PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between John Bear (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hannibal Lecter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Bear
vs
Lecter

184 cm
23
177 lbs
12 - 8 - 0

180 cm
26
179 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Powerful

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 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Bear!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hannibal Lecter!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Wesley Smith and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bear shoots in and drives through. Lecter sprawls well.

Lecter has taken the fight to the clinch.
Bear stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Bear struggles to land a body shot inside as Lecter controls his hands.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but Bear blocks with his arms.
Bear misses with a hook from the clinch.
Lecter looking to stall.
Lecter landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Lecter lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Lecter landing knees to the head.
Bear throws a punch but it's blocked by Lecter.
Lecter tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lecter with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Bear is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Lecter is defending well for now.
Lecter connects with a nasty looking knee right to Bear's face.
Bear tries to circle away but Lecter has him pinned against the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Lecter.
Bear is breathing heavily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lecter scores with a knee to the head.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Lecter crunches a lovely knee into Bear's ribcage.
Lecter throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Bear blocks it with crossed arms.
Lecter displaying some good clinch control by pressing Bear up against the cage.
Lecter is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Bear takes a knee to the side of the body.
Lecter is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Lecter landing knees to the head.
Lecter blocks an uppercut.
Bear takes a knee right on the jaw!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bear swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Lecter unloads a knee to the mid-section. Bear lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Lecter landing knees to the body.
Bear wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Bear throws an elbow but misses.
Lecter lands an elbow that stopped Bear in his tracks for a moment.
Lecter is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Lecter scores with a knee to the head.
Lecter with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Bear throws an elbow but it misses.
Lecter with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

Bear manages to break the clinch.
Lecter tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Bear manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Bear shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Lecter tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Bear manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Bear.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Bear. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Bear.
Bear uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Lecter.

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.
Bear keeps the fight on the outside.

Lecter rushes Bear and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Bear takes a knee right on the jaw!
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Lecter.
Bear looking to throw knees to the head but Lecter is blocking nicely.
Lecter tries a knee to the head but Bear blocks it.
Lecter misses with a knee strike.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Lecter misses with a knee strike.
Bear wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Lecter has him pressed against the cage.
Bear has had enough of the clinch but Lecter keeps him there for the moment.
A knee to the head by Lecter.
Bear with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Lecter blocks an elbow strike.
Bear working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Lecter with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bear lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Bear wants to get back to striking at distance but Lecter won't allow it.
Bear is trying to push Lecter away but Lecter has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Lecter misses with a knee to the head.
Lecter with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bear scores with a shot to the side of Lecter's head.
Bear has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Bear pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lecter dodges an elbow strike from Bear.
Bear managing to block the knees to the body from Lecter.
Bear wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Lecter has him pressed against the cage.
Bear softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Lecter throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Bear blocks it with crossed arms.
Lecter is trying to maintain a safe position but Bear gets an underhook and turns Lecter into the cage.
Bear lands a left hand that snaps the head of Lecter backwards.
Lecter tries a knee to the head but Bear blocks it.
Bear lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Bear makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Lecter avoids a wild elbow strike from Bear.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Bear breaks the clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Lecter as Bear shoots in.
Bear shoots in for a takedown but Lecter shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Bear fails with a takedown attempt.
Lecter wants to clinch.
Bear tried to score with a low kick but Lecter checks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Lecter tries to clinch but Bear moves out of range.

Lecter has taken the fight to the clinch.
Lecter trying to control the position but instead, Bear has worked for underhooks and has pushed Lecter into the cage.
Lecter misses with a knee to the head.
Lecter throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Bear blocks it with crossed arms.
Lecter is looking to control Bear's arms but Bear gets an underhook and turns him. Now Lecter has his back to the cage.
Bear avoids the elbow strike from Lecter, against the cage.
Bear creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Lecter's defenses.
Bear is trying to drag Lecter to the mat but Lecter just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Bear tries a body shot but Lecter blocks it.
Bear is trying to break the clinch but Lecter is controlling him.
Lecter misses with a knee to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lecter keeps control of Bear as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but Bear blocks with his arms.
Lecter takes an elbow to the forehead.
Bear can't break the clinch.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Bear has Lecter pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Lecter manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Bear lands a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hannibal Lecter dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Bear closes the distance and pushes Lecter back into the cage.
Lecter lands an elbow inside that Bear shrugs off.
A frustrated look appears on Bear's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Bear throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

Bear breaks the clinch.
Lecter darts in trying to clinch

and Bear counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Lecter's guard now.
Lecter avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Lecter uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Lecter closes the distance but Bear moves to the side

and Bear counters by moving into the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bear on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bear takes a knee right on the jaw!
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Lecter in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.

Bear pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Bear looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Lecter looks to clinch
and Bear counters with a two punch combo.

Lecter pushes Bear up against the cage in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bear is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Lecter with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Lecter using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bear has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Lecter tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Bear softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Lecter blocks an elbow strike.
Bear looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Bear misses with a knee to the head.
Lecter with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Bear is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Lecter is defending well for now.
Bear lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Bear is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Lecter using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bear has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Bear's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Lecter tries to clinch but Bear moves away

and Bear counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Lecter!
Bear looking to ground and pound but Lecter is blocking nicely.
Bear landing punches.
Bear throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Lecter avoids a strike by Bear and manages to complete a very nice reversal in the process, to end up in Bear's guard! Fantastic escape!

