruber shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

McCarthy gets caught flat footed, as Gruber shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
McCarthy throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
McCarthy keeping moving, preventing Gruber from controlling successfully.
Gruber passes McCarthy's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Gruber looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks McCarthy with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gruber wants to free his trapped foot but McCarthy is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Gruber lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
McCarthy wants to improve his position but Gruber is controlling well.
McCarthy is working hard here to advance position.
Gruber is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

Gruber is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. McCarthy can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hans Gruber showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Nice uppercut there from McCarthy.
Gruber is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
McCarthy scores with a nice head shot.
McCarthy lands a head shot.

Gruber is rocked!

It looks like Hans Gruber has been cut.
McCarthy throws a sloppy head kick and Gruber moves out of range easily.
Gruber is still on wobbly legs! Can McCarthy finish him?
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gruber.
Gruber seems to have recovered his senses.
Gruber gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
No luck for Gruber with that takedown attempt.
Jab, jab by McCarthy - just one landing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
McCarthy keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCarthy scores with a nice right hand.
McCarthy paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Gruber scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
McCarthy is looking for a sweep. Gruber is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ground and pound from Gruber.
McCarthy is trying to stand up here but Gruber is controlling him well.
Gruber winds up and cracks McCarthy with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gruber lands strikes from half guard.
Gruber scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Gruber throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Gruber blocks the strikes from McCarthy.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Gruber closes the distance and clinches up with McCarthy, looking for a takedown. Gruber pushes McCarthy against the cage but McCarthy circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Red McCarthy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Hans Gruber.
McCarthy throws the kick towards the body but Gruber avoids it.
Gruber shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts McCarthy as he jumps to the side.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy missing with a left hand there. Gruber was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
McCarthy doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Gruber counters with a single leg into guard. McCarthy didn't expect that.
Gruber lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Gruber throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gruber is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hans Gruber has got the better of the ground game so far.
Gruber content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
McCarthy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
McCarthy utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Gruber avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
McCarthy manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
This has been an exciting period of action!

McCarthy working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy prevents Gruber from getting the reversal.
McCarthy lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Gruber is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Hans Gruber is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
McCarthy lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Gruber hang on?
Gruber is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
McCarthy lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Gruber is squirming around, avoiding McCarthy's attempts to control the action.
Gruber is trying desperately to improve position.

That's four 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.
McCarthy scoring with strikes but Gruber is staying in there.
Gruber controls the position.
Gruber is bucking up trying to escape but McCarthy cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Red McCarthy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gruber working to try and regain half guard.
A nice elbow there by McCarthy.
McCarthy trying to control but Gruber is having none of it.
Gruber wants to control but McCarthy is having none of it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McCarthy landing strikes from the mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Red McCarthy showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Gruber has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hans Gruber!