PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tommy Hughes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alistair Overeem (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hughes kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Hard To See. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Hughes
vs
Overeem

193 cm
19
225 lbs
4 - 7 - 0

185 cm
20
265 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Granite 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 4 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tommy Hughes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alistair Overeem!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, George Francis and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hughes fails with a takedown attempt.

Overeem looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Hughes kicks off Overeem and gets to his feet.
Hughes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hughes misses with a hook. Overeem ducked under it nicely.
Hughes stalks Overeem and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Overeem's face. Overeem staggers backwards, shaken.

It looks like Alistair Overeem has been cut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Overeem tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hughes paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Overeem tries to score a power double leg takedown but Hughes sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Overeem somewhat.
Hughes misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Overeem drives through and clinches with Hughes against the cage.
Knees to the body from Overeem.
Hughes tries to break the clinch but Overeem is controlling the position.

Overeem manages to break the clinch.
Overeem is looking to clinch.
Hughes swinging wilding here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes misses with a series of wild punches.
A jab from Hughes misses.
Tommy Hughes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Overeem drives through with a takedown into guard.

Hughes manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Overeem shoots in but Hughes avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Overeem keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hughes is breathing heavily.
Overeem showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hughes.
Hughes misses with a double jab.
Overeem misses with a two punch combination.
Overeem tries to clinch but Hughes moves out of range.

Overeem moves into the clinch.
Hughes wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Overeem pulls guard successfully.
Hughes tries to stand but Overeem is controlling from the bottom.
Overeem trying to keep a closed guard but Hughes is proving a slippery customer.
Hughes has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Overeem is proving hard to escape from.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Overeem looking for a sweep. Not yet Overeem, not yet.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Hughes misses with a combination

and Overeem counters with a nice double leg into side control. Hughes won't be happy with that.
Hughes stops Overeem from passing to mount.
Hughes is trying to get back to his feet.
Hughes trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Hughes is not content to let Overeem control the position.
Hughes tries to escape but Overeem is in control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Overeem decides to stand up, so the ref orders Hughes to his feet.
A combination from Hughes does no damage.
Overeem tries to clinch there but Hughes circles away.
Hughes is looking to clinch.
Overeem blocks a jab.
Hughes swats away the attempt to clinch by Overeem.
Hughes throws a series of punches but Overeem avoids them all with ease.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hughes defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Overeem.
Tommy Hughes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alistair Overeem.
Hughes throws a right and a left that both miss.

Overeem drives through and clinches with Hughes against the cage.

Overeem pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Alistair Overeem will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Alistair Overeem's cut.
That's time! Hughes's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Hughes falls off balance throwing a combination

and Overeem counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Overeem must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hughes wants to stand up but Overeem is controlling him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Overeem wants to control from the top but Hughes keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Overeem postures up and lands a big shot to Hughes's brow.
Overeem won't allow Hughes to get back to his feet.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Hughes throws a right and a left that Overeem avoids nicely.
Overeem misses with a takedown attempt - Hughes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Hughes throws a left and a right that both miss

and Overeem counters with a takedown into side control.
Hughes tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
The referee is taking a good look at Hughes as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Overeem!
Hughes trying to get back to his feet but Overeem is in full control for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Overeem is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Hughes up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hughes is trying to get back to his feet but Overeem has full control of the position and if anything, Hughes has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Overeem scores with punches and elbows.
Overeem is looking to control Hughes but Hughes is wriggling around and keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Overeem scores with punches and elbows.
Hughes wants to get back to his feet.
Hughes covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Overeem scores with a nice shot to the head of his opponent. Hughes is looking for a way out.
Overeem is working the ground and pound. Can Hughes escape?
Hughes has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Overeem's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hughes is looking to stand back up. He's having to work hard to escape but eventually he manages it.
Hughes swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Overeem counters with a takedown into side control.
Overeem takes a little break here. Hughes wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Hughes is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Hughes on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Hughes tries to get out of the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
You can see the frustration on Hughes's face as Overeem controls the position.
Hughes pushes Overeem away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Overeem gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Overeem moves into the clinch.

Overeem jumps guard.

Hughes gets to his feet. Overeem looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Overeem walks into a stiff left hand from Hughes.
Hughes lands with an uppercut that bounces Overeem off the cage and back into rage.
Overeem slips a jab and a cross from Hughes.
Hughes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Overeem moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Overeem shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Hughes napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Alistair Overeem has got the better of the ground game so far.

Overeem decides to stand up, so the ref orders Hughes to his feet.
Overeem shoots in but Hughes avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Hughes throws a combination that misses

and Overeem decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Hughes's guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Hughes pushes Overeem off and scrambles back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Overeem takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Hughes tries for a takedown but Overeem circles away easily

and Overeem moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Overeem lands a damaging elbow.
Overeem pressing his opponent against the cage.
Overeem jumps guard but Hughes stands there with Overeem around his waist. Overeem gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Nice body punch from Hughes.
Hughes drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hughes wants to get back to striking at distance but Overeem won't allow it.
Overeem tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hughes smiles and moves away.
Tommy Hughes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alistair Overeem.
Overeem dodges the punch combination from Hughes.
Tommy Hughes is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Overeem moves into the clinch.
Overeem has Hughes pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Hughes manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Hughes looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Overeem fails to pull guard.
Hughes is trying to break the clinch but Overeem has him pressed against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Hughes as Overeem tries to tie him up.
Hughes wants to break free but Overeem has control.
Hughes wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Overeem has him pressed against the cage.
Overeem keeps control of Hughes as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Overeem tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Hughes working hard to break the clinch.
Overeem drops down looking for an ankle pick but Hughes pulls his leg out and moves away.
Hughes throws a right and a left that Overeem avoids nicely.
Hughes throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Overeem counters by moving into the clinch.
Overeem scores with a knee to the head.

Overeem's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hughes gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Overeem counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Overeem lands a couple of elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Overeem wants to control from the top but Hughes keeps moving.

Hughes pushes Overeem off and scrambles back to his feet.

Overeem closes the distance and clinches.
Hughes tries to break free but Overeem pushes him back against the cage.
Hughes is trying to break free.
Hughes is working for takedown but Overeem is calmly controlling the position for now.
Hughes takes an elbow to the temple.
Hughes takes a knee right on the jaw!

Overeem manages to break the clinch.
Hughes fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Overeem misses with a few strikes there.
Hughes misses with a double jab

and Overeem counters with a single leg into guard. Hughes didn't expect that.
Hughes wants to stand but Overeem is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hughes scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Overeem cracks Hughes with a right hand to the side of the head.
Hughes tries to bum rush Overeem with a series of wild strikes but Overeem uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hughes misses with a double jab

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

Overeem pulls guard effortlessly.
Hughes wants to get up but he can't break Overeem's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alistair Overeem comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Overeem winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 27:30
Judge George Francis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alistair Overeem!