PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Jones (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Lingston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matt Jones has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Jones
vs
Lingston

180 cm
23
220 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

190 cm
19
255 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Matt Jones!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mike Lingston!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Hugh Johnson and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Jones shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Lingston is trying to defend but Jones finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Jones is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Lingston sees it coming and defends easily.
Lingston keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Jones thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Lingston's head.
Lingston tries to roll over but Jones keeps him under control.
Lingston looks gassed!

Jones is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Lingston sees it coming and defends easily.
Jones works his foot free and advances to mount.
Jones is landing with some decent strikes but Lingston is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Jones is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Lingston can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Jones with shots to the head and body - Lingston looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Jones trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Jones raining down shots from the mount!
Jones fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Jones dominating with strikes here.
Jones tries to control but Lingston wriggling away.
Jones putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Jones looking to control but Lingston is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Jones is landing with some decent strikes but Lingston is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Jones breaks from Lingston's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Jones controlling the pace for now.
Jones in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
A nice elbow there by Jones.
Lingston keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Jones scoring with strikes but Lingston is staying in there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Lingston is trying desperately to improve position.
Lingston regains half guard.
Jones thows a huge punch but Lingston dodges it nicely.
Jones looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Jones thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Jones throwing shots but Lingston is blocking nicely.

Jones decides to return to a standing position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jones throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Jones gets a takedown into half guard.
Jones drops an elbow to the side of Lingston's head.
Lingston is trying to stand up here but Jones is controlling him well.
Jones is just content to waste time from the top position. Lingston takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Lingston not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Jones trying to control but Lingston is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jones is looking to work some ground and pound but Lingston has wrist control.
Jones trying to control the position from guard on top but Lingston is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Jones dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Lingston scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Jones tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Lingston shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Jones decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Lingston's guard.
Matt Jones overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lingston looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Jones pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lingston is keeping the position for now.
Jones is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Jones throws a big right hand that misses.
Jones pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lingston is keeping the position for now.
Jones has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lingston manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Jones is bucking up trying to escape but Lingston cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Lingston thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Lingston sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Lingston tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Lingston looking to ground and pound but Jones is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Lingston won't let Jones get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Lingston punching from mount but Jones doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Lingston wants to control the pace but Jones is squirming around nicely.
Jones tries to hold on but Lingston postures up.
Lingston wants to control the pace but Jones is squirming around nicely.
Lingston looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lingston pushing the pace here, looking to move to his opponents back and work for a finish.
Jones is trying to reverse the position but instead Lingston has taken his back - oops!
Lingston not allowing Jones to control his hands.
Jones is really stuck here.
Jones trying to control the position but Lingston manages to sink in the hooks.
Jones covering up well under a barage of strikes.

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.
Lingston throws strikes from the back but Jones rolls nicely and manages to end up in full guard. Nice work by Jones.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Jones scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Jones is looking to take a break and control but Lingston is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Jones wants to pass the guard but Lingston is defending well.
Lingston should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Lingston gets back to full guard.
Lingston keeping moving, preventing Jones from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Jones dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Jones will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Jones closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Jones lands in his opponent's guard.
Jones looking to pass the guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Jones accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Jones throwing strikes from guard but Lingston blocks nicely.
Jones works over Lingston with some ground and pound from guard.
Jones tries to free his leg and advance position but Lingston is retaining full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lingston keeping moving, preventing Jones from controlling successfully.
Jones throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Jones shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Lingston bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Lingston wants to control from the top but Jones keeps moving.
Lingston postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones wants to sweep here but Lingston controlling him for the moment.
Lingston is pushing down on Jones's leg trying to pass to half guard. Jones is fighting to maintain full guard but Lingston has managed to sneak the leg through.
Lingston wants to lay and pray for a moment but Jones keeps working.
Jones tries to roll over but Lingston keeps him under control.
Lingston throws a strike but Jones avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Lingston is fighting to break Jones's control of his arms but Jones is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Jones pushes Lingston off and scrambles back to his feet.

Lingston gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Jones goes for a takedown attempt but Lingston pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Jones throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Lingston's waist but Lingston gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Jones off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Jones. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Lingston moves into the clinch.
Jones drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Jones misses with an elbow over the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lingston tries to pull guard but Jones won't allow it.
Lingston looking for a takedown.
Lingston lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Matt Jones is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Jones has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Lingston regains guard immediately.
Lingston keeping moving, preventing Jones from controlling successfully.
Jones connects with a couple of short punches.
Jones trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Lingston manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Lingston trying to control the position from guard on top but Jones is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Jones showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Jones, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 John Mangel scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Jones!