PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Brett James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rik Lock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Brett James has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

James
vs
Lock

175 cm
18
147 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

176 cm
19
156 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

FNF Energy - (Buy 1 155, Get one Free!)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Brett James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Rik Lock!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Colin Fotheringham and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Lock drives through with a takedown into guard.
Lock throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
James controls Lock momentarily but Lock frees himself.
Lock with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
James working a defensive guard here.
James keeping full guard, as Lock tries to pass.
James is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Lock won't allow James to get back to his feet.
Lock throwing strikes but missing.
Lock stopping the sweep attempt from James.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lock postures up.
James utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
James misses with a kick to the body.
James misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
James fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
James misses with a series of wild punches.
James pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
James misses with a hook.

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.
James is looking to clinch.
James with a poor takedown
and Lock counters with a nice uppercut.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brett James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
James keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
James tries to clinch
enabling Lock to counter with a crisp jab.
James uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Lock.
James tries to clinch there but Lock circles away.
James throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
James wants to clinch up but Lock keeps it at a distance.
James throws a head kick but Lock moves out of range.
Lock throws a body punch but James moves out of range.
James tries to clinch there but Lock circles away.
James throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
James tries for a takedown but Lock circles away easily

and Lock counters with a single leg into guard. James didn't expect that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lock looking to pass the guard.
James knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Lock on the ground.
Lock working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of James's head.
Lock forces his way into half guard.
Lock is thwarting James's attempts to control the position.
James manages to get to full guard.
James wants to get back to his feet but Lock is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
James is looking for a triangle but Lock pushes his legs off easily.
James not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Lock works over James with some ground and pound from guard.

Lock got a little sloppy there for a moment and James has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lock has managed to get both his arms back between James's legs - danger averted.

Lock drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Lock jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Lock wants to pass the guard but James is keeping the position.
Lock passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Lock working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rik Lock dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

James clinches.
Lock prevents James from breaking the clinch.
A short right from James.

James pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Lock takes a shot right to the bread basket.
James tries to clinch but Lock moves out of range.
James shoots for a double leg takedown but Lock sprawls well. He's pushed James's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
James is trying hard to land a takedown here. Lock sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Lock misses with a straight left.
Lock swats away the attempt to clinch by James.
Brett James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
James misses with a takedown
and Lock counters with a straight right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brett James. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Lock decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Lock sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. James defending well though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lock throwing shots but James is blocking nicely.
James keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Lock is nestled in close to James, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Lock lands with a punch from half guard.
James avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Lock.
Lock not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Lock looks to land a strike but James avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

Lock drops back, looking for a kneebar! James looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. James looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from James!
Lock is breathing heavily.
James throwing shots but missing, from side control.
James in side control, throwing shots but Lock defends.
James trying to control the action but Lock is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lock is trying to control James's posture but James avoids it.
Lock has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Lock is looking for a sweep.
James wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lock keeps working.
James creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Lock sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
James wants to clinch up but Lock keeps it at a distance.
Lock misses with a body shot.
James gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Lock counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

James manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Lock blocks a leg kick.
James lands with a slapping head kick.

Lock scores with a takedown into James's guard.
James keeping moving, preventing Lock from controlling successfully.
Lock is looking to work some ground and pound but James has wrist control.
James looking for a sweep. Not yet James, not yet.
Lock scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Lock works over James with some ground and pound from guard.
Rik Lock has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lock accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lock missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
James not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Lock trying to control the position from guard on top but James is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
James striking off his back but it's not causing Lock any problems.

Lock thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
James fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Lock avoids it really well and circles away.
Horrible takedown by James or perhaps it was just good defense by Lock which made him look bad.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rik Lock showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Lock misses the shot to the body.
James slips under a jab from Lock.
James shoots in but no luck this time.
James moves out of range of the strikes.
Lock slips a jab and a cross from James.
Lock loads up on a big right hand but James slips the punch.
James will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
James uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Lock.
James misses with a kick to the body.
Lock waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract James.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Lock falls off balance throwing a combination

and James counters with a nice double leg into guard.
James has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Lock is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and James defends well.
Lock is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Lock takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lock tries to pass to full mount but James defends it.
James wants to improve his position but Lock is controlling well.
James works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James wants to stand and escape but Lock is having none of it.
James looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
James wants to stand up but Lock is controlling him.
Lock sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed James's guard.
Lock lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Lock throwing shots but James is blocking nicely.
Lock lands with a punch from half guard.
James trying to control here.
Lock landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lock is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James is looking to escape.
Lock looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks James with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Lock working the head and body with strikes.
Lock lands strikes from half guard.
Lock sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. James defending well though.

Lock seems to be working for a kimura but James defends the submission attempt.
Lock passes into side control, despite James's attempt to control the position.
James managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Lock.
Lock wants to control but James is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lock wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by James, who protects the arm well.
Rik Lock is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
James struggling a bit here.
James sneaks back into half guard.
James looks like he's trying to stand up.
Lock thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed James's head.
Brett James has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lock wants to free his trapped foot but James is holding on for dear life with his legs.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rik Lock comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Lock 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 Paul Tew scores the fight 27:30
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rik Lock!