PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Abatti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Floyd Banks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Abatti comes to the cage accompanied by Cambiera. John Abatti has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Abatti
vs
Banks

178 cm
22
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Abatti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Floyd Banks!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Anthony Taglia and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Abatti swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Abatti gets caught flat footed, as Banks shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Abatti keeping moving, preventing Banks from controlling successfully.

Abatti pushes Banks off and scrambles back to his feet.
Banks misses with a jab, cross combination.
Banks shoots in and drives through. Abatti sprawls well.
Banks shoots in for a double leg but Abatti sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Banks clinches up with Abatti and pushes him back against the cage.
Banks slowing the pace effectively.
Abatti tries to score a body lock takedown but Banks shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Abatti tries for a takedown. No joy.
Banks slowing the pace effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banks looking for a takedown.
John Abatti has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Floyd Banks.

Banks breaks from the clinch.

Banks closes the distance and pushes Abatti back into the cage.
Banks fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Banks stalling.
Abatti goes for a takedown attempt but Banks pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Banks shoots in looking for a takedown. Abatti tries to sprawl out of it but Banks keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Abatti manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A head kick misses from Banks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Abatti uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Banks.
Banks shoots for a takedown but Abatti saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Abatti drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Banks looks gassed!
Abatti with a flurry of punches that miss.
Abatti postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Abatti sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Banks's guard.
Abatti is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Abatti scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Abatti sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Banks defending well though.
Abatti is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Abatti has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Banks wants to improve his position but Abatti is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks is trying to stand.
Abatti not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Banks keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Banks actively working from the bottom here.
Banks punching from the bottom.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Abatti darts in trying to clinch
and Banks counters with a solid body kick.
Banks misses with a takedown attempt

and Abatti counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abatti is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Banks is trying to control the position but Abatti postures up.
Abatti lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Banks is trying to control the position but Abatti postures up.
Abatti with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Banks wants to sweep but no luck.
Abatti throws a big right hand that misses.
Abatti postures up and lands a big shot to Banks's brow.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Abatti keeps the fight on the outside.
Floyd Banks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Abatti shoots in and bounces Banks off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Banks wants to stand but Abatti is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Abatti is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Banks's half guard.
Banks won't allow Abatti to pass to mount.
Banks has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Abatti is working away from the top position though.
Banks wants to get back to full guard.
Abatti slips a nice elbow through Banks's hands, connecting with Banks's forehead.
Abatti is thwarting Banks's attempts to control the position.
Banks really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Abatti. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Abatti working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Banks works his way to full guard. Good work.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Banks is on top in guard.
Banks must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Abatti is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Banks is controlling him.
Abatti trying to control the position.
Abatti keeping moving, preventing Banks from controlling successfully.
Abatti controls Banks momentarily but Banks frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Abatti wants to stand but Banks is controlling the position.
Abatti keeping moving, preventing Banks from controlling successfully.
Banks wants to pass the guard but Abatti is keeping the position.
Banks is looking to stand up but Abatti won't let him.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Abatti throws a series of punches but Banks moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abatti throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Banks clinches but Abatti breaks the clinch

and Abatti counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Abatti thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Banks's head.
Abatti prevents Banks from improving his position.
Abatti misses with a head shot. Banks uses the momentum to regain guard.
Banks looking for a sweep. Not yet Banks, not yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Abatti throws and elbow that misses. Banks uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Abatti's guard. Nice move by Banks!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banks stopping the sweep attempt from Abatti.
Banks tries to stand but Abatti is controlling from the bottom.
Banks postures up in Abatti's guard and throws a big left but Abatti blocks it.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Nice takedown defense from Abatti. No joy for Banks on that attempt.
Banks tries to clinch up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Abatti dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Abatti has his takedown stuffed

so Banks counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Banks trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Banks working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Banks trying to control the position from guard on top but Abatti is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Banks has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Abatti is proving hard to escape from.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banksis looking to pass into half guard but Abatti pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Abatti is in guard.

Banks working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Abatti doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Abatti manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Abatti trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Banks scores with a spinning back kick!

Abatti shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Banks is trying to defend but Abatti finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Abatti takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abatti seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Abatti throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Banks tries to get to full guard but Abatti has control of the leg.
Banks trying to control but Abatti postures up.
Banks wants to improve his position but Abatti is controlling well.
Abatti is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Abatti connects with a nice short shot to Banks's temple.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Banks shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Abatti is positioning himself well to prevent Banks advancing to mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abatti slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Banks wants to control from the top but Abatti keeps moving.

Abatti has his feet on Banks's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Banks gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Abatti counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Banks!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abatti postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Banks looks a forlorn figure.
A nice elbow there by Abatti.
Banks avoids a series of strikes thrown by Abatti.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Banks throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Banks is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Abatti dominating with strikes here.
Abatti throwing strikes here but Banks is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Banks working to try and regain half guard.
Floyd Banks has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John Abatti is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Abatti with good strikes from the mount here!

And that's the end of the fight!
John Abatti showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Abatti, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Abatti!