PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Dan Cardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rocco Hardstone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hardstone has chosen tempel of india as his entrance music. Rocco Hardstone will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Cardy
vs
Hardstone

175 cm
22
155 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

190 cm
24
162 lbs
9 - 7 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Knockout power

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 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Dan Cardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Rocco Hardstone!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Colin Fotheringham and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardstone throws a right hand that Cardy ducks under and follows up with a left that Cardy also avoids with ease.
Hardstone tries to clinch but Cardy moves out of range.
Rocco Hardstone seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Cardy is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Hardstone's half guard.
Cardy prevents Hardstone from improving his position.
Hardstone is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Hardstone is not content to let Cardy control the position.
Hardstone is looking for a sweep. Cardy is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Cardy wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hardstone keeps working.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cardy prevents Hardstone from improving his position.
Cardy trying to mount his opponent but Hardstone defends it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hardstone rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cardy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hardstone stuffs the takedown attempt from Cardy. Cardy gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardstone misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hardstone is looking to clinch but Cardy is avoiding it.
Cardy throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Cardy tries a head kick but it misses.
Hardstone is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Hardstone blocks a head kick by Cardy.
A punch combination from Hardstone misses.
Hardstone tries to clinch up but Cardy circles away and keeps his distance.
Cardy slips a jab and a cross from Hardstone.
Hardstone looks gassed!
Hardstone throws a right hand that Cardy ducks under and follows up with a left that Cardy also avoids with ease.
Cardy avoids a punch combination nicely.
Hardstone is looking to clinch.

Cardy rushes Hardstone and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Cardy.
Cardy using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Cardy changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Hardstone fights it off and pushes away nicely.

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.

Cardy shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Hardstone has hold of Cardy's hands but Cardy slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Cardy wants to take a breather but Hardstone is having none of it.
Cardy passes the guard and advances to mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Cardy looking to secure an arm triangle but Hardstone defends it well.
Hardstone throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.

Cardy is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Hardstone throws a series of punches but Cardy avoids them all with ease.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardstone tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Hardstone takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Hardstone throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Cardy is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Hardstone's half guard.
Cardy wants to stand up but Hardstone has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Hardstone manages to get to full guard.
Hardstone keeping moving, preventing Cardy from controlling successfully.
Hardstone wants to sweep here but Cardy controlling him for the moment.
Hardstone keeping full guard, as Cardy tries to pass.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cardy wants to stand but Hardstone is controlling his posture from full guard.
Cardy wants to control from the top but Hardstone keeps moving.
Hardstone is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Cardy is trying to get back to full guard.
Hardstone seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Cardy might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Cardy wants to control but Hardstone is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Hardstone passes to side control.
Hardstone working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Cardy dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Hardstone throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
No joy there for Hardstone, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hardstone misses with a series of wild punches.
Hardstone avoids the head kick by Cardy.
Cardy throws a sloppy head kick and Hardstone moves out of range easily.
Hardstone wants to clinch
and Cardy counters with a straight right hand.
Hardstone falls off balance throwing a combination

and Cardy counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Hardstone!

Cardy looking to secure an arm triangle but Hardstone defends it well.
Cardy moves to take his opponent's back.
Hardstone tries to escape the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cardy is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Hardstone knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Hardstone for a finish.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hardstone manages to reverse the position and now he's in Cardy's guard. Nice work there by Hardstone.
Hardstone works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Cardy is looking to control Hardstone's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Cardy avoid being mounted?
Hardstone works his way into full mount!
Cardy keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardstone looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Hardstone cracks Cardy with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hardstone lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Cardy hang on?
Cardy in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Hardstone cracks Cardy with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Cardy keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Hardstone lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
BOOM! Hardstone connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Hardstone landing punches.
Hardstone working Cardy over with strikes here.
Cardy manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Hardstone wants to free his trapped foot but Cardy is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardstone throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Hardstone wants to free his trapped foot but Cardy is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Hardstone passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Cardy!
BOOM! Hardstone connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Hardstone postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Cardy looks a forlorn figure.
Cardy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Hardstone postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Cardy looks a forlorn figure.
Cardy is working to get back to half guard.
Cardy tries to hold on but Hardstone pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Cardy taking shots to the head.
Hardstone is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Cardy can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Hardstone has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
You get the feeling that Cardy really doesn't like being in this position too much.
A nice elbow there by Hardstone.
Hardstone looking to finish Cardy with some ground and pound. This is bad for Cardy!
Hardstone landing shots from mount.
Hardstone with a couple of short strikes.
A nice elbow there by Hardstone.
Hardstone has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Cardy's face.
Cardy slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Cardy is looking to escape.
Hardstone lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Hardstone is nestled in close to Cardy, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Dan Cardy will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Cardy closes the distance and clinches.
Cardy gets underhooks to prevent Hardstone's takedown attempt.
Cardy's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Cardy has had enough of the clinch but Hardstone keeps him there for the moment.
Cardy wants a takedown but no success here.
Cardy tries to circle away but Hardstone has him pinned against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cardy changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Hardstone fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Cardy circles away from the clinch attempt
and Cardy counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hardstone misses with the combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardstone rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cardy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hardstone fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Hardstone gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Cardy to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Cardy has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Hardstone tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Cardy trying to control but Hardstone is working from the bottom.
Hardstone looking to hit a scissor sweep but Cardy is one step ahead there.
Cardy trying to control the position from guard on top but Hardstone is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hardstone is on top in guard.
Rocco Hardstone has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cardy has momentary wrist control but Hardstone slips an elbow through the middle.
Hardstone wants to pass the guard but Cardy is keeping the position.
Hardstone passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Cardy is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Cardy takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Cardy is looking to reverse the position.
Hardstone lands some shots froms side control.
Cardy is trying to improve his position.
Hardstone is chipping away with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cardy gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Hardstone sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cardy defending well though.
Cardy is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Hardstone's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Hardstone's back!
Cardy tries to get the hooks in deep but Hardstone pushed the leg off.
Hardstone rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Cardy seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Cardy looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Hardstone works his way to full guard. Good work.
Cardy tries to free his leg and advance position but Hardstone is retaining full guard.
Cardy preventing the sweep.
Hardstone keeping moving, preventing Cardy from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardstone throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hardstone is on top in guard.
Hardstone won't allow Cardy to sweep him here.
Cardy not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Hardstone got a little sloppy there for a moment and Cardy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Hardstone has managed to get both his arms back between Cardy's legs - danger averted.

Cardy has his foot on Hardstone's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Hardstone works his way back into a safe position though.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hardstone passes Cardy's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Cardy is in trouble now - Hardstone has advanced to mount!
Hardstone lands a heavy elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rocco Hardstone.
Well Cardy has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dan Cardy!