PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Forest Beckford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tong Van damm (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Beckford
vs
Van damm

180 cm
24
195 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

198 cm
21
200 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

Great wrestler
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

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 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Forest Beckford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Tong Van damm!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Alec Ball and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Beckford drives through with a takedown into guard.
Beckford throwing strikes from guard but Van damm blocks nicely.
Beckford throws and elbow that misses. Van damm uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Beckford's guard. Nice move by Van damm!
Beckford trying to keep a closed guard but Van damm is proving a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Beckford preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Van damm stopping the sweep attempt from Beckford.

Van damm decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Beckford, up you get!
Van damm scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

Beckford shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Van damm napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Beckford scoring with punches and elbows.
Beckford has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Beckford lands a few punches from side control.
Beckford prevents Van damm from escaping the position.
Beckford is putting a hurting on Van damm here, landing some big shots from side control.
Beckford scores with punches from side control.

Van damm is rocked!
Van damm is trying to get back to his feet.
Beckford scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Van damm to see if he's OK.
Van damm is still in real trouble! Can Beckford finish him?
Van damm looks gassed!
Beckford wants to lay and pray for a moment but Van damm keeps working.
Van damm seems to have recovered his senses.
Van damm is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Beckford working the ground and pound from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Van damm is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Beckford is controlling him well.
Beckford cracks Van damm with a big elbow.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Beckford trying to control the action but Van damm is working from the bottom.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Beckford working the head with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.
Beckford trying to control the action but Van damm is working from the bottom.
Van damm wants to get back to his feet.
Beckford lands a few punches from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Beckford lands a decent elbow from side control.
Beckford trying to control the action but Van damm is working from the bottom.
Van damm takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
The referee asks Beckford politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Beckford prefers to stall for the moment though.
Beckford grinds an elbow into Van damm's temple.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Beckford lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Van damm taking a bit of punishment here - Beckford scoring with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Beckford with a poor takedown
and Van damm counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Beckford misses with a takedown
and Van damm counters with a head kick. That will keep Beckford thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

Beckford shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Forest Beckford overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Beckford lands a nice short elbow.
Beckford working over Van damm with some ground and pound. Van damm looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Beckford looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Van damm with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Beckford is looking to stall here but Van damm recovers full guard.
Van damm is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Beckford forces his way into half guard.
Beckford thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Van damm's head.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Beckford lands a nice short elbow.
Beckford 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.
Beckford content to control rather than advance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Beckford is looking for a kimura but Van damm is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Beckford to get the leverage.
Van damm looks like he's trying to stand up.
Beckford is looking to stall here but Van damm recovers full guard.
Beckford controlling from the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Beckford postures up in Van damm's guard and throws a big left but Van damm blocks it.
Beckford lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Beckford postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Beckford landing some decent shots from guard.

Beckford has gone for a leg lock! Van damm slips out almost immediately though and dives into Beckford's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Beckford has his foot on Van damm's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Van damm works his way back into a safe position though.

Beckford looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Van damm wants to stand but Beckford is controlling his posture from full guard.
Beckford has his hands on Van damm's head, controlling the position.
Beckford lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Van damm!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Beckford controlling from the full mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Forest Beckford dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Beckford swings widly with a right hand
and Van damm counters with a series of strikes. Beckford will be more careful next time no doubt.
Van damm swings for the body but Beckford moves out of range.
Beckford tries for a takedown but Van damm circles away easily
and Van damm counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Beckford shoots in but Van damm avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Beckford doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Van damm counters with a big head kick but Beckford shrugs it off.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Forest Beckford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Van damm thows a body shot but no joy.
Beckford shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Van damm counters with a stiff right hand.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Beckford tries for a takedown but Van damm circles away easily
and Van damm counters with a two punch combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van damm tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Beckford shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Beckford was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Beckford moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Van damm has worked his arm free - good work by Van damm!
Van damm is pushing Beckford's head away, looking to escape. Beckford manages to hold on to the position though.
Beckford scoring with punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van damm on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Beckford landing a few strikes.
Beckford is working Van damm over with some ground and pound from side control.
Van damm on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

Beckford tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Beckford working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van damm taking punishment in the form of punches.
Beckford landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

Beckford is trying to get an arm triangle but Van damm is defending well.
Forest Beckford is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Beckford remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van damm takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Forest Beckford showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Beckford, 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Forest Beckford!