PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Justin Hopkins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stevie Reyes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hopkins comes to the cage accompanied by Gold Medal. Reyes is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Riot. Stevie Reyes has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hopkins
vs
Reyes

173 cm
18
165 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

169 cm
22
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Australian Xtreme - NEW 159 Energy!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Justin Hopkins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Stevie Reyes!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Hugh Johnson and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A punch combination from Reyes misses.
Reyes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Reyes looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Hopkins tries a head kick but it misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Reyes misses the target.

Hopkins looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Reyes is trying to control but can't.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Reyes keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reyes is trying to control but can't.
Reyes is looking to get back to full guard here but Hopkins has managed to pass to side control instead.
Hopkins content just to control the position here.

That's two 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reyes is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Reyes trying desperately to get to his feet.
Hopkins trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hopkins controlling his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Hopkins dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Reyes misses with a looping left.
Reyes tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hopkins swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Reyes doesn't manage to clinch there - Hopkins circles away.
Reyes wants to clinch.
Hopkins shoots in but no luck this time.
Reyes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hopkins.
Reyes throws a right and a left that Hopkins avoids nicely.

Hopkins is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Reyes's half guard.
Hopkins is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reyes tries to kick Hopkins off but Hopkins keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Hopkins is thwarting Reyes's attempts to control the position.
Hopkins passes into side control, despite Reyes's attempt to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Hopkins taking a breather here.
Hopkins trying to control the position but Reyes is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hopkins working away.

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.
Hopkins trying to control the position but Reyes is working away.
Reyes struggling a bit here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Reyes stuffs the takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Hopkins dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Reyes misses with a wild combination.
Hopkins misses with a takedown attempt - Reyes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Reyes misses with the combination.

Reyes gets caught flat footed, as Hopkins shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Reyes is looking to stand back up but Hopkins counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Reyes.
Reyes is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reyes is trying to escape back to his feet but Hopkins uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Reyes wants to control but Hopkins postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
The referee asks Hopkins politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Hopkins prefers to stall for the moment though.
Reyes wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hopkins remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Reyes is not content to let Hopkins control the position.
Stevie Reyes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.

Hopkins looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

And that's the end of the fight!
Justin Hopkins showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hopkins, 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Justin Hopkins!