PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Ford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kyrus Garcia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Ford
vs
Garcia

190 cm
22
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
18
275 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Good elbows
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, James Ford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kyrus Garcia!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Garcia tries to clinch but Ford moves out of range.
Garcia tries to clinch up but Ford circles away and keeps his distance.

Garcia gets a clinch.
Ford managing to block the knees to the body from Garcia.

Ford gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Garcia regains guard.
Ford throwing strikes but missing.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Garcia punching to the body, from the bottom.
Garcia looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Garcia manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ford manages to get himself to full guard.
Ford controls Garcia momentarily but Garcia frees himself.

Garcia decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Ford, up you get!
Ford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Garcia swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ford misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ford clinches but Garcia breaks the clinch

and Garcia counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Ford jumps guard and drags Garcia to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Ford scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ford scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Ford thows a huge punch but Garcia dodges it nicely.
Ford trying to control from half guard but Garcia is working away.
Ford is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Garcia tries to roll over but Ford keeps him under control.
Ford thows a huge punch but Garcia dodges it nicely.
Garcia is not content to let Ford control the position.
Ford thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Garcia throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ford looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Garcia with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Garcia scores with a few weak punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ford missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Ford gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Garcia moves into the clinch.
Ford is breathing heavily.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Garcia landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Garcia has Ford pressed against the cage, preventing Ford from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Garcia trying to land knees to the body.

Ford pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Garcia circles away from the clinch attempt.

Garcia moves into the clinch.
Ford has had enough of the clinch but Garcia keeps him there for the moment.
Ford has Garcia pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Garcia manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Ford has had enough of the clinch but Garcia keeps him there for the moment.
Garcia with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Garcia tries to land knees in the clinch but Ford avoids the damage to the body.
Ford tries to break the clinch but Garcia is controlling the position.
Ford blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Garcia trying to land knees to the body.
Ford takes a knee to the side of the body.
Ford tries to pull guard but Garcia holds him up against the cage and eventually Ford drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Ford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ford on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Ford's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ford swats away the attempt to clinch by Garcia.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ford wants to clinch but Garcia slips to the side

and Garcia counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Garcia trying to land knees to the body.
Ford tries to break free but Garcia pushes him back against the cage.

Ford jumps into guard, dragging Garcia to the mat.

Garcia gets to his feet. Ford looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
The fight stays on the outside here - Garcia looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ford lands a jab-cross combination.
Ford is looking to clinch but Garcia is avoiding it.
Garcia is looking to clinch but Ford is avoiding it.

Ford clinches.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Garcia tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ford avoids it.
Ford can't break the clinch.

Ford's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Garcia avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcia tries to close the distance and clinch but Ford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Garcia closes the distance looking to clinch

and Ford counters with a nice double leg into side control. Garcia won't be happy with that.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Garcia is trying to improve his position.
Ford trying to control the position but Garcia is working away.
Garcia tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Garcia is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Garcia looks to move to half guard but instead Ford has passed into mount! Damn!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Ford tries to clinch but Garcia is having none of it.
Ford keeps the fight on the outside.
Garcia wants to clinch up but Ford keeps it at a distance.
Garcia looks to clinch

and Ford counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Garcia lands a knee to the body.
Garcia misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ford.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Garcia trying to land knees to the body.
Garcia misses with a knee to the head.
Ford tries to break the clinch but Garcia is controlling the position.
Still in the clinch, Ford scores with a nice short uppercut.
Ford is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Ford stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Ford tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Ford tries to break free but Garcia pushes him back against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Ford's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Ford has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Garcia unloads a knee to the mid-section.

Ford manages to pull guard.
Ford is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Garcia tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ford lands strikes from half guard.
Ford prevents Garcia from improving his position.
Ford wants to lay and pray for a moment but Garcia keeps working.
Ford drops an elbow to the side of Garcia's head.
Ford looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Garcia with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Garcia throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Ford 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.
Ford is trying to control the action in half guard but Garcia is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Ford throws a combination. Garcia tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

It looks like Kyrus Garcia has been cut.
Ford closes the distance and clinches up with Garcia, looking for a takedown. Ford pushes Garcia against the cage but Garcia circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Ford circles away from the clinch attempt

and Ford counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Ford on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ford escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Ford rushes Garcia and presses him up against the cage.
Garcia crunches a lovely knee into Ford's ribcage.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Ford avoiding damage as Garcia throws knees to the body.
Garcia is pressed up against the cage. Ford has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Garcia down to the mat. Garcia avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Ford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ford throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Ford is trying hard to land a takedown here. Garcia sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Garcia rushes Ford and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Garcia missing with knees to the body.
Garcia misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ford.

