PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Douglas Pearce (ranked 4379 p4p, 4309 weight class) and Jim Marston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Pearce
vs
Marston

195 cm
25
250
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
280
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
KO power

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Solid chin

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 Hilo, Douglas Pearce!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jim Marston!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Josh West and Jeff Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marston throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Pearce scores with a jab. Marston acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Pearce looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Marston is fending him off so far but Pearce persists. Nope, Marston circles away and we're back to standing.
Pearce scores with a nice head shot.
Pearce shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Marston pinned against the cage. Marston gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Marston shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Marston showed some decent athleticism there.
Marston is keen to just control but Pearce is a slippery customer.
Marston trying to advance position but Pearce counters by regaining guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pearce keeping full guard, as Marston tries to pass.
Marston throwing strikes from guard but Pearce blocks nicely.
Marston throwing strikes but missing.
Marston wants to pass the guard but Pearce is keeping the position.
Marston not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Marston has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Marston slips nicely into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Marston is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Pearce reverses the position - he's now on top in Marston's guard.
Pearce landing with the ground and pound.
Marston preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Marston manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Pearce manages to get himself to full guard.

Marston throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Marston tries to free his leg and advance position but Pearce is retaining full guard.
Marston's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Marston pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pearce is keeping the position for now.

Marston drops back looking for a leg! Pearce is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Pearce manages to kick Marston off! Marston jumps back into Pearce's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pearce keeping moving, preventing Marston from controlling successfully.
Marston's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Marston pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pearce is keeping the position for now.
Marston trying to control the position from guard on top but Pearce is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Marston trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Marston keeps trying to improve his position.
Marston is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Marston throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pearce shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Marston but Marston pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Douglas Pearce. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pearce shoots and misses

and Marston decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Pearce's guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

A head kick misses from Marston.
Pearce shoots for a takedown but Marston saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Jim Marston is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Marston keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Pearce shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Douglas Pearce. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Pearce fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Marston to the ground. Pearce is now in Marston's guard.
Marston looking to hit a scissor sweep but Pearce is one step ahead there.
Pearce has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Marston is adopting a defensive guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marston is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marston is looking to take a break and control but Pearce is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marston thows a huge punch but Pearce dodges it nicely.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Marston trying to control from half guard but Pearce is working away.
Pearce avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Marston.
Marston has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Marston controlling the action here.
Pearce avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Marston.
Marston sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Jim Marston has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pearce won't allow Marston to pass to mount.
Marston passes the guard and advances to mount!
Marston trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Marston throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Pearce because Marston loaded up on that one.
Marston sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Pearce wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marston content just to control the position here.
Pearce is squirming around, avoiding Marston's attempts to control the action.
Marston takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Marston throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Poor strikes thrown by Marston there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Marston trying to control but Pearce is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Marston controlling the pace for now.
Marston thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Marston misses with a head shot.
Marston throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Pearce is squirming around, avoiding Marston's attempts to control the action.
Marston controlling his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Marston with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jim Marston showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Marston takes a swing at Pearce's ribcage but misses.
Pearce dives in and grabs Marston's left leg, looking for a takedown. Marston pushes down on Pearce's head and hops out.
Marston throws a series of punches but Pearce moves out of range.
Pearce appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Marston throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nice takedown defense from Marston. No joy for Pearce on that attempt.
Pearce fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
And Marston tries to counter it with a takedown but Pearce pushes his down on his head and steps out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Douglas Pearce. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Marston looks to score with a jab to the body but Pearce is just out of range.
Pearce tries for a takedown but Marston sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Marston just misses with a punch to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marston throws a lazy right hand but Pearce sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Marston just misses with a punch to the body.
Pearce closes the distance but Marston moves to the side

and Marston counters with a shoot takedown. Pearce fights it but they end up in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marston controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Marston wants to control from the top but Pearce keeps moving.
Marston passes into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Marston in particular looking to stall.
Marston tries to pass to full mount but Pearce defends it.
Marston controlling the action here.

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.
Marston sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Pearce defending well though.
Marston stalling away here and it's allowed Pearce to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Marston wants to control from the top but Pearce keeps moving.
Marston passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Marston misses with the ground and pound.
Marston remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Marston looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Marston moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's four 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.
Marston has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Pearce!
Marston looking to ground and pound but Pearce is blocking nicely.
Marston thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Marston tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Poor strikes thrown by Marston there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Marston throws some wild stikes that Pearce manages to avoid easily.
Douglas Pearce has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jim Marston is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Marston controlling his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jim Marston comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Marston has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Josh West scores the fight 26:30
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jim Marston!