PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Pusher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Forrest Griffin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Griffin has chosen Killing In The Name as his entrance music. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Pusher
vs
Griffin

200 cm
23
205 lbs
11 - 7 - 0

190 cm
24
210 lbs
11 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Thomas Pusher!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Forrest Griffin!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Bruno Hogan and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pusher has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Griffin takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Griffin tries to score with a low kick but Pusher moves his leg out of the way.
Pusher pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Griffin fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Griffin misses with a wild combination.
Pusher connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Pusher throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Pusher missing with a left hand there. Griffin was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Thomas Pusher seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pusher misses with an uppercut.
Griffin misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Pusher counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Pusher blocks the body kick.
Griffin misses with a low kick as Pusher jumps back.
Griffin uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Pusher.
Pusher ducks under a wild hook from Griffin.
Griffin darts in trying to clinch
and Pusher counters with a good, hard body kick but Griffin shrugs it off.
Griffin throws a lazy right hand but Pusher sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Griffin uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Pusher.
Griffin throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Pusher fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Griffin is out of range.
Griffin wants to clinch
enabling Pusher to counter with a crisp jab.
Pusher checks a leg kick nicely.
Pusher moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Jab from Pusher.

Griffin moves into range and clinches up with Pusher.
Pusher tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Griffin just stands there and leans against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Griffin.
Griffin tries to land a knee to the head but Pusher blocks with his arms.
Griffin utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Stalling in the clinch from Griffin.
Griffin scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Pusher blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pusher takes a knee right on the jaw!

Pusher has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Griffin uses from the top position.
Griffin looking to pass the guard.
Pusher preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Griffin preventing the sweep.
Griffin looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Griffin throws a strike but Pusher rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffin wants to sweep but no luck.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Griffin has a closed guard, preventing Pusher from standing up.
Griffin working a defensive guard but Pusher passes into half guard.
Pusher wants to stand but Griffin has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Griffin is trying to maintain the position but Pusher is very close to passing his half guard.

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.
Pusher has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Griffin works to full guard.
Griffin is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pusher would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Griffin has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Griffin throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Pusher dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Pusher ducks under a wild hook from Griffin.
Griffin bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Pusher's head backwards.

It looks like Thomas Pusher has been cut.
Pusher cracks Griffin with an open hand slap.
Griffin moves out of range of the body kick from Pusher.
Griffin doesn't manage to clinch there - Pusher circles away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Griffin. Pusher does a little dance to reset his feet.
Pusher is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Griffin will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Pusher throws an overhand right that lands on Griffin's shoulder, as Griffin tries to avoid the shot.
Griffin avoids the head kick by Pusher.
Pusher jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Thomas Pusher is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Griffin avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Pusher throws a nice outside leg kick.
Pusher digs a good body shot into Griffin's ribs.
Griffin throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

Griffin pushes Pusher up against the cage in a clinch.
Griffin is stalling here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Griffin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Griffin working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Griffin taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Griffin connects with a nasty looking knee right to Pusher's face.
Griffin scores a nice knee to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Pusher.
Griffin tries to land a knee to the head but Pusher blocks with his arms.
Pusher tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Griffin digs a right hand into Pusher's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Pusher's gas tank.
Griffin looks to throw an elbow but misses.

Pusher jumps guard.
Griffin wants to stand and escape but instead Pusher has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Griffin is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pusher has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Griffin is proving hard to escape from.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Griffin looking for a sweep. Not yet Griffin, not yet.
Pusher would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Griffin looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Pusher gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Griffin gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffin blocks a head kick by Pusher.
Pusher takes a swing at Griffin's ribcage but misses.
Griffin getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Griffin misses with a double jab
letting Pusher counter with a right hand.
Griffin throws a series of punches but Pusher avoids them all with ease.
Pusher scores with a jab.
Griffin tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Pusher manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Pusher jabs Griffin right on the nose. Griffin blinks but takes it well.
Griffin throws a shot to the body.
Pusher throws a low kick but Griffin moves out of range easily.
Griffin tries a head kick but it misses.
Griffin takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Pusher cracks Griffin with a right hand to the side of the head.
Griffin misses with a combination
and Pusher counters with a thumping low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pusher slips a jab and a cross from Griffin.
Pusher bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
The fight stays on the outside here - Griffin looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Pusher throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Pusher throws a head kick but Griffin moves out of range.
Griffin avoids a kick to the body.
Griffin with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Griffin throws a solid leg kick but Pusher takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Griffin.
Griffin just misses with a punch to the body.
Pusher throws an overhand right that lands on Griffin's shoulder, as Griffin tries to avoid the shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pusher fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Griffin checks it well.
Pusher showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Griffin.
Griffin misses with a head kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Thomas Pusher will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Thomas Pusher's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Pusher throws a leg kick that is checked
and Griffin counters with a straight right hand.
Pusher throws a series of punches but Griffin avoids them all with ease.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Pusher.
Sloppy strikes from Pusher. Those never looked like landing.
Pusher avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Thomas Pusher is winning the standup battle so far.
A left and a right from Griffin both land. Nice combination.
Griffin pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Griffin ducks under a wild hook from Pusher.
Pusher thows a leg kick but Griffin checks it

and Griffin counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Griffin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Pusher fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Griffin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Griffin with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Griffin lands a right hand that snaps the head of Pusher backwards.
Griffin has Pusher pushed against the cage.
Griffin misses with the head strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pusher fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Pusher jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Griffin walks away with a smile on his face. Pusher gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Pusher. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Griffin connects with the punch.
Pusher pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Griffin back to the cage. Pusher follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Griffin lands with a thumping leg kick.
Griffin is looking to clinch but Pusher is avoiding it.
Pusher lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Griffin at a distance.
Griffin tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Pusher counters with a low kick, right behind Griffin 's knee.
Griffin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Griffin throws a leg kick that is checked
and Pusher counters with a stiff right hand.
Griffin takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Pusher misses with a combination
and Griffin makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Forrest Griffin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Griffin takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Griffin moves in looking to clinch but Pusher pushes him off.
Pusher keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Pusher takes a swing at Griffin's ribcage but misses.
A combination from Griffin does no damage.
Griffin misses with a wild combination.
Pusher bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Griffin's head backwards.
Griffin on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Griffin throws a sloppy head kick
and Pusher cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A head kick by Pusher misses

and Griffin moves into the clinch.
Griffin will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Pusher up against the cage.
Griffin throws an elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffin stalls.
Griffin with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Griffin tries to land a knee to the head but Pusher blocks with his arms.
Griffin tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Griffin has a couple of punches blocked by Pusher.
Pusher tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Griffin just stands there and leans against the cage.
Pusher managing to block the knees to the body from Griffin.
Pusher avoiding damage as Griffin throws knees to the body.
Griffin just leaning against Pusher, taking a breather.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Griffin manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Griffin throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's four 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.
Pusher jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Griffin walks away with a smile on his face. Pusher gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A head kick misses from Pusher.
Pusher throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Griffin is looking to clinch but Pusher is avoiding it.
Pusher misses with a body punch

and Griffin counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Griffin landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Griffin comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Griffin looking to throw knees to the head but Pusher is blocking nicely.
Griffin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Pusher as Griffin tries to tie him up.
Griffin looking to throw knees to the head but Pusher is blocking nicely.
Thomas Pusher is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pusher blocks an elbow strike from Griffin.

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 Thomas Pusher.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Pusher, 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 30:29
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Thomas Pusher!