PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Mayhem Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcin Held (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Hardy
vs
Held

210 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

176 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mayhem Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Marcin Held!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, George Francis and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardy shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Held as he avoids it easily.

Hardy gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Hardy is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Held is defending well for now.

Held jumps guard.

Held working for a triangle but Hardy defends it easily.
Hardy has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Hardy preventing the sweep.
Hardy wants to control from the top but Held keeps moving.
Hardy chips away with some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hardy won't allow Held to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hardy gets to his feet - Held follows without any prompting.
Held closes the distance looking to clinch
letting Hardy counter with a right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Held throws a right and a left that Hardy avoids nicely.
Held throws a series of punches but Hardy avoids them all with ease.
Hardy shoots for a double leg takedown but Held sprawls well. He's pushed Hardy's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Held throws a nice looking combination but Hardy bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hardy throws a head kick but Held moves out of range.
Hardy throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Held's waist but Held gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hardy off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mayhem Hardy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Held shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Hardy's guard.

Held stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Hardy pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Held shoots in but Hardy avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Hardy shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Held is trying to defend but Hardy finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Hardy is breathing heavily.
Hardy trying to control the action but Held is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy trying to advance position but Held counters by regaining guard.
Hardy will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Held avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Held controls Hardy momentarily but Hardy frees himself.
Held has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Held wants to get back to his feet but Hardy is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Held preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hardy knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Held on the ground.
Held trying to control the position.
Hardy 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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Held falls off balance throwing a combination
enabling Hardy to counter with a crisp jab.
Hardy has his takedown stuffed

and Held counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Held is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Held content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Held got a little sloppy there for a moment and Hardy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Held has managed to get both his arms back between Hardy's legs - danger averted.
Hardy being controlled here, momentarily.
Hardy trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Hardy is trying to keep Held in close.
Held works a leg free and moves into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Held darts in trying to clinch

and Hardy holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Held jumps into guard, dragging Hardy to the mat.
Held working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hardy.
Held has a closed guard, preventing Hardy from standing up.
Hardy wants to stand and escape but instead Held has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Held trying to control the position from guard on top but Hardy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Held is working Hardy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Held stands up from Hardy's guard - Held perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Held shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Held showed some decent athleticism there.
Hardy tries to get to full guard but Held has control of the leg.

Held maintaining the dominant position here and is working for a kimura. He's locked it up! Hardy could be in real trouble here! He's trying to wriggle out but Held has cracked it and Hardy is screaming in pain - he's tapped out! Great finish by Held!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:51 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Marcin Held!