PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Liam James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jacob Skyler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Skyler has chosen rum is for drinkin not for burning as his entrance music. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

James
vs
Skyler

194 cm
22
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
19
210 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Liam James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jacob Skyler!
The judges for this bout are , and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James tries to clinch but Skyler moves out of range.
Skyler with a poor takedown

and James moves into the clinch.

James jumps into guard, dragging Skyler to the mat.
Skyler is fighting to break James's control of his arms but James is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Skyler looking to pass the guard.
Skyler being controlled here momentarily.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Liam James.
James with a poor takedown

and Skyler counters with a nice double leg into side control. James won't be happy with that.
James is looking to reverse the position.
Skyler working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skyler is looking to take a break and control but James is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
James is pushing Skyler's head away, looking to escape. Skyler manages to hold on to the position though.

James explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
James stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and James wants it to stay on the feet.
Skyler looks gassed!
James gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Skyler counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
James wants to control but Skyler is keeping busy.
James keeps control of the position for the meantime.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Skyler stands up from half guard.
James fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Liam James. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Skyler gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
James controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
James missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
James in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
James throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

James stands and steps away. Skyler gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

James scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
James working the ground and pound from side control.

James is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Skyler knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Skyler taking punishment in the form of punches.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Skyler can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

James looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

James working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

James stands up and we're back to a striking position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

James closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Skyler to the mat! Skyler manages to get full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

James fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
James has his takedown stuffed
and Skyler cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
James with a poor takedown

so Skyler counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

James wriggles free and stands up.
Skyler stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Liam James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
James misses with a takedown attempt

and Skyler counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for James!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Skyler has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of James's face.
James is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Skyler controlling from the full mount.
James tries to hold on but Skyler postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skyler trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Skyler avoids the attempt from James to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
James squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
James bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
James slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Liam James.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from James.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

James shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. James showed some decent athleticism there.
James passes into side control, despite Skyler's attempt to control the position.

James stands up and beckons Skyler to his feet.
Skyler takes a body punch but keeps moving.

Skyler gets caught flat footed, as James shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Skyler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

James decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
James throws a right and a left that Skyler avoids nicely.

James tries to keep at a distance but Skyler has taken the fight into the clinch.

Skyler is fighting off a takedown attempt but James is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Skyler to the mat. Skyler regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
James trying to control but Skyler is working from the bottom.
James wants to get up but he can't break Skyler's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
James is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
James trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
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 Liam James will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

James throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Skyler.
Nice takedown defense from James. No joy for Skyler on that attempt.

James decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
James looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. James connects with a nice short shot to Skyler's temple.
James lands strikes from half guard.
James sitting and controlling from the half guard.
James 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.
James winds up and cracks Skyler with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skyler tries to roll over but James keeps him under control.
James looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Skyler keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

James escapes and gets back to his feet.

James gets a clinch.
Skyler blocks an elbow strike from James.

James breaks from the clinch.
James tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Skyler counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for James!
James manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skyler thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
James slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
James wants to sweep but no luck.
James 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.
Skyler wants to control from the top but James keeps moving.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now James is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
James trying to control but Skyler is working from the bottom.
James slips nicely into half guard.
Skyler on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Skyler trying to control but James postures up.
James passes into side control, despite Skyler's attempt to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

James has hold of Skyler's arm here. He's working for an Americana. It looks like he might have it! Skyler tries to escape but he's just digging himself in deeper - James cranks the arm and Skyler screams in pain! The ref makes a decision and ends the fight before the tap - no complains from Skyler, who is just happy to have his arm attached to his body.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:21 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Liam James!