PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Justin Hale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Smith has chosen Firework as his entrance music. John Smith has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Hale
vs
Smith

175 cm
19
160 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

160 cm
26
154 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Justin Hale!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, John Smith!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Winston Howard and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hale fails with the takedown
and Smith counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hale tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Smith counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hale throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Smith counters with a stiff right hand.
Hale misses with a kick to the body
enabling Smith to counter with a crisp jab.
A shot to the body from Hale misses
and Smith counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Hale swings away with a body shot that misses
and Smith counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Hale throws a combination that misses
and Smith counters with a nice uppercut.
Hale takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Hale tries to clinch but Smith moves away
and Smith counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Hale throws a combination that misses

and Smith counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Smith.

Smith drops back looking for a leg! Hale is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Hale manages to kick Smith off! Smith jumps back into Hale's guard.
Hale looking for a sweep. Not yet Hale, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hale works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Hale looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Hale controls Smith momentarily but Smith frees himself.
Smith scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Smith is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Smith stopping the sweep attempt from Hale.
Smith keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hale's head.
Smith tries to free his leg and advance position but Hale is retaining full guard.
Smith passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Hale is letting Smith control him for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith working the head with strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hale is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Smith staying calm.
Hale is trying to get back to his feet.

Smith thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Smith staying calm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hale wants to control but Smith postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith cracks Hale with a big right hand but Hale just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Hale is trying to improve his position.
Smith trying to control the position but Hale is working away.
Hale tries to improve position but can't.
Hale trying to remain calm as Smith controls from the top position.
Hale wants to get back to his feet but Smith drags him back down.
Smith scoring with punches and elbows.
Smith scoring with punches and elbows.

Smith stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Hale misses with a hook
and Smith counters with a straight right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hale swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Smith counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Hale!
Smith postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Hale looks a forlorn figure.
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.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Smith avoids the attempt from Hale to control.
Smith controlling the pace for now.
Smith with good strikes from the mount here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hale is looking to get to half guard.
Smith controlling from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Hale misses with a left hand

and Smith counters with a shoot takedown. Hale fights it but they end up in guard.
Smith must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Smith is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Smith stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Hale misses with a double jab

and Smith counters with a shoot takedown. Hale fights it but they end up in guard.

Hale is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Smith defends well.
Hale keeping moving, preventing Smith from controlling successfully.
Hale is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Smith preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Smith regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hale will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith has his hands on Hale's head, controlling the position.

Hale postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Smith is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Hale, into his guard.
Smith trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Hale looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Smith not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

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.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. John Smith wasn't active enough on the ground.
Hale throws a predictable looking body shot

and Smith moves into the clinch.
Hale has had enough of the clinch but Smith keeps him there for the moment.
Hale tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Smith just stands there and leans against the cage.
Hale is trying to force a seperation but Smith has the dominant position.

Smith has clasped his hands together around Hale's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Hale is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Smith's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Smith working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hale looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Smith passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Hale!
Smith looking to finish Hale with some ground and pound. This is bad for Hale!
Smith controlling from the full mount.
Smith is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Smith lands a big shot there that rocks Hale but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
A nice elbow there by Smith.
Hale is in all sorts of trouble here.
John Smith has got the better of the ground game so far.
Smith looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hale is working to get back to half guard.
Smith lands a nice shot to the head.
Smith landing strikes from the mount and Hale is in trouble!
Smith has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Smith has hold of Hale's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Hale manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Hale can't escape the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Smith controlling the pace for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Smith showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Hale throws a combination that misses

and Smith counters with a takedown into side control.
Hale is looking to regain half guard here but Smith keeps moving and retains side control.

Smith stands up and beckons Hale to his feet.
Hale throws a left and a right that both miss
and Smith counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Justin Hale seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hale shoots and misses
and Smith counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Hale has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

Smith is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Hale's half guard.
Hale regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hale is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Hale manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Smith manages to get himself to full guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Smith pulls Hale in close to prevent any damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale tries to stand but Smith is controlling from the bottom.

Smith has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hale can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Smith managing to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. John Smith wasn't active enough on the ground.
Hale misses with a body shot

and Smith counters with a nice double leg into side control. Hale won't be happy with that.
Hale is looking for a sweep.
Smith is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Hale's shoulder. That is not cool.
Hale is looking to reverse the position.
Smith trying to control the action but Hale is working from the bottom.
Smith connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Hale some visible discomfort.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Smith decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Hale misses with a jab to the body

and Smith counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Smith.

Smith is trying to trip Hale. He has hold of a leg but Hale is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Smith persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Smith sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Hale is looking for a triangle but Smith pushes his legs off easily.
Smith engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Hale looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Hale keeping moving, preventing Smith from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to pass the guard but Hale is keeping the position.
Smith lands a couple of elbows.
Smith pushing down on Hale's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Smith passes to side control.
Hale tries to improve position but can't.

Smith stands up.
Hale closes the distance but Smith moves to the side

and Smith counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Hale's guard now.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Smith is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Justin Hale has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John Smith is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hale can't keep his opponent in guard - Smith advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Smith comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Smith has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 26:30
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 26:30
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 26:30

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