PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lawrence Cohen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mantis Tobaggan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Mantis Tobaggan was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Cohen
vs
Tobaggan

185 cm
23
210 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

157 cm
22
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Tends to cut

Masaru Fight Gear

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Lawrence Cohen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mantis Tobaggan!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Steve Erwin and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cohen shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Tobaggan but Tobaggan pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Cohen closes this distance looking for a takedown but Tobaggan circles away.
Cohen is looking to clinch.

Tobaggan moves into the clinch.
Tobaggan misses with a body punch.
Tobaggan is pressed up against the cage. Cohen has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Tobaggan down to the mat. Tobaggan avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lawrence Cohen. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Tobaggan closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Cohen to the mat! Cohen manages to get full guard.
Tobaggan really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cohen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Tobaggan controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Cohen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Tobaggan has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Cohen is proving hard to escape from.
Tobaggan looks gassed!
Cohen working a defensive guard here.
Cohen has a closed guard, preventing Tobaggan from standing up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cohen is trying to control the position but Tobaggan postures up.
Tobaggan won't allow Cohen to sweep him here.
Cohen doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Cohen wants to sweep here but Tobaggan controlling him for the moment.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nice shot by Cohen.

It looks like Mantis Tobaggan has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tobaggan keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Cohen with a poor takedown

and Tobaggan counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Tobaggan preventing the sweep.
Tobaggan should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Tobaggan trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Cohen looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Cohen is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Cohen throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Cohen controlling the position.
Cohen keeping moving, preventing Tobaggan from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cohen wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Cohen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Tobaggan has eaten all the pies!
Cohen wants to get back to his feet but Tobaggan is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Cohen working a defensive guard here.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Lawrence Cohen just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Tobaggan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Cohen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Cohen misses with a takedown attempt

and Tobaggan counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Tobaggan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cohen lands an uppercut.
Cohen lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Cohen working some nice short punches in the clinch.

Cohen breaks from the clinch.
Cohen swinging wilding here.
Cohen shoots in but no luck this time.
Cohen throws a lazy right hand but Tobaggan sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

Tobaggan moves into range and clinches up with Cohen.
Tobaggan fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Cohen decides to pull guard.
Tobaggan throws and elbow that misses. Cohen uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Tobaggan's guard. Nice move by Cohen!
Tobaggan wants to hit a switch here but Cohen passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Tobaggan there!
Tobaggan is looking to get to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cohen controlling from the full mount.
Cohen landing strikes from the mount and Tobaggan is in trouble!
Tobaggan is trying to escape the mount.
Cohen putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Cohen misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Cohen looking to control and managing it successfully.
Cohen lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Tobaggan hang on?
Cohen wants to control the pace but Tobaggan is squirming around nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Lawrence Cohen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Mantis Tobaggan's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Cohen gets a clinch.
Cohen tries for a takedown but Tobaggan manages to get underhooks.
Cohen drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Cohen throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.

Cohen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Cohen tries to close the distance and clinch up but Tobaggan swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cohen moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Tobaggan tries to close the distance and clinch but Cohen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cohen misses with a jab, cross combination.

Cohen clinches with his opponent.
Cohen drops down looking for an ankle pick but Tobaggan pulls his leg out and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lawrence Cohen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cohen shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Cohen misses with a takedown

and Tobaggan holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Cohen is pressed up against the cage. Tobaggan has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Cohen down to the mat. Cohen avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cohen moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Cohen wants to clinch up but Tobaggan keeps it at a distance.
Cohen shoots in for a double leg but Tobaggan sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Tobaggan shoots in looking for a takedown. Cohen tries to sprawl out of it but Tobaggan keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cohen manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Cohen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Tobaggan paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Cohen clinches but Tobaggan breaks the clinch

and Tobaggan counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Cohen lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Tobaggan looking for a takedown.

Cohen turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Cohen manages to end up in side control.
Tobaggan bucks up and tries to throw Cohen off but instead Cohen has got his back!
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Tobaggan tries to escape the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cohen is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Cohen's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

Cohen sinks in the hooks and is looking for the choke. He's got it! Tobaggan taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:05 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Lawrence Cohen!