PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Melvin Manhoeff (ranked 2387 p4p, 863 weight class) and Archie Laird (ranked 301 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Manhoeff
vs
Laird

180 cm
27
218
6 - 4 - 0

180 cm
27
211
9 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

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 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Melvin Manhoeff!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Archie Laird!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Winston Alpacca and Michael Johnstone.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A shot to the body from Laird misses

and Manhoeff counters with a shoot takedown. Laird fights it but they end up in guard.
Manhoeff has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Laird controls Manhoeff momentarily but Manhoeff frees himself.
Manhoeff working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Manhoeff has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Manhoeff scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Laird avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Laird 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.
Manhoeff content to stall in guard here.
Our spies down at at Acme Island Savages inform us that Laird has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Manhoeff lands a couple of elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Laird looking to control.
Manhoeff wants to pass the guard but Laird is keeping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laird is trying to control the position but Manhoeff postures up.
Manhoeff is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Laird working a defensive guard here.
Manhoeff connects with a couple of short punches.
Manhoeff throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Laird looking to hit a scissor sweep but Manhoeff is one step ahead there.
Manhoeff postures up in Laird's guard and throws a big left but Laird blocks it.

Laird is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Manhoeff postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Manhoeff accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Manhoeff trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Laird not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Laird avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Laird is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Manhoeff missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Manhoeff throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Laird works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Manhoeff throwing strikes from guard but Laird blocks nicely.
Manhoeff trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Laird 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.
Laird working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Manhoeff.
Laird is trying to keep Manhoeff in close.
Manhoeff makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laird manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Manhoeff manages to get himself to full guard.

Manhoeff on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Manhoeff tries to get out of the position.
Manhoeff controlling Laird's posture.
Manhoeff wants to sweep here but Laird controlling him for the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Laird accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Laird connects with a couple of short punches.
Laird keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Manhoeff's head.
Laird postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Manhoeff is pulling down on Laird's head to control his posture.
Laird preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manhoeff is working hard here to advance position.
Manhoeff is trying to control the position but Laird postures up.
Manhoeff trying to strike off his back.
Manhoeff avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Manhoeff seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Manhoeff looking to hit a scissor sweep but Laird is one step ahead there.
Laird trying to control but Manhoeff is working from the bottom.
Manhoeff tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Laird stands up over Manhoeff, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Manhoeff wants to hit a sweep here but Laird passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Manhoeff there!
Manhoeff is trying to escape the mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Melvin Manhoeff dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Laird looks to throw the jab but Manhoeff is out of range.

Manhoeff gets the takedown into side control.
Laird manages to get back to half guard.
Laird wants to get back to full guard.
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. Manhoeff connects with a nice short shot to Laird's temple.
Laird tries to roll over but Manhoeff keeps him under control.
Laird is staying active underneath Manhoeff, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Manhoeff throwing shots but Laird is blocking nicely.
Ground and pound from Manhoeff.
Laird blocking the ground and pound attempt from Manhoeff.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manhoeff thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Laird's head.
Laird blocking the ground and pound attempt from Manhoeff.
Manhoeff thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Laird's head.
Laird trying to hold on to Manhoeff's head to control him but Manhoeff postures up.
Laird wants to improve his position but Manhoeff is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manhoeff seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Manhoeff thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Manhoeff thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Laird's head.
Laird makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Laird.
Manhoeff with a nice head shot there.
Laird pulls Manhoeff in close to prevent any damage.
Manhoeff is working Laird over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Manhoeff loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Manhoeff throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Laird is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Manhoeff trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manhoeff is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Laird is trying to control the position but Manhoeff postures up.
Manhoeff trying to control but Laird is working from the bottom.
Manhoeff trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Manhoeff with a nice head shot there.
Melvin Manhoeff overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Laird seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Manhoeff is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Laird can do to turn this around?
Manhoeff scoring with punches to the head and body.
Laird working a defensive guard here.
Manhoeff scoring with some ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Manhoeff's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manhoeff scoring with punches to the head and body.
Manhoeff looking to sit in guard and control but Laird gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Manhoeff bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Laird's guard.

Manhoeff's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Manhoeff keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Laird's head.
Manhoeff trying to control the position from guard on top but Laird is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Laird avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Manhoeff throws a big right hand that misses.
Laird 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.
Manhoeff landing some decent shots from guard.
Manhoeff trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laird wants to sweep here but Manhoeff controlling him for the moment.
Laird is trying to control the position but Manhoeff postures up.
Laird avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Laird 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.
Manhoeff throwing strikes but missing.
Manhoeff wants to control from the top but Laird keeps moving.
Manhoeff is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Manhoeff showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Laird utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Melvin Manhoeff dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Laird misses the shot to the body.
Manhoeff jabbing away but nothing is landing.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Laird enables Manhoeff to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Laird manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Manhoeff stays in close to Laird's body and controls the position.
Laird is trying to keep Manhoeff in close.
Manhoeff works over Laird with some ground and pound from guard.
Manhoeff trying to control the position from guard on top but Laird is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Manhoeff is working Laird over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manhoeff trying to control the position from guard on top but Laird is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Manhoeff won't allow Laird to sweep him here.
Manhoeff working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manhoeff working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Manhoeff accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Laird trying to control the position.
Laird lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Manhoeff looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Laird puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Manhoeff is looking to improve his position.
Manhoeff blocking the ground and pound attempt from Laird.
Manhoeff wants to improve his position but Laird is controlling well.
Laird looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manhoeff gets full guard.
Laird wants to control from the top but Manhoeff keeps moving.
Manhoeff controlling the position.
Laird with a flurry of punches that miss.
Laird pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Manhoeff is keeping the position for now.
Manhoeff is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Laird moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Manhoeff scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manhoeff trying to control the position from guard on top but Laird is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Manhoeff stopping the sweep attempt from Laird.
Manhoeff trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Manhoeff content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Laird is looking for a triangle but Manhoeff pushes his legs off easily.
Manhoeff working some strikes from top position.
Manhoeff stands up over Laird, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Manhoeff is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Manhoeff scoring with some ground and pound.
Manhoeff cracks Laird with a solid left hand.
Manhoeff loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Manhoeff is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manhoeff trying to control the position from guard on top but Laird is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Archie Laird has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Laird avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Laird avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Manhoeff postures up in Laird's guard and throws a big left but Laird blocks it.

Laird is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Manhoeff defends well.
Manhoeff working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Laird throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Laird keeping moving, preventing Manhoeff from controlling successfully.
Manhoeff postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Melvin Manhoeff is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Manhoeff lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Melvin Manhoeff showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Manhoeff, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Bart Greer scores the fight for Melvin Manhoeff!
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight for Melvin Manhoeff!
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight for Melvin Manhoeff!

Melvin Manhoeff wins by unanimous decision!