PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bart Guthrie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Santa Claus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Claus's choice of entrance music: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. Santa Claus is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Guthrie
vs
Claus

193 cm
19
258 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

208 cm
19
280 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bart Guthrie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Santa Claus!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Summer Carpenter and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Claus motions for Guthrie to come forward. Claus throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A swing and a miss from Guthrie.

Claus clinches up with Guthrie and pushes him back against the cage.
Claus gets underhooks to prevent Guthrie's takedown attempt.
Guthrie has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Claus avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Guthrie looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bart Guthrie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Guthrie tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Guthrie changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Claus fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Claus keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Guthrie shoots in but Claus avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Nice takedown defense from Claus. No joy for Guthrie on that attempt.
Guthrie fails with the takedown.
Claus fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Claus pushes Guthrie up against the cage in a clinch.
Guthrie tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Guthrie breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Claus circles away from the clinch attempt

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

Guthrie 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.
Guthrie wants to control from the top but Claus keeps moving.
Guthrie is breathing heavily.
Claus seems keen to control Guthrie's posture.
Claus working a defensive guard here.
Guthrie won't allow Claus to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Claus is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Guthrie managing to block the knees to the body from Claus.
Guthrie wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Guthrie has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Claus clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Guthrie throwing strikes and Claus squirms under the pressure, ending up mounted.
Claus can't escape the position.
Claus is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Claus blocking the ground and pound.
Claus is squirming around, avoiding Guthrie's attempts to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guthrie landing strikes, looking to finish!
Claus in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

It looks like Santa Claus has been cut.
Guthrie has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Claus's face.
Guthrie scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Claus working to try and regain half guard.
Claus tries to hold on but Guthrie postures up.
Guthrie is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Claus can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Guthrie knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Claus on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Guthrie misses with a head shot.
Guthrie misses with a head shot.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Guthrie landing strikes from the mount.
Guthrie connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Guthrie controlling his opponent.
Guthrie throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Guthrie landing shots from mount.

That has opened up Santa Claus's cut even more.
Guthrie working the ground and pound effectively.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bart Guthrie dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Santa Claus's cut.
That's time! Guthrie's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Guthrie with a lazy takedown attempt
and Claus counters with a slapping leg kick.

Claus rushes Guthrie and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Guthrie breaks from the clinch.
Guthrie shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Claus counters with a nice leg kick.
Claus throws out a leg kick but Guthrie moves out of range and Claus only half commits.
Guthrie fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bart Guthrie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Claus throws a leg kick but Guthrie sees it coming and checks it nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Guthrie throws a left and a right that both miss

and Claus counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Claus.
Guthrie has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Claus avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Claus wants to stall.

Guthrie tightens his grip and picks Claus up, before dumping him to the ground. Claus manages to land in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guthrie trying to control but Claus is working from the bottom.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Guthrie throwing strikes from guard but Claus blocks nicely.
Guthrie loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Guthrie missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Claus is working an open guard so Guthrie takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Guthrie tries for a takedown but Claus sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Claus closes the distance but Guthrie moves to the side

and Guthrie counters by clinching up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Claus jumps into guard, dragging Guthrie to the mat.
Claus pulls Guthrie in close to prevent any damage.
Claus trying to control the position.
Guthrie might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Guthrie stands up from Claus's guard - Guthrie perhaps looking for a knockout.
Bart Guthrie is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A telegraphed right hand from Guthrie misses the target.
Santa Claus is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Guthrie shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Claus counters with a good low kick that Guthrie was not able to check.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guthrie avoids a low kick by using good footwork.

Guthrie rushes Claus and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Guthrie here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Guthrie tries for a takedown but Claus manages to get underhooks.
Claus gets underhooks to prevent Guthrie's takedown attempt.
Guthrie misses with a punch on the inside.
Claus controlling the action here for a moment.
Claus trying to stall but Guthrie improves his position.

Guthrie wants the takedown. Claus is fighting it off but Guthrie persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Claus's guard against the cage.
Claus utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Guthrie has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Guthrie chips away with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Claus utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Guthrie trying to control the position from guard on top but Claus is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Claus not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Guthrie throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Claus wants to control the position but Guthrie says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Guthrie thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Guthrie with the ground and pound but Claus uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Guthrie loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bart Guthrie dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Santa Claus's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Guthrie gets a takedown into half guard.
Guthrie working Claus over with strikes.
Claus is trying to stand.
Guthrie missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Guthrie thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Guthrie looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Claus with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Guthrie seems to be looking for submissions.

Claus has one foot on Guthrie's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good work by Guthrie as he checks the leg kick.
Guthrie has his takedown stuffed
and Claus counters with a nice low kick that buckles Guthrie's knee momentarily.
Guthrie shoots in for a double leg but Claus sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Bart Guthrie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Claus will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Claus fails in his attempt to clinch.
Guthrie misses the body punch
and Claus counters with a leg kick.
Claus stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bart Guthrie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Guthrie swats away the attempt to clinch by Claus.
Guthrie checks the leg kick nicely there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Claus is looking to chop away at Guthrie's legs.
Claus tries to clinch but Guthrie is having none of it.
A big left from Guthrie misses.
Claus fails with an attempt to clinch.

Claus tries to keep at a distance but Guthrie has taken the fight into the clinch.
Guthrie drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Guthrie drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Claus gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Claus trying to land knees to the body.
Claus fails to pull guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guthrie is working for takedown but Claus is calmly controlling the position for now.
Guthrie on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Guthrie is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Claus pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Guthrie drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Claus gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Claus has had enough of the clinch but Guthrie keeps him there for the moment.
Claus is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Guthrie is keeping busy.
Guthrie is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Claus gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Guthrie jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Claus walks away with a smile on his face. Guthrie gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Claus avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Guthrie fails with the takedown
and Claus counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Claus misses with a low kick as Guthrie jumps back.
Guthrie misses with a takedown

and Claus moves into the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Guthrie has had enough of the clinch but Claus keeps him there for the moment.
Claus looking to stall.
Guthrie will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Claus up against the cage.
Bart Guthrie is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Claus breaks from the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Bart Guthrie.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Guthrie, 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 Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bart Guthrie!