PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Sohal (ranked 16360 p4p, 3681 weight class) and Bejamin Gold (ranked 792 p4p, 503 weight class). Bejamin Gold told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Sohal
vs
Gold

188 cm
21
208
1 - 3 - 0

188 cm
28
212
5 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, John Sohal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bejamin Gold!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Chris Downing and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gold throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sohal attempts a counter takedown but Gold avoids it well and moves away.
A nice combination there by Gold.
Gold throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sohal feinted with a counter takedown.
Gold connects with a body shot that sends Sohal's belly button to the back.
Sohal takes a jab right on the kisser.
Gold misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Sohal.
Sohal drops down looking for a counter takedown but Gold sprawls and moves away.
Gold throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gold misses with a double jab

and Sohal counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sohal tries to pass the half guard into mount. Gold knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Sohal.

Sohal is working for a kimura but Gold is defending it quite comfortably.
Well, if Sohal is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Sohal winds up and cracks Gold with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gold is trying to stand up here but Sohal is controlling him well.
Sohal is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Sohal trying to pass the guard but Gold defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gold taking some punishment here, with Sohal in his half guard.
Sohal is controlling the pace.
Gold is trying to stand back up but Sohal is controlling him

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Sohal.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Sohal lands a nice short elbow.
Nice strikes from Sohal there.
Sohal winds up and cracks Gold with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Sohal stalling.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Sohal connects with a nice short shot to Gold's temple.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sohal is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Sohal looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Gold with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sohal is trying to control the action in half guard but Gold is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Gold wants to get back to his feet.
Sohal drops an elbow to the side of Gold's head.
Sohal is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Sohal is keen to just control but Gold is a slippery customer.
Gold is trying to stand.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gold is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

Sohal is working for an americana but Gold has been sneaky and has managed to get back to half guard, whilst Sohal was thinking about the submission.
Sohal connects with a couple of short punches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Gold fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sohal manages to avoid it.
Gold looks to land a left hand but Sohal moved out of range nicely.
Sohal feinted with a counter takedown.
Sohal avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sohal drops down looking for a counter takedown but Gold sprawls and moves away.
Sohal is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Gold throws a combination that misses

and Sohal counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sohal.
Sohal is in close to Gold's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Sohal stays in close to Gold's body and controls the position.
John Sohal overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sohal thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Gold is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gold wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Sohal manages to pass to side control.
Sohal trying to control the action but Gold is working from the bottom.
Gold tries to kick Sohal off but Sohal keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Sohal is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Sohal trying to mount his opponent but Gold defends it.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sohal in particular looking to stall.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Sohal uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gold.
Sohal tries to counter with a takedown but Gold is quick to defend against it.
Gold looks to land a left hand but Sohal moved out of range nicely.
Sohal half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Gold jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sohal changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Sohal showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gold.
Sohal half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Sohal showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gold.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gold throws a nice looking combination but Sohal bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Gold misses with a hook

and Sohal counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Gold!
Gold wants to get back to his feet but Sohal drags him back down.
Gold tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Sohal has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Sohal landing strikes from the mount.
Sohal landing strikes, looking to finish!
You get the feeling that Gold really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Sohal sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Sohal connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Sohal is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gold can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Sohal goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Gold is on top in guard.

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

Gold got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sohal has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Gold has managed to get both his arms back between Sohal's legs - danger averted.
Gold must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gold wanted to stand there but Sohal had control of the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

John Sohal dominated that second 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Gold ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Sohal moves away.
Bejamin Gold seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gold throws a hook but Sohal blocks it.
Sohal attempts a counter takedown but Gold avoids it well and moves away.
Gold just misses with a punch to the body.
Sohal takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Sohal moves out of range of the strikes.
Sohal changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Gold misses with a double jab.
Gold pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bejamin Gold is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gold throws a body shot but no joy.
Sohal changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Bejamin Gold seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Gold throws a hook but Sohal blocks it.
Gold has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Sohal is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Gold throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sohal feinted with a counter takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gold misses with a looping right.
Gold throws a series of punches but Sohal moves out of range.
Gold throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sohal appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Gold looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gold throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sohal defending well as Gold loads up on a big left hand.
Sohal half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Gold swinging wildly here.
Sohal changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Gold rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Sohal counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sohal controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gold wants to stand but Sohal is controlling the position.
Sohal tries to free his leg and advance position but Gold is retaining full guard.
Sohal slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Sohal postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Sohal keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gold's head.
Sohal wants to pass the guard but Gold is keeping the position.

Gold pushes Sohal off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gold throws a combination that misses

and Sohal counters with a nice double leg into side control. Gold won't be happy with that.
Sohal scoring with punches and elbows.
Sohal wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gold keeps working.
Gold is trying to escape the position but Sohal is controlling the position.

Sohal tries for a kimura but Gold is defending well.
Sohal is looking to take a break and control but Gold is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Bejamin Gold has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sohal controls the position.
Gold is not content to let Sohal control the position.
Gold tries to escape but Sohal is in control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gold is not content to let Sohal control the position.
Sohal is putting a hurting on Gold here, landing some big shots from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bejamin Gold comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Sohal 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Sohal!