PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mike Malhoney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Mir (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Malhoney
vs
Mir

190 cm
21
280 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mike Malhoney!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Frank Mir!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Daniel Franklin and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Malhoney shoots for a takedown but Mir saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Mir gets a clinch.
Mir avoids the elbow strike from Malhoney, against the cage.

Mir breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Malhoney shoots in for a double leg but Mir sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Malhoney is trying hard to land a takedown here. Mir sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mike Malhoney. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mir fails with a takedown attempt.
A head kick misses from Malhoney.
Malhoney throws a sloppy head kick and Mir moves out of range easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Mir closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Malhoney on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Malhoney tries to get out of the position.
Mir lands a few punches from side control.
Mir misses with the ground and pound.
Mir postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mir stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Mir bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Malhoney is trying to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mir is chipping away with strikes.
Mir lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Malhoney down.

Mir decides to stand back up. Mir steps back and let's Malhoney get back to his feet.
Malhoney tries to clinch

and Mir counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Mir.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Malhoney working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mir.
Mir throwing strikes but missing.
Mir trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mir wants to stand but Malhoney is controlling his posture from full guard.
Mir lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Mir trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir wants to stand but Malhoney is controlling his posture from full guard.
Mir looks gassed!
Mir sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Malhoney's guard.
Mir throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Malhoney wants to get back to his feet.
Mir tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

Malhoney pushes Mir off and gets back to his feet.

That's four 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.
Malhoney throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Malhoney gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Mir counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Malhoney!
Mir misses with a head shot.
Mir landing punches.
Malhoney avoids a series of strikes thrown by Mir.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mir throwing strikes here but Malhoney is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Malhoney gets back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Mir dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mir has Malhoney up against the cage in a clinch.
Mir avoids the elbow strike from Malhoney, against the cage.
Malhoney tries to land a knee to the head but Mir blocks with his arms.

Malhoney breaks the clinch.
Mir dodges the punch combination from Malhoney.
Malhoney tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Mir counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Mir seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Mir drops an elbow to the side of Malhoney's head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mir wants to pass to mount but Malhoney is defending the position.

Mir decides to return to a standing position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mir clinches up against the cage.

Malhoney manages to break the clinch.
Malhoney with a poor takedown

and Mir counters with a single leg into guard. Malhoney didn't expect that.
Mir throwing strikes from guard but Malhoney blocks nicely.
Frank Mir has got the better of the ground game so far.
Malhoney keeping full guard, as Mir tries to pass.
Mir has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Mir gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mir tries to clinch up.
Mike Malhoney seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick by Malhoney misses

and Mir counters with a shoot takedown. Malhoney fights it but they end up in guard.

Malhoney is working an open guard so Mir takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Malhoney tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Mir scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Malhoney is pushing Mir's head away, looking to escape. Mir manages to hold on to the position though.
Mir throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
The ground and pound from Mir seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Malhoney!
Malhoney taking shots to the head.
Malhoney wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Mir.
Mir throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Malhoney because Mir loaded up on that one.
Mir raining down shots from the mount!
Mir misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Mir punching from mount but Malhoney doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Mir punching from mount but Malhoney doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Malhoney blocking the ground and pound.
Malhoney is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Mir dominating with strikes here.
Mir thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mir throws some wild stikes that Malhoney manages to avoid easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Mir showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Malhoney circles away from the clinch attempt.
Malhoney fails in his attempt to clinch.
Mir shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Malhoney as he jumps to the side.
Malhoney throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Mir sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mir tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Malhoney counters with a shoot takedown. Mir fights it but they end up in guard.
Malhoney postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Malhoney has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Mir preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Mir trying to keep a closed guard but Malhoney is proving a slippery customer.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malhoney distracts Mir with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Malhoney lands a couple of digs.

Mir pushes Malhoney off and scrambles back to his feet.
A head kick by Malhoney misses

and Mir counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Mir.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Malhoney looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mir is one step ahead there.
Mir looking to pass the guard.
Mir is looking to work some ground and pound but Malhoney has wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Mir stands up from Malhoney's guard - Mir perhaps looking for a knockout.

Malhoney scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Mir is looking to control Malhoney's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Mir avoid being mounted?
Mir gets back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mir working a defensive guard here.
Malhoney postures up and lands a big shot to Mir's brow.
Mir wants to control the position but Malhoney says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Frank Mir is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Mir avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Malhoney.
Malhoney is keen to just control but Mir is a slippery customer.
Malhoney looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Mir with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Mir is trying to maintain the position but Malhoney is very close to passing his half guard.
Mir tries to kick Malhoney off but Malhoney keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Malhoney is looking to clinch but Mir is avoiding it.
Malhoney will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Malhoney takes a kick to the side of the head.
Malhoney throws a lazy head kick

and Mir counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Malhoney!
Mir controlling the position easily from mount.
Malhoney tries to reverse the position but Mir maintains control.
Mike Malhoney has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mir tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Frank Mir.
Well Mir 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 26:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 26:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Frank Mir!