Lecter gets to his feet. Bear looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bear fails with the takedown.
Lecter darts in trying to clinch

and Bear moves into the clinch.
Bear lands a left hand.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Bear wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Lecter landing knees to the head.
Lecter missing with knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bear.
Bear pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Bear avoids the elbow strike from Lecter, against the cage.
Bear avoiding damage as Lecter throws knees to the body.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Lecter.
Lecter throws an elbow but it misses.
Lecter keeps control of Bear as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Lecter blocking some punches.
Lecter blocks the elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lecter misses with an elbow over the top.
Lecter keeps control of Bear as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Bear is trying to force a seperation but Lecter has the dominant position.
Bear lands a nice uppercut.
Bear on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bear comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Lecter takes an elbow to the temple.
Bear pushes off an throws an elbow but Lecter leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
A short uppercut from Bear.
Bear with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Bear drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Bear. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lecter is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Lecter with a knee to the head.

Bear breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Lecter misses with a head kick.
Bear is trying hard to land a takedown here. Lecter sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Lecter tries to clinch but Bear moves away
and Bear counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bear will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Lecter tries to close the distance and clinch but Bear swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Lecter darts in and clinches Bear up against the cage.
Bear softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Bear is trying to break the clinch but Lecter is controlling him.
Nice elbow from Lecter.
Bear creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Lecter blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Lecter misses with a knee strike.
Bear is trying to break free.
Hannibal Lecter seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Lecter tries to land a knee to the head but Bear blocks with his arms.
Bear throws a head punch that misses.
Bear wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Lecter creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Lecter tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Bear's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bear doesn't manage to clinch there - Lecter circles away.
Lecter moves to clinch but Bear breaks away

and Bear counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Bear knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Lecter on the ground.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Lecter has one foot on Bear's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

Bear fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Lecter sprawls well initially but Bear persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Lecter wants to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Bear dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Lecter tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Bear counters by moving into the clinch.
Lecter tries to land knees in the clinch but Bear avoids the damage to the body.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Lecter lands a good knee to the midsection. Bear won't want to take too many of those.
Bear is trying to push Lecter away but Lecter has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Lecter tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lecter is trying to maintain a safe position but Bear gets an underhook and turns Lecter into the cage.
Bear lands a shoulder strike.
Bear pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Lecter avoiding damage as Bear throws knees to the body.
Bear works on Lecter's body with a couple of short punches.

Bear breaks the clinch.
Bear fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Bear shoots in for a takedown but Lecter shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Lecter darts in trying to clinch

and Bear counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Lecter kicks off Bear and gets to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good standup being displayed there by Bear as he connects with a hook.
Lecter tries to clinch up

and Bear counters with a shoot takedown. Lecter fights it but they end up in guard.
Lecter avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Lecter preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bear throwing strikes but missing.
Bear throws and elbow that misses. Lecter uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Bear's guard. Nice move by Lecter!
Lecter wants to stand but Bear is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lecter stands up and waves to Bear to follow him.
Lecter tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Bear holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Lecter unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Lecter throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Bear blocks it with crossed arms.
Bear letting Lecter take a breather here.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Bear as Lecter tries to tie him up.
Bear misses with an elbow over the top.
Bear on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Lecter using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bear has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Bear wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Bear gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Bear has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Bear throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Lecters head.
Bear lands a left hand that snaps the head of Lecter backwards.
Lecter blocks the elbow strike.

Bear's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bear keeps the fight on the outside.
Lecter defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Bear.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Bear. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lecter tries to clinch but Bear moves away
and Bear counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Horrible takedown by Bear or perhaps it was just good defense by Lecter which made him look bad.

Lecter closes the distance and clinches.
Lecter blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bear throws an elbow that misses.
Lecter lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Lecter lands a good knee to the midsection. Bear won't want to take too many of those.
Lecter lands an elbow inside.
Lecter blocks the elbow strike.
Lecter lands a knee to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Lecter obliges.
Lecter misses with an elbow strike.
Lecter is pressed up against the cage. Bear has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Lecter down to the mat. Lecter avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Lecter throws a quick inside leg kick.
Nice takedown defense from Lecter. No joy for Bear on that attempt.
Bear ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lecter gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Bear throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Lecter displaying some good clinch control by pressing Bear up against the cage.
Bear looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Bear throws an elbow that misses.
Lecter landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Lecter slowing the pace effectively.
Bear misses with a short punch on the inside.
Lecter landing knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bear.
Bear pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Lecter with a knee to the head.
Bear managing to block the knees to the body from Lecter.
Bear lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Lecter connects with a knee to the head.
Bear avoiding damage as Lecter throws knees to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bear drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Lecter gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Lecter creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Bear's defenses.
Bear throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Lecter lands a nice elbow.
Bear lands a nice shot to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to John Bear.
I think Bear 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Bear!