PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vincent Matthews (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Philip Gray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matthews comes to the cage accompanied by Bleed It Out. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Matthews
vs
Gray

185 cm
23
205 lbs
2 - 2 - 1

183 cm
19
210 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Vincent Matthews!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Philip Gray!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gray shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Gray showed some decent athleticism there.
Matthews has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Gray is working away from the top position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Matthews actively working from the bottom here.

Gray decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Matthews is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gray.
Gray keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Gray uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Matthews.

Gray gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Matthews is pressed up against the cage. Gray has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Matthews down to the mat. Matthews avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Matthews throws a series of punches but Gray avoids them all with ease.
Matthews lands a slapping body shot.
Matthews lands a with a good body shot.
Vincent Matthews seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Matthews misses with a kick to the body.
Nice sprawl there from Gray as Matthews shoots in.
Gray fails with a takedown attempt.

Gray shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gray throwing strikes but missing.
Matthews trying to keep a closed guard but Gray is proving a slippery customer.

Gray stands up and waves to Matthews to follow him.
Gray looks gassed!

Gray closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Gray not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Gray prevents Matthews from improving his position.
Matthews has hold of Gray's hands but Gray slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Matthews is trying to maintain the position but Gray is very close to passing his half guard.
Gray wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gray works his foot free and advances to mount.
Gray cracks Matthews with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Gray lands a big elbow.
Matthews is bucking up trying to escape but Gray cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Matthews wants to hold on but Gray pushes him away.
Matthews sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

Matthews pushes Gray off and gets back to his feet.

Matthews closes the distance and pushes Gray back into the cage.
Gray is trying to drag Matthews to the mat but Matthews just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Vincent Matthews has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Philip Gray.

Matthews breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gray.
Gray shoots in but no luck this time.
Gray shoots in for a double leg but Matthews sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Gray drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Gray grinds an elbow into Matthews's temple.
Gray looks up at the clock and then as Matthews takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Gray smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Matthews tries to buck Gray off but Gray is having none of it.
Matthews is working hard here to advance position.
Gray working away.
Matthews wants to get back to his feet.
Gray working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matthews is looking to regain half guard here but Gray keeps moving and retains side control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Matthews tries for a takedown but Gray circles away easily

and Gray counters with a single leg into guard. Matthews didn't expect that.
Matthews is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Gray stands up from Matthews's guard - Gray perhaps looking for a knockout.
Gray moves away from the strike by Matthews.
Gray shoots in looking for a takedown. Matthews tries to sprawl out of it but Gray keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Matthews manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Matthews rushes Gray and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Gray tries for a takedown. No joy.

Matthews pulls guard successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Philip Gray dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Gray takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Gray looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Gray slips a nice elbow through Matthews's hands, connecting with Matthews's forehead.
Gray has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Gray lands a nice short elbow.
Gray slows the pace down in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Gray wants to work for an arm triangle but Matthews is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Gray working Matthews over with strikes.

Matthews looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Matthews missing with punches from the bottom.
Gray working over Matthews with some ground and pound. Matthews looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gray is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Matthews is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Gray shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Gray content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Matthews will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Gray lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Gray looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Gray is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gray distracts Matthews with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Gray sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Matthews's guard.
Matthews moves into full guard.
Gray stays in close to Matthews's body and controls the position.
Matthews is trying to keep Gray in close.
Gray trying to control but Matthews is working from the bottom.
Matthews looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gray with a nice head shot there.

Matthews is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Gray is aware though and is defending well.
Gray seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gray misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Matthews tries to keep at a distance but Gray has taken the fight into the clinch.
Matthews lands a nice knee to the body.
Gray is working for takedown but Matthews is calmly controlling the position for now.
Gray tries to score a body lock takedown but Matthews shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Gray tries to pull guard but Matthews won't allow it.
Vincent Matthews has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Philip Gray.
Gray has Matthews pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Matthews manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Matthews lands an elbow just above Gray 's eye.

Gray has picked Matthews up - he's going for a ride! Gray dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Matthews is refusing to be controlled, as Gray sits in half guard.
Philip Gray has got the better of the ground game so far.
Gray scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gray working over Matthews with some ground and pound. Matthews looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Gray landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Matthews looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Matthews is staying active underneath Gray, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Matthews wants to control but Gray is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Gray is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Gray shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Matthews counters with a takedown into side control.
Gray managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Matthews.

Gray throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gray looks for the body kick but Matthews saw that one coming.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Philip Gray 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! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Gray looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Matthews!
Gray avoids the attempt from Matthews to control.
Gray controlling his opponent.
Matthews sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Gray landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Gray is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Matthews has managed to free his arm - good work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Matthews controlling the position well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matthews trying to control from the bottom.
Matthews trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!
Gray landing strikes, looking to finish!
Gray cracks Matthews with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Gray lands a big elbow.
Gray putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Gray lands a big shot there that rocks Matthews but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Gray wants to control the pace but Matthews is squirming around nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Gray punishing his opponent with strikes.
Matthews wants to control but Gray is having none of it.
Gray scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Matthews?
Matthews is in all sorts of trouble here.
Gray dominating with strikes here.
Gray trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Gray cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Gray landing strikes from the mount and Matthews is in trouble!
The referee warns Matthews that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Gray looking to control but Matthews is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gray punishing his opponent with strikes.
Matthews wants to hold on but Gray pushes him away.
Gray dominating with strikes here.
Gray landing shots from mount.
Gray with a couple of short strikes.
Gray unloading with bombs!
Matthews keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Gray is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Gray lands a big shot there that rocks Matthews but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Matthews wants to hold on but Gray pushes him away.
Gray lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Matthews hang on?
Philip Gray is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four 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.
Gray prevents Matthews from getting the reversal.
Matthews is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Gray looking to control and managing it successfully.
Matthews tries to hold on but Gray postures up.
Gray trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Vincent Matthews has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gray raining down shots from the mount!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gray controlling from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Philip Gray comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Gray 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Philip Gray!