PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Lenny Lukens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Bell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bell is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Foals - Spanish Sahara. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Lukens
vs
Bell

180 cm
23
155 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

175 cm
21
157 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Lenny Lukens!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joe Bell!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Gwen Towbar and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bell misses with a wild body shot.
Lukens is looking to clinch.
Bell cracks Lukens with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Lukens is looking to clinch.
Lukens slips a straight right by Bell.
Lukens wants to clinch.
Lukens tries to clinch up but Bell circles away and keeps his distance.
Lukens tries to clinch up but Bell circles away and keeps his distance.
Lukens feints and then cracks Bell's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Bell down.

Lukens pushes Bell up against the cage in a clinch.
Bell misses with a knee strike.
Bell misses with a knee strike.

Bell's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Lukens tries to clinch but Bell is having none of it.
Lukens throws a quick inside leg kick.
Bell tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lukens was well out of range. Poor timing from Bell.
Lukens is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Lukens tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bell throws the left hand but Lukens avoids the punch easily.
Lukens displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bell throws out the jab.
Joe Bell is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A big right from Bell misses.
Lukens shoots for a double leg takedown but Bell sprawls well. He's pushed Lukens's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Bell paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Horrible takedown by Lukens or perhaps it was just good defense by Bell which made him look bad.
Lukens tries to clinch but Bell is having none of it.
Lukens defending well as Bell loads up on a big left hand.
Lukens wants to clinch up but Bell keeps it at a distance.
Lukens tries to clinch up.

Lukens changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Bell looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Lukens is chipping away with strikes.
Lukens misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Lukens looks up at the clock and then as Bell takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Lukens smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Lukens 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lukens is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Bell is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Bell can do anything to dispel that myth.
Lukens working the ground and pound.
The strikes coming from Lukens are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
An elbow from Lukens crashes against the mat.
The ground and pound from Lukens seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Bell managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Lukens.
Bell takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Bell is trying to get back to half guard.
Lukens is looking to take a break and control but Bell is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Bell keeps the fight on the outside.
Lukens ducks under a wild hook from Bell.
Lukens slips under a jab from Bell.
Bell slaps away a takedown attempt from Lukens, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lenny Lukens. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lukens doesn't manage to clinch there - Bell circles away.
Lukens doesn't manage to clinch there - Bell circles away.

Lukens scores with a takedown into Bell's guard.

Lukens drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Lukens jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Lukens postures up in Bell's guard and throws a big left but Bell blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bell wants to sweep but no luck.
Lukens throws a strike but Bell rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Lukens manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Lukens looking to ground and pound but Bell is blocking nicely.
Bell really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Lukens tries to control but Bell wriggling away.
Bell tries to lock up and control but Lukens gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lenny Lukens dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Bell moves into the clinch.
Lukens presses Bell against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Lukens misses with a punch on the inside.
Lukens is looking to control Bell's arms but Bell gets an underhook and turns him. Now Lukens has his back to the cage.
Bell is trying to break free.
A head punch on the inside from Lukens fails to land.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Bell.
Bell tries to stall but Lukens uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Lukens tries a body shot but Bell blocks it.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Bell.
Bell continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
Bell looking to throw knees to the head but Lukens is blocking nicely.
Bell lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Bell has Lukens pressed against the cage, preventing Lukens from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Bell trying to land knees to the body.
Bell missing with knees to the body.

Bell's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Lukens shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Bell is trying to defend but Lukens finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Bell gets back to full guard.
Lukens with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lukens postures up in Bell's guard and throws a big left but Bell blocks it.
Bell looking for a sweep. Not yet Bell, not yet.
Lukens throwing strikes but missing.
Lukens loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Lukens throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bell works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bell really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Lukens. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Lukens pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bell is keeping the position for now.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Lukens lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Lukens.
Bell falls off balance throwing a combination

and Lukens counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Bell!
Lukens misses with a head shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bell can't escape the position.
Lukens scores with a couple of good head shots there.

Lukens looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Lukens lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Bell is working to get back to half guard.

Lukens swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Bell is now in Lukens's guard. A big mistake from Lukens there, giving up the dominant position!
Bell trying to control the position from guard on top but Lukens is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lukens trying to keep a closed guard but Bell is proving a slippery customer.
Lukens looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Lukens is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Bell looking to sit in guard and control but Lukens gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Lukens thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

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.
Lukens with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lukens trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Lukens is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Bell trying to keep a closed guard but Lukens is proving a slippery customer.
Lukens throwing strikes from guard but Bell blocks nicely.
Bell looking for a sweep. Not yet Bell, not yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lenny Lukens dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Bell misses with an uppercut.
Bell throws a looping overhand right but Lukens ducks down to avoid it.
Lukens shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Lukens slips under a jab.
Bell throws a big shot that misses.
Bell throws a right and a left that both miss.
Lukens avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Lukens tries to clinch there but Bell circles away.
Lukens feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Bell's calf.

Lukens has closed the distance and engaged Bell in a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bell is leaning against Lukens and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Lukens struggles to land a body shot inside as Bell controls his hands.
Bell pushes off an throws an elbow but Lukens leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Lukens managing to block the knees to the body from Bell.

Lukens has clasped his hands together around Bell's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Lukens advances to full mount.
Lukens landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lukens punching from mount but Bell doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Lukens thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Bell is trying desperately to improve position.
Lukens landing strikes, looking to finish!

Lukens with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Bell is looking to improve his position but Lukens isn't that keen on the idea.
Lukens raining down shots from the mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lukens with shots to the head and body - Bell looks very uncomfortable down there.
Lukens throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bell is looking to improve his position but Lukens isn't that keen on the idea.
Bell is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Lukens looking for a guillotine from mount but Bell is having none of it.
Lukens avoids the attempt from Bell to control.
Lenny Lukens overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Bell is trying to escape the mount.
Lukens dominating with strikes here.
Lukens looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Bell is looking to improve his position but Lukens isn't that keen on the idea.
Lukens cracks Bell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Bell takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lukens throws some wild stikes that Bell manages to avoid easily.
Bell taking shots to the head.

Lukens is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Bell has managed to escape the submission attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lukens has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Bell's face.

Lukens is controlling this nicely and is looking to make no mistakes. Bell is trying to wiggle out of this horrible position. Bell flips to his side and attempts to get a leg in for half guard. Lukens anticipates the leg and manages to get behind Bell and secures both hooks! This could be bad! Lukens slips an arm under Bell chin and tries to position for a rear naked choke. Lukens has worked the choke in now and it looks tight. Lukens is squeezing on Bell like an anaconda would it's prey. Bell fails to tap and has fallen unconscious! We've got ourselves a winner by way of a rear naked choke!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:37 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Lenny Lukens!
Lenny Lukens retains his lightweight title!