Ford manages to break the clinch.
Garcia tries to close the distance and clinch but Ford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ford swinging wildly here.

Ford tries to keep at a distance but Garcia has taken the fight into the clinch.
Garcia tries to land knees in the clinch but Ford avoids the damage to the body.

Ford escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Garcia moves in looking to clinch but Ford pushes him off.
Garcia avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ford fails with a takedown attempt.
Garcia is looking to clinch but Ford is avoiding it.
Ford tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Garcia swivels and escapes.

Garcia clinches with his opponent.
Garcia crunches a lovely knee into Ford's ribcage.
Ford fails to pull guard.
Knees in the clinch landing for Garcia.
Ford wants to get back to striking at distance but Garcia won't allow it.
Garcia is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ford is defending well for now.
Ford avoiding damage as Garcia throws knees to the body.
Ford on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Garcia tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ford avoids it.
Garcia tries to land knees in the clinch but Ford avoids the damage to the body.
Garcia landing knees to the body.
Garcia lands a nice knee to the body.
Garcia tries to land knees in the clinch but Ford avoids the damage to the body.
Garcia utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Garcia keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Ford's efforts to push away.

Ford gets a trip takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcia misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Garcia is trying to stand up here but Ford is controlling him well.
Garcia punching from the bottom.
Garcia pushes Ford off looking to stand but Ford dives back in and keeps control.
Garcia tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Garcia flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Ford working Garcia over with strikes.
James Ford overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ford lands a nice short elbow.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Ford fails to land with a series of punches.

Ford instigates a clinch.
Ford avoiding damage as Garcia throws knees to the body.
Ford blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Garcia prevents Ford from breaking the clinch.
Garcia misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ford.
Ford wants to break free but Garcia has control.

Ford has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Garcia uses from the top position.
Garcia with a flurry of punches that miss.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Ford dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Kyrus Garcia's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Garcia instigates a clinch.
Ford blocks the elbow strike.
Ford changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Garcia fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Ford tries to clinch up

and Garcia holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Ford has hold of one of Garcia's legs. Garcia is fighting the takedown attempt but Ford gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Ford slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Garcia is trying to improve his position.
Garcia lands an elbow from the bottom.
Garcia pushes Ford away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Ford gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Ford has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Garcia!
Garcia in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Ford connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Garcia is bucking up trying to escape but Ford cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Garcia is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Garcia is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Garcia is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Ford is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Garcia 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.

Ford wants to work for an arm triangle but Garcia is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Ford wants to get back to his feet.
Ford is trying to control the action in half guard but Garcia is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's two 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.
Ford prevents Garcia from improving his position.

Garcia pushes Ford off and gets back to his feet.

Ford closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Garcia to the mat! Garcia manages to get full guard.
Garcia wants to sweep here but Ford controlling him for the moment.
Garcia keeping moving, preventing Ford from controlling successfully.
Garcia striking off his back.
Ford with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Garcia scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Ford throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Garcia counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Garcia.
Garcia landing knees to the body.
Ford tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Garcia smiles and moves away.
Ford throws a nice looking combination but Garcia bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia tries to clinch up.
A punch combination from Ford misses.
Ford clinches but Garcia breaks the clinch

and Garcia moves into the clinch.
Garcia misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ford.

Ford breaks the clinch.
James Ford is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ford stalks Garcia and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Garcia's face. Garcia staggers backwards, shaken.
Garcia looks to clinch

and Ford counters with a nice double leg into side control. Garcia won't be happy with that.
Ford landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Garcia misses with a strike from the bottom.
Garcia is looking for a sweep.
Ford lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Garcia down.
Garcia is trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ford lands a few punches from side control.
Garcia manages to work his way to half guard, despite Ford's best efforts.
Ford lands strikes from half guard.
Kyrus Garcia has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Ford drives through and clinches with Garcia against the cage.
Ford tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Garcia just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Ford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Garcia trying to land knees to the body.
Garcia prevents Ford from breaking the clinch.
Garcia is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ford is defending well for now.
Garcia is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ford is defending well for now.
Ford avoiding damage as Garcia throws knees to the body.

Ford breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ford swats away the attempt to clinch by Garcia.
Garcia clinches but Ford breaks the clinch

and Ford counters by moving into the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ford scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Garcia putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Ford in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Ford showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ford, 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Ford!