PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Patrick Connolly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Richard Muller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Connolly
vs
Muller

172 cm
22
176 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

184 cm
18
169 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Patrick Connolly!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Richard Muller!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, George Francis and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Muller closes this distance looking for a takedown but Connolly circles away.

Muller shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Muller fails to advance to Connolly's back.
Connolly keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Muller swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Connolly is now in Muller's guard. A big mistake from Muller there, giving up the dominant position!
Muller looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Connolly gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Muller has a takedown stuffed.

Connolly drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Connolly tries to free his leg and advance position but Muller is retaining full guard.

Connolly gets to his feet - Muller follows without any prompting.
Muller with a lazy takedown attempt

and Connolly counters with a nice double leg into side control. Muller won't be happy with that.
Patrick Connolly has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Richard Muller.
Muller looks gassed!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
Muller is letting Connolly control him for a moment.
Connolly lands an elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Connolly is looking to take a break and control but Muller is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Connolly tries for a kimura but Muller is defending well.
Muller tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Connolly wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Connolly controlling the position from side mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Connolly has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Connolly looking to control but Muller is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Muller is trying desperately to improve position.
Connolly dominating with strikes here.

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.
Muller is trying desperately to improve position.
Muller wants to hold on but Connolly pushes him away.
Muller is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Muller tries to hold on but Connolly pushes him away.
Muller slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.

Muller looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Connolly prevents Muller from improving his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muller gets back to full guard.
Connolly preventing the sweep.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Muller trying to keep a closed guard but Connolly is proving a slippery customer.

Muller throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Connolly has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Muller is proving hard to escape from.
Connolly preventing the sweep.
Connolly trying to control but Muller is working from the bottom.

Connolly stands up and waves to Muller to follow him.
A head kick misses from Connolly.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Danga de danga de dang - Connolly scores with a four punch combination!

It looks like Richard Muller has been cut.
Muller chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Connolly can pounce on him.
Muller walks forward, straight into a front kick from Connolly.
Muller has his takedown stuffed

and Connolly counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Connolly drops down looking for an ankle pick but Muller pulls his leg out and moves away.
Muller shoots in but no luck this time.

Connolly darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Connolly decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.

Connolly darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Muller trying to hold on to Connolly's head to control him but Connolly postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick Connolly dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Richard Muller's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Muller shoots in looking for a takedown. Connolly tries to sprawl out of it but Muller keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Connolly manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Muller fails with the takedown.

Connolly has taken the fight to the clinch.
Muller tries to land knees in the clinch but Connolly avoids the damage to the body.
Muller can't get the takedown.
Patrick Connolly has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Richard Muller.

Connolly gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Muller regains guard.
Muller wants to sweep but no luck.
Connolly is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Muller had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Connolly is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Muller Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Connolly's back instead.

Muller looking for the choke from the back.

Muller tightening his grip on Connolly, looking for the choke.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Muller patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?

That's one minute gone in the round.

Muller working for a choke but Connolly is defending well.
Muller is trying to stick to Connolly's back but Connolly is turning into Muller. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Muller's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Connolly.
Connolly preventing the sweep.
Muller is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Muller passes to full mount!
Muller lands a heavy elbow.

Connolly is rocked!

Muller looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Connolly is working to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muller cracks Connolly with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Connolly regains half guard.
Connolly is refusing to be controlled, as Muller sits in half guard.

Connolly is defending against the submission attempts here by Muller.

Connolly makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Connolly fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A head kick misses from Connolly.
Muller is looking to clinch but Connolly is avoiding it.
Muller keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Muller closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Connolly to the mat! Connolly manages to get full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muller works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Connolly tries to get to full guard but Muller has control of the leg.

Muller is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, Connolly has managed to free his arm - good work.

Muller is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Connolly doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Muller.
Connolly is trying to maintain the position but Muller is very close to passing his half guard.

Muller is trying to work for a kimura but Connolly is defending well.
Connolly gets full guard.

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.
Muller forces his way into half guard.
Connolly makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Connolly.
Connolly pulls Muller in close to prevent any damage.
Muller trying to control the position from guard on top but Connolly is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Muller trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Connolly looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Muller trying to control but Connolly is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Muller 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.
Connolly trying to keep a closed guard but Muller is proving a slippery customer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard Muller showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Richard Muller's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Muller closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Connolly gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Muller wants to take a breather but Connolly is having none of it.
Connolly slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Muller looking to pass the guard.
Muller passes easily into side control. Nice work.
You can see the frustration on Connolly's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Muller tries to move to mount but Connolly blocks the move with his legs.
Who's going to make the next move?
Muller creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Connolly sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Connolly is looking for a sweep.
Muller trying to control the position but Connolly is working away.
Connolly regains half guard.

Muller is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, Connolly has managed to free his arm - good work.
Connolly is looking to control Muller's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Connolly avoid being mounted?

Muller is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Connolly is trying to stand back up but Muller is controlling him

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Connolly tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Muller blocks a head kick by Connolly.
Connolly throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Connolly is looking to slow Muller down with leg kicks.
Patrick Connolly seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

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.
Muller shoots for a double leg takedown but Connolly sprawls well. He's pushed Muller's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Muller closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Muller trying to control the action but Connolly is working from the bottom.
Connolly regains full guard. Nicely done.
Connolly wants to get back to his feet but Muller passes into half guard.
Connolly trying to control but Muller postures up.
Connolly might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Muller seems to be looking for submissions.

Muller is working for a kimura but Connolly is defending it quite comfortably.
Connolly is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Connolly striking from half guard on the bottom.
Muller trying to control the action but Connolly is working from the bottom.
Muller seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Connolly works his way to full guard. Good work.
Patrick Connolly overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Connolly keeping full guard, as Muller tries to pass.
Muller passes Connolly's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Connolly pushes Muller off looking to stand but Muller dives back in and keeps control.
Muller tries to pass the half guard into mount. Connolly knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Muller is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Connolly tries to roll over but Muller keeps him under control.

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.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Muller just misses with a punch to the body.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Connolly tries a knee to the head but Muller blocks it.
Connolly taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Connolly stops a takedown attempt from Muller.
Connolly stops a takedown attempt from Muller.
Patrick Connolly has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Richard Muller.
Connolly pressing his opponent against the cage.
Connolly goes for a takedown in the clinch but Muller prevents it.

Connolly gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Muller regains guard.
Muller lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Connolly!
A nice elbow there by Muller.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Richard Muller.
I think Muller has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29
Judge George Francis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Richard Muller!