PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Dow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Blaze Spencer (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.

Dow
vs
Spencer

184 cm
19
249 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

199 cm
22
280 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 New York, John Dow!
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, Blaze Spencer!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Bruno Lombardi and Lou da Vinci.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A big right from Spencer misses.
Spencer misses with a hook.
Spencer looks to throw the jab but Dow is out of range.
Spencer lands a nice shot that snaps Dow's head back.
Dow really is a fat lump.
Dow slips under a jab.
Spencer clobbers Dow with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Spencer loads up on a big right hand but Dow slips the punch.

Dow has closed the distance and engaged Spencer in a clinch.
Spencer is trying to force a seperation but Dow has the dominant position.
Dow looking for a takedown.
Dow tries for a takedown. No joy.
Dow has Spencer pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Spencer manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Dow. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Dow breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Spencer throws out a loose jab but Dow uses good head movement to avoid it.
Dow ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Spencer misses with a hook. Dow ducked under it nicely.

Dow scores with a takedown into Spencer's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Dow might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Dow missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dow prevents Spencer from getting back to his feet.
Dow trying to control but Spencer is working from the bottom.
Dow throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Spencer works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Dow with a flurry of punches that miss.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Dow takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Spencer takes a swing at Dow's ribcage but misses.
Spencer misses the jab.

Dow drives through and clinches with Spencer against the cage.
Spencer prevents a takedown attempt there.
Dow prevents Spencer from breaking the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dow pulls Spencer into guard.
Spencer trying to stand up but can't free himself from Dow's guard.

Dow uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Dow is breathing heavily.

Dow shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Spencer napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Spencer is trying to buck Dow off.
Dow is looking to take a break and control but Spencer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Spencer wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ground and pound from Dow seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Spencer tries to escape but Dow is in control.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Spencer scores with a hook.
Spencer lands with an uppercut that bounces Dow off the cage and back into rage.
Spencer missing with a left hand there. Dow was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Spencer jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Spencer misses with a wild combination.
Spencer is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

Spencer tries to keep at a distance but Dow has taken the fight into the clinch.

Dow pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dow staying out of range there.
Spencer thows a body shot but no joy.
Dow uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Spencer.
Spencer throws a big shot that misses.
Spencer lands a head shot.

Dow darts in and clinches Spencer up against the cage.
Dow wants a takedown.
Dow tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Spencer just stands there and leans against the cage.

Dow pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Spencer fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Spencer misses with a hook. Dow ducked under it nicely.
Dow slips a straight right by Spencer.
Spencer fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Spencer throws out a loose jab but Dow uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice defenses there by Dow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that John Dow will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Dow shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Spencer's guard.
Spencer wants to stand but Dow is controlling the position.
Dow working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Spencer's head.
Dow slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Dow throws a strike aimed at the side of Spencer's head but Spencer avoids it well.
Dow tries to score with some ground and pound. Spencer controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Dow tries to move to mount but Spencer blocks the move with his legs.
Dow in side control, throwing shots but Spencer defends.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Dow thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Dow here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Spencer is pushing Dow's head away, looking to escape. Dow manages to hold on to the position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Dow takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Dow avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Spencer throws a looping overhand right but Dow ducks down to avoid it.
Blaze Spencer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dow shoots in but no luck this time.
Spencer misses with a hook.
Spencer misses with an uppercut.
Spencer lands a two punch combo.
Spencer throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

Dow shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Spencer is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Spencer is in a horrible position here. Dow smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dow looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Spencer is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Dow lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Spencer hang on?
Spencer tries to buck Dow off but he can't manage it.
Dow looking to ground and pound but Spencer is blocking nicely.
Spencer is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Spencer is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Dow breaks from Spencer's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Spencer is trying to get back to his feet but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dow lands with some strikes.
Spencer is trying to stand up.
Dow cracks Spencer with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Dow lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Spencer is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Spencer is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Dow throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Spencer because Dow loaded up on that one.
Dow looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
You get the feeling that Spencer really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Dow has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Spencer's face.
Spencer is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Dow lands a big shot there that rocks Spencer but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Spencer tries to buck Dow off but he can't manage it.
Dow misses with a head shot.
Spencer is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Dow postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Spencer looks a forlorn figure.
Spencer is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dow unloads with some shots from mount but Spencer bucks and avoids them well.
Dow won't let Spencer get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Dow dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Dow drives through and clinches with Spencer against the cage.
Dow is working for takedown but Spencer is calmly controlling the position for now.
Spencer is trying to break the clinch but Dow is controlling him.
Dow tries to score a body lock takedown but Spencer shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Dow is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Spencer pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Dow. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dow can't break the clinch.
Dow prevents Spencer from breaking the clinch.
Spencer wants to get back to striking at distance but Dow won't allow it.
Spencer is trying to break the clinch but Dow has him pressed against the cage.
Spencer working hard to break the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dow fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dow drops down looking for an ankle pick but Spencer pulls his leg out and moves away.
Spencer clobbers Dow with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dow moves away from the strike by Spencer.
Spencer throws a one two combo.
Spencer throws a shot from downtown. Dow moves away and avoids it.
Spencer sizes up Dow with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
A slow jab from Dow misses its intended target.
Spencer bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Dow's head.
Spencer lands a body shot.
Dow bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Spencer dips to his left and cracks Dow with an uppercut!
Spencer lands a jab to Dow's midsection.
Dow ducks under a wild hook from Spencer.
Spencer stuffs the takedown attempt from Dow. Dow gets slowly back to his feet.
John Dow is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Spencer lands an overhand right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spencer throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Dow clinches with his opponent.
Dow wants a takedown but no success here.
Spencer wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Dow has him pressed against the cage.
Spencer working hard to break the clinch.
Spencer gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Dow.
Spencer is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Dow tries to score a body lock takedown but Spencer shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Spencer is trying to force a seperation but Dow has the dominant position.
Dow goes for a takedown in the clinch but Spencer prevents it.
Dow keeps control of Spencer as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Blaze Spencer has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dow tries to pull guard but Spencer holds him up against the cage and eventually Dow drops back down to his feet.
Dow prevents Spencer from breaking the clinch.
John Dow is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Spencer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Dow looking for a takedown.
Spencer wants to break the clinch but can't.
Spencer tries to circle away but Dow has him pinned against the cage.
Dow keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Spencer's efforts to push away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Dow is working for takedown but Spencer is calmly controlling the position for now.
Dow keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Spencer's efforts to push away.
Spencer is trying to force a seperation but Dow has the dominant position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dow jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Spencer walks away with a smile on his face. Dow gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Spencer misses with a series of wild punches.
Dow shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Blaze Spencer comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Dow has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 29:29
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Blaze Spencer!