PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Carden (ranked 24490 p4p, 24488 weight class) and Ty Little (ranked 488 p4p, 479 weight class). Carden's entrance music is Simple Man. A fine choice. Thomas Carden had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Carden
vs
Little

174 cm
21
165
1 - 3 - 0

174 cm
19
164
0 - 3 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite 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 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Thomas Carden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ty Little!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Alan Glass and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Little throws the left hand but Carden avoids the punch easily.
Little connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Little throws a leg kick

and Carden holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Carden keeps control of Little as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Little has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A hook to the body from Carden.
Carden misses with a body punch.

Little breaks the clinch.
Little waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Carden.
No joy there for Little, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Carden fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Carden slips under a jab from Little.
Little looks to score with a jab to the body but Carden is just out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Carden moves forwards but Little connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Little misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Carden.
Carden has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Little swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Carden takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
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!
Little throws a body punch but Carden moves out of range.
Carden looks to score with a jab to the body but Little is just out of range.
Carden throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

It looks like Ty Little has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Little does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Little turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Little uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Carden.
Carden stuns Little with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
A chopping leg kick lands by Little.
Carden uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Little.
Carden fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ty Little seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Little avoids the body shot from Carden.

Carden forces Little back against the cage and clinches.

Carden manages to break the clinch.
Little misses with an uppercut.
Carden scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Little looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Carden walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Carden slips under a jab from Little.
Little looks to land a left hand but Carden moved out of range nicely.
Carden slips a jab from Little.
Carden misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
That kick from Little tenderised Carden's leg. Carden is trying to keep his angry face on.

Carden takes the fight into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carden working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Little blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Carden breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Carden will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Some wild striking there from Little.
Decent striking displayed by Little there.
Carden throws a hook but Little avoids it easily.
Carden is looking to wear down Little with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Carden missing with a left hand there. Little was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Little looks to throw the jab but Carden is out of range.
Carden tries to move into range but Little moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Little is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Carden.
Carden looks to score with a jab to the body but Little is just out of range.
Carden avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Carden cracks Little with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Little swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Carden counters with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Little with a jab.
Little throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Carden looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Carden fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Little connects with a nice looking jab.
Carden waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Little.
Little tries to land a front kick but Carden steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
The fighters circle momentarily. Carden darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Carden is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Little dips to his left and cracks Carden with an uppercut!
Little lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Carden uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Little.
Little lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Little swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Carden misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Little.
Carden on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Little scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Little tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Carden is able to avoid easily.
Carden connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Little fails to land the takedown.

Carden pushes Little up against the cage in a clinch.
Carden dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Little blocking some punches.
Carden keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Little's efforts to push away.
A nice left hand lands by Carden.
Little is trying to break the clinch but Carden has him pressed against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Little looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Little looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Little decides to pull guard.
Carden keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Little's head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ty Little will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ty Little's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Little misses with a leg kick.
Little misses with an uppercut.
Carden tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Little paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Little swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Carden cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Carden throws a hook but Little blocks it.
A jab lands there for Little.

Carden clinches with his opponent.
Carden lands an uppercut.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Little is looking to break free of the clinch but Carden has double underhooks.
Carden stalling in the clinch.
Carden works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Carden throws a head punch that misses.
Little wants to break the clinch but can't.

Carden escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Little bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Carden's head.
Carden lands a nice looking body shot.
Thomas Carden is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Carden ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Little clobbers Carden with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Carden misses with a series of wild punches.
Little tries to counter with a clinch but Carden shakes him off and moves away.
Carden gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Little misses with a few strikes there.
A looping hook to the body misses from Carden. Little does a little dance to reset his feet.
Little throws a jab but it's blocked by Carden.
Carden tries to move into range but Little moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Little throws a poor cross that misses
and Carden counters with a straight right hand.
Little misses with a series of wild punches.
Carden wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Carden throws a series of punches but Little moves out of range.
Little throws a chopping leg kick but Carden manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
We've been informed that Little has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Carden throws a one two combo.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Carden throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Carden throws a right and a left that Little avoids nicely.
Some wild striking there from Little.
It looked like Carden wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Little throws a jab when Carden was well out of range.
Carden uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Little.
Carden takes a swing at Little's ribcage but misses.
Carden tries to clinch up but Little circles away and keeps his distance.
Carden needs to keep his hands up - Little had a free shot at his head there.
Little ducks under a wild hook from Carden.
Little cracks Carden with a right hand to the side of the head.
Little looks to throw the jab but Carden is out of range.
Carden uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Little.
A jab from Little does it's job there.
Carden keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Carden throws a right and a left that Little avoids nicely.
Little loads up on a big right hand but Carden slips the punch.

Carden moves into the clinch successfully.
Little letting Carden take a breather here.
Little is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Little wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Little has had enough of the clinch but Carden keeps him there for the moment.
Carden looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

Carden breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Carden displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Little throws out the jab.
Little scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Little throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Little takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Little ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Little swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Little avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Little throws a hook to the side of Carden's head but Carden sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Carden throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Carden clinches up with Little and pushes him back against the cage.
Carden tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Carden fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Little is trying to break free.
Carden stalling against the cage.
Little tries to pull guard but Carden won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Little working hard to break the clinch.
Carden struggles to land a body shot inside as Little controls his hands.
Carden doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Little blocks a body shot from Carden.
A nice right hand lands inside from Carden.

Little drags the fight down to the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Carden postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Carden content to stall in guard here.
Little looking to hit a scissor sweep but Carden is one step ahead there.
Carden controls from within his opponent's guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Thomas Carden will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ty Little's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Little takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Little throws a looping overhand right but Carden ducks down to avoid it.
Little takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Little connects with a solid leg kick.
Little dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Little connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Carden swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Carden walks into a stiff left hand from Little.
A big left from Carden misses.
Little smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Carden uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Little.
Little throws a right hand that Carden ducks under and follows up with a left that Carden also avoids with ease.
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!
Little throws the left hand but Carden avoids the punch easily.
Little cracks Carden with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Little drops his hands momentarily and Carden takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Carden misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Little.
A punch lands to the side of Carden 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Little throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Carden sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Little thows a left - swing and a miss!
Carden fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Little manages to avoid it.
Little turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Little misses with a straight left.
Nice uppercut there from Little.

Carden takes the fight into the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Carden.
Carden stalling in the clinch.
Carden struggles to land a body shot inside as Little controls his hands.
Little is trying to break the clinch but Carden has him pressed against the cage.
Carden prevents Little from breaking the clinch.
Little wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Carden leaning his opponent against the cage.
Carden is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Carden seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carden lands a right hand.
Carden lands an uppercut.
A left hand lands to the body for Carden.

Little jumps guard and drags Carden to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Carden working some strikes from top position.
Carden's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Carden wants to pass the guard but Little is keeping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carden trying to control the position from guard on top but Little is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Carden's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Carden working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Carden with a nice head shot there.
Little is looking to stand up but Carden isn't so interested in that idea.
Carden lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Carden content to stall in guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carden working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Carden postures up in Little's guard and throws a big left but Little blocks it.
Carden trying to move into half guard but instead Little has managed to sweep!

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Little decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Carden, up you get!
Carden throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ty Little seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Little takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Carden missing with a left hand there. Little was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Little throws the left hand but Carden avoids the punch easily.
Little throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Carden.
Little catches Carden with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Carden uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Little lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ty Little.
I think Little has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 27:30
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ty Little!
In his post fight interview, Ty Little started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.
The defeated Thomas Carden had this to say: 'It was a rough night out here, hats off to my opponent. Ima head back to the farm and get back to work. I ain't going out like this again. '.