PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lick Hard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and River Tam (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hard kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Let Your Backbone Slide . Tam has chosen Dangerous as his entrance music. 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 River Tam was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Hard
vs
Tam

191 cm
29
260 lbs
10 - 5 - 1

198 cm
27
256 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
World class boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lick Hard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, River Tam!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Alexandre Firmino and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tam tries to clinch but Hard moves away
and Hard counters with a nice uppercut.

Tam moves into range and clinches up with Hard.

Hard breaks from the clinch.
Tam connects with the punch.
Hard fails with a takedown attempt.
Hard shoots in but Tam avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Tam closes the distance looking to clinch

and Hard counters by clinching up.
Tam blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Hard drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lick Hard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Tam scores with a hook to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tam is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Tam lands with a light punch inside.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Tam is working Hard over against the cage.
Hard is breathing heavily.
Hard misses with a knee strike.
Hard wants a takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tam misses with a knee strike.
Tam lands a left hand.
Tam scores with a hook to the body.
Tam working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Tam will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Hard up against the cage.
A right hook to the body lands for Tam.
Tam scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Tam tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tam lands a knee to the head.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Tam lands a left hand that snaps the head of Hard backwards.
Tam cracks Hard with a nice body shot.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tam holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Nice body punch from Tam - that landed with a thud.
Tam's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
A short right from Tam on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tam stalling.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by River Tam.

Tam darts in and clinches Hard up against the cage.
Hard is looking to break free of the clinch but Tam has double underhooks.
Tam tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Tam throws a punch but it's blocked by Hard.
Tam is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Tam misses with some punches.
Tam lands a body shot in the clinch.
Nice elbow from Hard.
Tam taking a breather.
Tam with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Hard is trying to drag Tam to the mat but Tam just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Tam trying to control the position but instead, Hard has worked for underhooks and has pushed Tam into the cage.
Tam displaying some good clinch control by pressing Hard up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Hard.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Tam as Hard tries to tie him up.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Hard as Tam tries to tie him up.
Hard avoiding damage.
Hard is looking to break free of the clinch but Tam has double underhooks.

Hard has clasped his hands together around Tam's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Tam is trying to improve his position.
Hard wants to control but Tam is keeping him busy.
Hard working the body and head with strikes.
Hard works to advance to full mount. Tam defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tam is in all sorts of trouble here.
Tam is squirming around, avoiding Hard's attempts to control the action.
Tam trying desperately to get to his feet.

Hard get's back to his feet.
Tam throws a series of punches but Hard avoids them all with ease.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Hard.
Tam darts in trying to clinch

and Hard counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
A head punch on the inside from Tam fails to land.
Tam has a couple of punches blocked by Hard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Tam throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Hard blocks it with crossed arms.
Tam looking to slow down the pace here.
Tam stalling the fight.

Hard pulls guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

River Tam dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

A shot to the liver by Hard. Beautiful body shot.
Tam closes the distance but Hard moves to the side
and Hard counters with a straight right hand.
Hard shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Tam as he jumps to the side.

Hard closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Hard 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.
Tam striking from the bottom but nothing landed.
Tam defending against the ground and pound.
Tam is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Hard asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Hard decides to stand back up.
Tam wants to clinch
and Hard counters with a left to the body.
Hard tries to clinch up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hard is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Tam's half guard.
Hard takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Hard is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Tam is just riding it out for now. Hard eventually gives up the hold.

Hard is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Tam has managed to free his arm - good work.

Hard decides to stand up.
Hard throws a leg kick which misses Tam's front leg but catches the back leg as Tam tries to avoid it.
River Tam seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tam just misses with a punch to the body.
Hard misses with a hook.

Hard scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Hard slows the pace down.
Tam is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Hard just content to control the position.
Tam is pushing Hard's head away, looking to escape. Hard manages to hold on to the position though.
Tam is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Tam wants to control but Hard postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee asks Hard politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Hard prefers to stall for the moment though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Hard decides to stand back up.
Tam throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Hard counters with a takedown into side control.
Hard in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Tam stops Hard from passing to mount.
Tam struggling a bit here.
Hard scoring with punches and elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hard trying to control the action but Tam is working from the bottom.

Hard decides to stand up, so the ref orders Tam to his feet.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hard. Tam does a little dance to reset his feet.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Hard is defended easily by Tam.
Tam looks to clinch
and Hard counters with a body kick that stops Tam in his tracks momentarily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Tam displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lick Hard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Tam swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice takedown defense from Tam. No joy for Hard on that attempt.
Hard takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Hard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lick Hard dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Hard tries to clinch but Tam moves out of range.
Tam tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Hard counters with an inside leg kick.
Lick Hard is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Hard pushes Tam up against the cage in a clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Tam stalling the fight.
Tam tries to land a knee to the head but Hard blocks with his arms.
Tam throws a knee to the head but misses.
Tam missing with knees to the body.
Hard looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Hard.

Hard breaks from the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hard circles away from the clinch attempt

and Hard counters with a takedown into side control.
Tam really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hard. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Hard wants to control but Tam is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hard controls the position.
Tam is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Hard asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Tam stops Hard from passing to mount.
Tam trying to remain calm as Hard controls from the top position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hard works to advance to full mount. Tam defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Hard takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Hard with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hard with shots to the head and body - Tam looks very uncomfortable down there.
Hard landing shots from mount.
Hard sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Hard's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Tam wants to try and get back to his feet.
Tam is looking to get to half guard.
BOOM! Hard connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hard scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Tam?
Tam is bucking up trying to escape but Hard cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Tam is in all sorts of trouble here.
A nice elbow there by Hard.
Tam takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Tam is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hard looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

Hard with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

Hard stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hard shoots in looking for a takedown. Tam tries to sprawl out of it but Hard keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Tam manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tam tries to clinch up

and Hard moves into the clinch.
Hard drops down looking for an ankle pick but Tam pulls his leg out and moves away.
Hard lands a nice leg kick that just misses Tam's sensitive parts.
Hard moves in looking to clinch but Tam pushes him off.

Hard instigates a clinch.
Hard tries to pull guard but Tam holds him up against the cage and eventually Hard drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lick Hard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Tam creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Tam being controlled against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hard has had enough of the clinch but Tam keeps him there for the moment.
Tam has Hard pressed against the cage, preventing Hard from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Tam swings wildly with an uppercut but Hard uses good head movement to avoid it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lick Hard showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hard has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lick Hard!