PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Wylie Church (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James St Pierre (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.

Church
vs
St Pierre

190 cm
20
210 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

186 cm
19
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Wylie Church!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, James St Pierre!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Steve Smith and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Church.
Church swinging wildly here.
Church throws a left and a right that both miss
letting St Pierre counter with a right hand.
St Pierre looks for a takedown but Church sprawls well.
Church displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from St Pierre.

St Pierre closes the distance and clinches.

Church's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
St Pierre looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
St Pierre stuffs the takedown.
Church misses with a jab, cross combination.
Church looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wylie Church. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Church fails to land the takedown.
Church swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and St Pierre connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Church wants to clinch but St Pierre slips to the side
and St Pierre counters with a solid body kick.
Church is breathing heavily.

St Pierre darts in and clinches Church up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Church prevents a takedown attempt there.
Church tries to circle away but St Pierre has him pinned against the cage.
St Pierre tries to pull guard but Church won't allow it.
St Pierre wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Church has him pressed against the cage.
St Pierre wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Church has him pressed against the cage.
Church tries to land a knee to the head but St Pierre blocks with his arms.

St Pierre escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Church fails in his attempt to clinch.
St Pierre lands with a kick to the temple. Church shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
St Pierre throws a right and a left that Church avoids nicely.
St Pierre shoots in looking for a takedown but Church manages to keep the fight standing, pushing St Pierre's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Wylie Church seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Church moves to clinch but St Pierre breaks away
and St Pierre counters with a nice low kick that buckles Church's knee momentarily.
Church throws a nice looking combination but St Pierre bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Church shoots in looking for a takedown but St Pierre manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Church's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Church tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. St Pierre manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

St Pierre pushes Church up against the cage in a clinch.
Church scores with an uppercut up the middle.
The referee calls for Church to work.
St Pierre is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Church is defending well for now.
Nice elbow from St Pierre.
St Pierre stalling.
Church pushes St Pierre back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Church lands a right hand.
Church stalling the fight.

St Pierre manages to break the clinch.
Church doesn't manage to clinch there - St Pierre circles away.
Church has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by St Pierre.
Church misses with a combination
and St Pierre counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Church thinking.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Church looks to clinch

and St Pierre counters with a nice double leg into guard.
St Pierre landing with the ground and pound.

St Pierre gets to his feet - Church follows without any prompting.
St Pierre explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
St Pierre's jab looks to have found its range, popping Church under the eye.

St Pierre has Church up against the cage in a clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Church.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
St Pierre is trying to break free.
Church looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Church digs a right hand into St Pierre's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on St Pierre's gas tank.
Church is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Church throws a blind hook that connects with the side of St Pierres head.
St Pierre goes for a takedown attempt but Church pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Church wants to clinch up but St Pierre keeps it at a distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Church rushes St Pierre and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Church looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
St Pierre wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Church scores with a nice hook to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James St Pierre dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A combination from Church does no damage.
Church tries to close the distance and clinch but St Pierre swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
St Pierre leaves Church with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
St Pierre fails in his attempt to clinch.
St Pierre circles away from the clinch attempt

and St Pierre counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

St Pierre breaks the clinch.
St Pierre tries to clinch up

and Church counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Church.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St Pierre wants to break the clinch but can't.
St Pierre wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Church has him pressed against the cage.
Church lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A short right from Church on the inside.
St Pierre takes a shot to the head.
St Pierre is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Church throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Church keeps the fight in the clinch, despite St Pierre's efforts to push away.
St Pierre goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Church is trying to break the clinch but St Pierre is controlling him.
Church working some nice short punches in the clinch.

It looks like James St Pierre has been cut.
Church throws a knee to the head but misses.
St Pierre keeps control of Church as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Church wants to break the clinch but can't.
St Pierre tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Church keeps the fight in the clinch, despite St Pierre's efforts to push away.
St Pierre managing to block the knees to the body from Church.
A short uppercut from Church.
Church tries to break free but St Pierre pushes him back against the cage.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Church lands a right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Church scores with a shoulder strike.
Church lands a body shot.
Church scores with a shot to the side of St Pierre's head.
Church lands a shoulder strike.
St Pierre tries to circle away but Church has him pinned against the cage.
St Pierre is trying to break the clinch but Church has him pressed against the cage.
St Pierre's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
St Pierre blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Church lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of St Pierre backwards.
A shot in the inside from Church.

St Pierre is rocked!
Church taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Still in the clinch, Church scores with a nice short uppercut.
Church manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Church escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Church wants to clinch.
Church throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Church tries to bum rush St Pierre with a series of wild strikes but St Pierre uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
The fight stays on the outside here - Church looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Church is looking to clinch.
Church tried to score with a low kick but St Pierre checks it.
Church throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
St Pierre shoots for a takedown but Church saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Church doesn't manage to clinch there - St Pierre circles away.
Church shoots in looking for a takedown. St Pierre tries to sprawl out of it but Church keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. St Pierre manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Church fails in his attempt to clinch.
St Pierre showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Church.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
The fight stays on the outside here - Church looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
St Pierre misses with a wild combination.
Church scores with a body shot.
Nice takedown defense from Church. No joy for St Pierre on that attempt.
Wylie Church has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James St Pierre.
Church tries to clinch but St Pierre moves out of range.
Church wants to clinch.
Church tries to clinch up
and St Pierre counters with a body kick that stops Church in his tracks momentarily.
Church fails with an attempt to clinch.
Some wild striking there from Church.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wylie Church dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on James St Pierre's cut.
That's time! Church's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Church shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with St Pierre but St Pierre pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Church closes the distance but St Pierre moves to the side
and St Pierre counters with a body kick that stops Church in his tracks momentarily.
Church tries to clinch but fails miserably
and St Pierre counters with an outside leg kick.

St Pierre drives through and clinches with Church against the cage.
Church working hard to break the clinch.
St Pierre has Church pressed against the cage, preventing Church from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
St Pierre tries to pull guard but Church won't allow it.
St Pierre looking to stall.

St Pierre breaks the clinch.

Church has taken the fight to the clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Church.
A short right from Church on the inside.
St Pierre takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Church throws an elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by St Pierre as Church tries to tie him up.
A short right from St Pierre.
St Pierre has had enough of the clinch but Church keeps him there for the moment.
Church lands a shoulder strike.
Church working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Church lands a body punch in the clinch.
Church has St Pierre pushed against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Church's face as he tries to break the clinch.
St Pierre keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Church's efforts to push away.
A shot in the inside from Church.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Church as St Pierre tries to tie him up.
Church is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
St Pierre wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Church has him pressed against the cage.
Church is trying to break the clinch but St Pierre is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
A body shot lands from Church.
A short uppercut from Church.
Church trying to land knees to the body.
Church lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt St Pierre or not.
Church throws a blind hook that connects with the side of St Pierres head.
Wylie Church has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Church pushes St Pierre back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
St Pierre takes a shot to the head.
A short right from Church on the inside.

Church's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Church is looking to clinch but St Pierre is avoiding it.
Church Rushes St Pierre and starts throwing punches like they are going out of style! St Pierre is up against the cage and has nowhere to go. Church Piles on the pressure and St Pierre crumples to the floor! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:43 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Wylie Church!