PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Randy Orton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jacques Francel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Orton kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Voices. Francel has chosen Voix de fait as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Orton
vs
Francel

194 cm
25
178 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

176 cm
19
183 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
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 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Randy Orton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jacques Francel!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Ian Loll and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Orton tests Francel's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Francel looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Orton is fending him off so far but Francel persists. Nope, Orton circles away and we're back to standing.
Francel on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Francel takes one on the button.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Orton!
Orton throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
The crowd cheers as Orton lands an impressive looking overhand right. Francel doesn't seem phased though.
Orton is looking to clinch.
Orton with a nice cross.
Orton misses with a series of wild punches.
Francel throws a hook to the side of Orton's head but Orton sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

Orton gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Francel to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Orton has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Francel can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Orton has his foot on Francel's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Francel works his way back into a safe position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Orton is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Orton will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Francel not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Orton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Orton looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Francel sitting in guard here, content to control.
Francel throwing strikes but missing.

Orton is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Francel chips away with some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Francel throwing strikes from guard but Orton blocks nicely.

Orton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Francel trying to control the position from guard on top but Orton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Francel stands and throws Orton's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Orton can't do much from the bottom here.
Orton is trying to get back to half guard.
Orton is trying to escape the position but Francel is controlling the position.
Orton takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Francel trying to control the position but Orton is working away.

Francel tries for a kimura but Orton is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Orton is looking for a sweep.
Francel postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Orton is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Francel is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Francel is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Francel with shots to the head and body - Orton looks very uncomfortable down there.
Francel has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Orton's face.

Orton is rocked!
Orton can't escape the position.
Francel working Orton over with strikes here.
Oh Orton is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Francel controlling the pace for now.
Orton is bucking up trying to escape but Francel cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Orton really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Francel trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Orton seems to have got his legs back now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Orton taking shots to the head.
Orton is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Francel lands a heavy elbow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Francel jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Orton is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Orton and Francel has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Francel wants to lay and pray for a moment but Orton keeps working.
Francel looks gassed!
You can see the frustration on Orton's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Francel taking a breather here.
Francel in side control, throwing shots but Orton defends.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacques Francel 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.

Orton throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Orton is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Orton comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Orton with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Orton scores with a jab to the jaw.
Randy Orton seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Orton lands a jab to the nose.
A right-left combo lands from Orton.
Orton throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Francel.
The fighters circling - Francel throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A lazy left from Orton finds it's target.
Good shot there by Orton.
Orton changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Orton lands with a shot to the body.
Orton lands a jab to the nose.
Orton catches Francel with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

Francel shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Francel is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Orton looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Orton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Orton looking for submissions off his back.
Francel thows a huge punch but Orton dodges it nicely.
Francel passes the guard and advances to mount!
Orton is working to get back to half guard.
Orton regains half guard.

That's two 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.
Orton wants to control but Francel is keeping busy.
Francel looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Orton with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Francel thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Orton keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Orton is looking to improve his position.

Orton actively working from the bottom here.
Francel missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Orton slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Orton will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Orton has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Francel can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Orton throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francel with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Orton preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Francel trying to control the position from guard on top but Orton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Francel in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Francel throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Orton works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Orton being controlled here, momentarily.

Orton looking for subs off his back but Francel has passed one foot through into half guard.
Francel not doing much here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Francel works his foot free and advances to mount.
Francel scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Orton?
Francel trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Orton is desperately trying to improve his position but Francel has a good base and remains in mount.
Francel trying to control but Orton is having none of it.
Jacques Francel has got the better of the ground game so far.
Orton tries to reverse the position but Francel maintains control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Randy Orton dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Orton misses with a body shot.
Orton scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Orton smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Francel stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Orton.
Francel tried to score with a low kick but Orton checks it.
Nice straight punches there by Orton. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Orton.
Francel shoots in for a double leg but Orton sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Orton cracks Francel with a right hand to the side of the head.
Francel changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Orton tries to avoid it but Francel manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Orton to the ground. Orton escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Orton scores with a body shot.
Orton scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Francel takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.

Francel scores a takedown into full mount!
Orton is in all sorts of trouble here.
Francel takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Francel is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Orton can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Orton is looking to improve his position but Francel isn't that keen on the idea.
Orton gets back to half guard.

Orton is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Francel pulls his head out easily.

Orton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The fighters are battling for position here. Orton manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Francel stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Orton swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Francel wants to control from the top but Orton keeps moving.

Orton looking for a guillotine here but Francel defends easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Orton is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Francel defends well.
Francel not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Orton is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Francel lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Orton working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Francel doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Francel manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Francel pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Orton is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francel makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Francel trying to control the position from guard on top but Orton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Orton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Francel is aware though and is defending well.
Francel lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Francel must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Francel is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Francel's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Francel in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Francel wants to control from the top but Orton keeps moving.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Francel's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

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.
Francel trying to control the position from guard on top but Orton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Orton has his foot on Francel's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Francel works his way back into a safe position though.
Francel postures up.

Orton looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Francel passes into half guard.
Francel throwing shots but Orton is blocking nicely.

Orton looking for submissions off his back.
Francel looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Orton with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Orton throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Francel is taking a breather. Orton says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

And that's the end of the fight!
Randy Orton showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Orton 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 William Peck scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Randy Orton!