PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jake Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom SMith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jake Hardy has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hardy
vs
SMith

183 cm
18
180 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

150 cm
20
190 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jake Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tom SMith!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Hirohito Nitta and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

SMith shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Hardy is trying to defend but SMith finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
SMith thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Hardy's head.

SMith looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
SMith content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
SMith stops Hardy from getting back to his feet.

SMith stands up from half guard.
Hardy is breathing heavily.
Hardy throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hardy throws a series of punches but SMith avoids them all with ease.

SMith shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Hardy napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
SMith has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Hardy trying desperately to get to his feet.
SMith lands a nice shot to the head.
SMith working Hardy over with strikes here.
SMith controlling his opponent.
I looks like SMith might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The referee warns Hardy that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Hardy is trying to stand.
SMith looking to finish Hardy with some ground and pound. This is bad for Hardy!
SMith 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.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, SMith cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
SMith controlling his opponent.
Hardy is in a horrible position here. SMith smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
SMith punishing his opponent with strikes.
SMith cracks Hardy with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hardy is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
SMith landing strikes, looking to finish!
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - SMith has eaten all the pies!
SMith takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy trying desperately to get to his feet.
SMith fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

SMith is working for a guillotine from mount but Hardy frees his head quite easily.
SMith controlling from mount.
Hardy knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for SMith on the ground.
SMith won't let Hardy get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Hardy trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
SMith controlling from the full mount.

SMith with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Hardy wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by SMith.
Hardy is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom SMith dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hardy tries to clinch but SMith moves out of range.
Hardy scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
SMith fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hardy manages to avoid it.
Hardy shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and SMith makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Hardy really felt that one!

SMith has managed to clinch.
Hardy gets underhooks to prevent SMith's takedown attempt.
Knees in the clinch landing for SMith.

SMith escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

SMith drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
SMith advances to full mount.
Hardy squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
SMith lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Hardy is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
SMith cracks Hardy with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hardy is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
The referee warns Hardy that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
SMith scoring with strikes but Hardy is staying in there.
Hardy squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

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.
SMith controlling his opponent.
Hardy is trying to stand up.
SMith controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
SMith controlling from mount.
Let's hope that SMith has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Hardy is trying to stand up.
SMith has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

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.
SMith controlling the pace for now.
Hardy is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
SMith takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Hardy is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
SMith controlling the pace for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hardy is trying to stand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom SMith showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Hardy scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

SMith shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Hardy wants to get back to his feet but SMith is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
SMith is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
SMith is standing up over Hardy. Hardy looks to escape but SMith dives into side control.
Hardy is trying to buck SMith off.

SMith wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Hardy, who protects the arm well.
Hardy is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
SMith trying to control the position but Hardy is working away.
Hardy is looking to get back to his feet here but SMith is keeping cool and he's managed to take Hardy's back.
Hardy prevents SMith from getting a body triangle.
SMith controls the position.
Hardy looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.

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.

SMith has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Will SMith go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Hardy trying to get back to his feet but SMith is in full control for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
SMith has good solid back control here.
Hardy is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Jake Hardy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
SMith loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Hardy hold on?
Hardy looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
SMith is landing with strikes from the back.

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.
Hardy is taking damage to the body and head.
Hardy wants to get back to his feet.
Tom SMith has got the better of the ground game so far.
SMith trying to control momentarily.
Hardy is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
SMith keeps control of the position easily here as Hardy tries to buck him off.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hardy is trying to stand back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tom SMith comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got SMith winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom SMith!