PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Rand (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabe Thurgood (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rand comes to the cage accompanied by The Last Dragon. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Gabe Thurgood was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Rand
vs
Thurgood

181 cm
28
182 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

186 cm
24
186 lbs
12 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Heavy handed

Conviction
Conviction

Broken Halo Pride Nutrition
Firebird Designs

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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Daniel Rand!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Gabe Thurgood!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Shirou Masuda.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thurgood just misses with a punch to the body.

Rand gets caught flat footed, as Thurgood shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rand wants to stand but Thurgood is controlling the position.
Thurgood wants to control from the top but Rand keeps moving.
Rand can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Thurgood controls the pace.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Thurgood is looking to work some ground and pound but Rand has wrist control.
Thurgood scoring with some ground and pound.
Thurgood is fighting to break Rand's control of his arms but Rand is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Rand looking for a sweep. Not yet Rand, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thurgood throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Rand works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Thurgood throwing strikes from guard but Rand blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Thurgood accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Thurgood scoring with some ground and pound.
Thurgood 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.
Rand keeping moving, preventing Thurgood from controlling successfully.
Thurgood working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two 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.
Thurgood trying to control the position from guard on top but Rand is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rand preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Rand looking to hit a scissor sweep but Thurgood is one step ahead there.
Rand keeping full guard, as Thurgood tries to pass.
Thurgood trying to control the position from guard on top but Rand is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rand has Thurgood pulled in close to control his posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Thurgood is looking to chop away at Rand's legs.
Thurgood throws a hook but Rand avoids it easily.
Thurgood throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
A jab from Thurgood misses.
Rand misses with a body shot.

Thurgood shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Thurgood unloads with some shots from mount but Rand bucks and avoids them well.
Thurgood punching from mount but Rand doing a good job of avoiding damage.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Rand is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Rand holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Thurgood tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thurgood with a couple of short strikes.
Thurgood thowing shots but they're missing.
Rand is desperately trying to improve his position but Thurgood has a good base and remains in mount.
Poor strikes thrown by Thurgood there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabe Thurgood dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Some wild striking there from Thurgood.
Thurgood looks to score with a jab to the body but Rand is just out of range.
Thurgood throws a body punch but Rand moves out of range.
Rand thows a body shot but no joy.
Thurgood avoids the head kick by Rand.
Rand defending well as Thurgood loads up on a big left hand.
Thurgood fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thurgood is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rand.
Rand lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Rand misses with a leg kick
and Thurgood counters with a nice low kick that buckles Rand's knee momentarily.
Thurgood just misses with a punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rand ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Thurgood misses with a low kick.
Rand misses with a wild body shot.

Thurgood takes the fight into the clinch.
Thurgood is looking to break free of the clinch but Rand has double underhooks.
Thurgood stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Nice body punch from Thurgood.
A short body shot lands from Thurgood as the two fighters clinch.
Thurgood wants to break the clinch but can't.
Thurgood lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Thurgood misses with a hook to the ribs.
Rand swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A right hook to the body lands for Thurgood.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A nice right hand lands inside from Rand.
Rand swings wildly with an uppercut but Thurgood uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice body punch from Rand - that landed with a thud.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thurgood stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Rand misses with a short punch on the inside.
Thurgood tries a body shot but Rand blocks it.
Thurgood works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thurgood pushes Rand back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Thurgood fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Thurgood manages to break the clinch.
Rand on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Thurgood. Thurgood obviously looking to wear him down.
Rand on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Rand takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Thurgood looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rand is fending him off so far but Thurgood persists. Nope, Rand circles away and we're back to standing.
Thurgood swings away with a body shot that misses

and Rand counters by clinching up.
Rand blocks a body shot from Thurgood.
Thurgood lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Rand.
Rand presses Thurgood against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Thurgood misses with a hook from the clinch.
Thurgood misses with a body punch.
Thurgood misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thurgood tries to throw a body punch but Rand avoids it by throwing Thurgood back against the cage.

Rand breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Thurgood cracks a nice hook into Rand's ribs.
Thurgood throws a jab but it's blocked by Rand.
Thurgood ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Thurgood scores with a hook.
Thurgood misses with a wild combination.
Rand misses with a jab to the body
and Thurgood counters with a leg kick.
Daniel Rand is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A telegraphed right hand from Thurgood misses the target.
Rand fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Thurgood manages to avoid it.
A telegraphed right hand from Thurgood misses the target.

Thurgood darts in and clinches Rand up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rand's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rand slips a straight right by Thurgood.
Rand connects with a solid leg kick.
A slow jab from Thurgood misses its intended target.
Thurgood misses with a looping right.
Thurgood moves out of range of the body kick.
Rand throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rand keeps the fight on the outside.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rand staying out of range there.
Rand misses with a looping right.
Rand is looking to wear down Thurgood with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Thurgood misses with a body punch
and Rand counters with a stiff right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabe Thurgood showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Rand goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Thurgood tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thurgood comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Thurgood missing with a left hand there. Rand was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Thurgood misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rand misses with a straight left.
Rand looks to land a left hand but Thurgood moved out of range nicely.
A nice inside leg kick there by Thurgood. That's going to slow Rand down.
Thurgood connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Thurgood takes a swing at Rand's ribcage but misses.
Rand misses with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thurgood throws a leg kick but Rand checks it.
Thurgood thows a body shot but no joy.
Rand throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rand throws a leg kick that is checked
and Thurgood counters with a big head kick but Rand shrugs it off.
Thurgood connects with a crisp jab.
Rand thows a left - swing and a miss!
Rand waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Thurgood.
Thurgood slips a straight right by Rand.
Rand just misses with a punch to the body.
Thurgood tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rand paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Rand thows a body shot but no joy.

That's two 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.
Rand attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Thurgood missing with a left hand there. Rand was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Left hook, right uppercut from Thurgood.
Rand scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
A low kick from Thurgood is predictable there
and Rand counters with a good low kick that Thurgood was not able to check.
Thurgood misses with a hook. Rand ducked under it nicely.
Rand digs a good hook to Thurgood's body.
Thurgood misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Rand counters with a thumping low kick.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Thurgood is defended easily by Rand.
Rand moves out of range as Thurgood strikes.
Daniel Rand has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thurgood connects with a body shot.
Thurgood takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Rand is looking to chop away at Thurgood's legs.
Thurgood fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rand swings for the body but Thurgood moves out of range.
Rand lands with a straight right. Thurgood didn't see that one coming.
Rand throws a looping overhand right but Thurgood ducks down to avoid it.
Thurgood fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rand manages to avoid it.
Rand lands a lovely overhand right.
Decent striking displayed by Rand there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rand pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Rand cracks Thurgood with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Gabe Thurgood is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Thurgood throws a jab but it's blocked by Rand.
Rand throws a front kick aimed at Thurgood's knee but Thurgood avoids it well.
Thurgood throws a head kick but Rand moves out of range.
Daniel Rand is winning the standup battle so far.
Rand misses with a wild body shot.
Thurgood moves in looking to clinch but Rand pushes him off.
Rand ducks under a wild hook from Thurgood.
Thurgood looks to land a right hand but Rand moved out of range.
Rand connects with a nice looking jab.
Thurgood throws a leg kick that is checked
and Rand connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

And that's the end of the fight!
Daniel Rand showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Thurgood has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gabe Thurgood!