PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bruce Banner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Craig Mason (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Banner comes to the cage accompanied by xavier rudd - energy song. Craig Mason has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Bruce Banner's chin.

Banner
vs
Mason

180 cm
25
192 lbs
10 - 2 - 0

178 cm
25
181 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

O'Brannigan's Fightwear
Firebird Designs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bruce Banner!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Craig Mason!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mason tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Banner was well out of range. Poor timing from Mason.
Mason misses with a wild combination.
Mason avoids the body shot from Banner.
Banner avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nice uppercut there from Banner.
Banner throws a predictable looking body shot
and Mason counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Mason tries to land a leg kick but Banner saw it coming and moves away.
Mason misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Mason slips under a jab from Banner.
Mason wants to clinch.
Banner misses with a body shot
and Mason counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nice sprawl there from Banner as Mason shoots in.
A combination from Mason does no damage.
Banner throws a jab but it's blocked by Mason.

Mason scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Mason tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Mason has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mason tries for a kimura but Banner is defending well.
Banner sneaks back into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Banner is looking to improve his position.
Banner is trying to control but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Mason is looking to take a break and control but Banner is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Banner holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Banner wants to improve his position but Mason is controlling well.

Mason is looking for a kimura here.

Banner is defending against the submission attempts here by Mason.
Banner is trying to maintain the position but Mason is very close to passing his half guard.

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.
Banner throws a shot from downtown. Mason moves away and avoids it.
Mason fails with an attempt to clinch.
Banner motions for Mason to come forward. Banner throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Banner gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Banner is controlling Mason's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason looking to sit in guard and control but Banner gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Mason working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Banner.
Mason is trying to keep Banner in close.
Mason looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Banner is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Mason looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Mason working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Banner has passed into half guard!
Nice strikes from Banner there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Horrible takedown by Mason or perhaps it was just good defense by Banner which made him look bad.
Mason wants to clinch.
Mason displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Banner throws out the jab.
Mason tries to clinch but Banner is having none of it.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Mason.
Bruce Banner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Banner is looking to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck for Banner with that takedown attempt.
Mason throws a series of punches but Banner avoids them all with ease.
Mason throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Mason looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason misses the shot to the body.
Banner lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Banner misses with an uppercut. Mason saw that one coming.
Banner swings for the body but Mason moves out of range.
Banner ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Banner throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A slow jab from Banner misses its intended target.
Mason misses with a low kick as Banner jumps back.
Mason staying out of range there.
Nice sprawl there from Mason as Banner shoots in.
Mason tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Banner misses with a body shot.
Mason clinches but Banner breaks the clinch
and Banner counters with a right hand to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banner darts in trying to clinch
and Mason counters with a three punch combo that has Banner backing up. Banner nods at Mason to acknowledge the strikes.
Mason wants to clinch up but Banner keeps it at a distance.
Banner throws a lazy right hand but Mason sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Banner tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mason was well out of range. Poor timing from Banner.

Banner shoots in and bounces Mason off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Mason being controlled here, momentarily.
Mason throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banner preventing the sweep.
Banner is looking to work some ground and pound but Mason has wrist control.
Mason looking to hit a scissor sweep but Banner is one step ahead there.
Banner postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Mason is trying to keep Banner in close.
Banner throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Banner shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Mason sprawls well. Mason wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Banner gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bruce Banner. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mason moves in looking to clinch but Banner pushes him off.
Mason has his takedown stuffed

and Banner counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Mason!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banner punishing his opponent with strikes.
A nice elbow there by Banner.

It looks like Craig Mason has been cut.
Banner with the ground and pound from mount.
Banner looking to control but Mason is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Banner lands a nice shot to the head.
Banner landing strikes, looking to finish!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Banner has control of Mason's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Mason regains control of the situation pretty easily.

Banner swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Mason is now in Banner's guard. A big mistake from Banner there, giving up the dominant position!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Banner looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bruce Banner dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Craig Mason's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Banner looks to score with a jab to the body but Mason is just out of range.
Craig Mason is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mason tries to close the distance and clinch up but Banner swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mason. Banner does a little dance to reset his feet.
Mason looks to clinch

so Banner counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Banner won't allow Mason to sweep him here.
Mason trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Mason looking for a sweep. Not yet Mason, not yet.
Banner lands a couple of elbows.
Banner content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Mason has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Banner can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Banner won't allow Mason to sweep him here.
Banner seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Mason lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Banner!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banner gets back to half guard.
Banner gets back to full guard.
Mason trying to control but Banner is working from the bottom.
Mason with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mason is looking to work some ground and pound but Banner has wrist control.

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.
Banner controlling the position.
Banner wants to sweep here but Mason controlling him for the moment.
Mason tries to free his leg and advance position but Banner is retaining full guard.
Mason throws a strike but Banner rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Banner looking to pass the guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Mason is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Banner.
Banner throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Mason counters with a right hand to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mason clinches.
Mason swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Banner blocks a body shot from Mason.
Mason misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Mason misses with some punches.
Banner blocking some punches.
The referee calls for Banner to work.
Mason lands a nice uppercut.
Mason tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Banner just stands there and leans against the cage.

Banner manages to break the clinch.
Banner misses with a body punch
and Mason counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Mason throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Banner misses with a straight left.
Mason paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Mason tries to clinch but Banner moves away

and Banner counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Mason!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason working to try and regain half guard.
Mason wants to control but Banner is having none of it.
Banner looking to finish Mason with some ground and pound. This is bad for Mason!
Banner landing shots from mount.
Banner with a couple of short strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mason is bucking up trying to escape but Banner cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That has opened up Craig Mason's cut even more.
Mason takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Banner working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Banner with the ground and pound from mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Banner postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Mason looks a forlorn figure.
Mason is looking to improve his position but Banner isn't that keen on the idea.
The referee warns Mason that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bruce Banner clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Craig Mason's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Mason fails with an attempt to clinch.
Mason wants to clinch but Banner slips to the side
and Banner cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Mason fails with the takedown

and Banner counters with a takedown into side control.
You can see the frustration on Mason's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Bruce Banner overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Banner wants to control but Mason is keeping him busy.
Mason is looking to regain half guard here but Banner keeps moving and retains side control.
Mason is working to avoid the ground and pound but Banner connects with a decent elbow.

The cut above Craig Mason's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Banner is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Mason is looking to reverse the position.
Mason is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banner creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

Craig Mason's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Craig Mason's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:28 of round 4, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Bruce Banner!
Bruce Banner is the new middleweight champion!