PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Cormac McCarthy (ranked 4770 p4p, 4883 weight class) and Victor Claes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

McCarthy
vs
Claes

183 cm
18
160
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
165
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Cormac McCarthy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Victor Claes!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McCarthy throws a hook but Claes avoids it easily.
McCarthy will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Claes tries to counter with a clinch but McCarthy shakes him off and moves away.
McCarthy on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
McCarthy connects with the punch.
Claes shoots in looking for a takedown. McCarthy tries to sprawl out of it but Claes keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. McCarthy manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Claes is trying hard to land a takedown here. McCarthy sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Claes instigates a clinch.
McCarthy's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Claes is defending well against a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Claes.
Claes dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Claes blocking some punches.
McCarthy misses with a hook to the ribs.

Claes breaks from the clinch.

McCarthy pushes Claes up against the cage in a clinch.
Claes's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Claes scores with a nice hook to the head.
McCarthy drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
McCarthy swings wildly with an uppercut but Claes uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Claes breaks the clinch.
McCarthy misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cormac McCarthy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
McCarthy tries to clinch but Claes moves out of range.
Claes tries for a takedown but McCarthy sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
McCarthy throws a one two combo.
McCarthy throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
McCarthy shoots in but no luck this time.
Claes throws a looping overhand right but McCarthy ducks down to avoid it.
McCarthy looks to land a combination but Claes avoids it well.
Claes changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Claes misses with an uppercut. McCarthy saw that one coming.
McCarthy stuffs the takedown.
Claes with a poor takedown
and McCarthy counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Claes will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
McCarthy connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
McCarthy jabbing away but nothing is landing.

McCarthy takes the fight into the clinch.
McCarthy lands with a light punch inside.
Claes blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Claes blocks a punch to the side of the head.
McCarthy misses with a body punch.
McCarthy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy misses with a hook to the ribs.
McCarthy is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
McCarthy prevents the takedown attempt.
McCarthy gets underhooks to prevent Claes's takedown attempt.
McCarthy is looking to control Claes's arms but Claes gets an underhook and turns him. Now McCarthy has his back to the cage.
McCarthy wants a takedown.
Claes tries for a takedown. No joy.
McCarthy misses with the head strike.
Claes blocks a body shot from McCarthy.
McCarthy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Claes is trying to pull guard but McCarthy turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
McCarthy is working Claes over against the cage.
Claes blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
McCarthy misses with the head strike.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

McCarthy throws a big shot that misses.
McCarthy fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Claes shoots in looking for a takedown but McCarthy manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Claes's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
McCarthy has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
McCarthy looks to throw the jab but Claes is out of range.
Claes takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
The fighters circle momentarily. McCarthy darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Claes takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Claes will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
McCarthy swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
McCarthy misses with a jab, cross combination.
McCarthy misses the shot to the body.
Claes doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Claes bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps McCarthy's head backwards.
McCarthy looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
McCarthy has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Claes.
McCarthy jabs at Claes's body.
Cormac McCarthy is winning the standup battle so far.
McCarthy lands with a right hand.
Claes misses with a takedown attempt
and McCarthy connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cormac McCarthy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Victor Claes.
McCarthy lands a really nice looking cross but Claes seems unphased.
Claes is looking to land body kicks.
McCarthy misses with a jab, cross combination.
Claes throws a head kick that half lands.
Claes is breathing heavily.
Claes fails to land with a series of punches.
Horrible takedown attempt by McCarthy or perhaps it was just good defense by Claes, which made it look bad.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Claes shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says McCarthy as he avoids it easily.
McCarthy takes a swing at Claes's ribcage but misses.
McCarthy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Claes looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
McCarthy looks to land a combination but Claes avoids it well.
A jab from McCarthy does it's job there.
Claes throws a right hand that misses
and McCarthy counters with a right hand to the body.
McCarthy shoots in for a takedown but Claes shows good takedown defense.
A shot to the liver by McCarthy. Beautiful body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy misses the shot to the body.
Claes walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

McCarthy scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Claes tries to bench press McCarthy off him but McCarthy keeps the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
McCarthy is putting a hurting on Claes here, landing some big shots from side control.
McCarthy wants to lay and pray for a moment but Claes keeps working.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
McCarthy grinds an elbow into Claes's temple.
Claes can't do much from the bottom here.
Claes manages to work his way to half guard, despite McCarthy's best efforts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Claes actively working from the bottom here.
Nice strikes from McCarthy there.
McCarthy wants to take a breather but Claes is having none of it.
Claes is positioning himself well to prevent McCarthy advancing to mount.
Claes wants to control but McCarthy passes into side.
Claes is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked McCarthy off and has taken his back!
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!
You can see the frustration on McCarthy's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

The fighters circling - McCarthy throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Claes fails in his attempt to clinch.
Claes throws a series of punches but McCarthy avoids them all with ease.
McCarthy defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Claes.
Victor Claes is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Claes tries for a takedown but McCarthy circles away easily
and McCarthy counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Claes thinking.
Claes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but McCarthy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
McCarthy ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Claes moves away.
McCarthy misses with a takedown attempt - Claes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Claes takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A left lands for McCarthy.
Claes doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCarthy smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
McCarthy stuffs the takedown attempt from Claes. Claes gets slowly back to his feet.
Cormac McCarthy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Victor Claes.
Claes avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

McCarthy forces Claes back against the cage and clinches.
McCarthy looking to stall.
McCarthy tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Claes's elbow.
McCarthy has Claes pressed against the cage.
Claes is trying to pull guard but McCarthy has him pressed against the cage.
McCarthy throws a head punch that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy is trying to stall.
The referee calls for McCarthy to work.
Claes blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Claes jumps guard but McCarthy turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Claes tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. McCarthy smiles and moves away.

Claes forces McCarthy back against the cage and clinches.
Cormac McCarthy has scored more points in the clinch so far.
McCarthy has a couple of punches blocked by Claes.
McCarthy is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
McCarthy is looking to control Claes's arms but Claes gets an underhook and turns him. Now McCarthy has his back to the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy is stalling here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Cormac McCarthy.
Jab, jab by McCarthy - just one landing.
McCarthy misses the shot to the body.
Claes ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Claes avoids the body shot from McCarthy.
Claes will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A little feinted left hand from McCarthy on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
McCarthy swings widly with a right hand
and Claes counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
McCarthy connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Claes's hands.
McCarthy lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Claes tries to score a power double leg takedown but McCarthy sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Claes somewhat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCarthy misses with a hook. Claes ducked under it nicely.
Claes displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from McCarthy.
McCarthy tries to clinch but Claes moves out of range.
Claes bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
McCarthy throws a jab when Claes was well out of range.
A big left from McCarthy misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
McCarthy fails in his attempt to clinch.
McCarthy paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Victor Claes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cormac McCarthy is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Claes throws a quick head kick that skims the top of McCarthy's head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cormac McCarthy showed his dominance in that final round.
Well McCarthy 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cormac McCarthy!
Cormac McCarthy seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.