PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Howell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bastien Le Nogue (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Howell comes to the cage accompanied by Machine Spiritual . Le Nogue has chosen Motorhead - Sacrifice as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Howell
vs
Le Nogue

189 cm
21
210 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

177 cm
21
215 lbs
5 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Thomas Howell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bastien Le Nogue!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, John Mangel and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Howell throws a body punch but Le Nogue moves out of range.
Le Nogue tries for a takedown but Howell circles away easily
and Howell counters with a right hand to the body.

Le Nogue forces Howell back against the cage and clinches.
Le Nogue wants a takedown.
Le Nogue can't get the takedown.
Thomas Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bastien Le Nogue.
Le Nogue tries for a takedown. No joy.
Howell is pressed up against the cage. Le Nogue has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Howell down to the mat. Howell avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Le Nogue shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Howell pinned against the cage. Howell gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Howell connects with a right hand. Le Nogue shakes it off.
Howell dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Le Nogue shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Howell sprawls well. Howell wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Le Nogue gets slowly back to his feet.
Howell throws a series of punches but Le Nogue avoids them all with ease.

Howell gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Le Nogue throwing strikes from guard but Howell blocks nicely.

Howell has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Le Nogue off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Le Nogue with a poor takedown
and Howell counters with a left and a right that stings Le Nogue.
A lazy left from Howell finds it's target.
Le Nogue shoots and misses
and Howell counters with a left and a right that stings Le Nogue.
Howell fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Le Nogue looks gassed!
Le Nogue walks into a straight right hand from Howell.
Le Nogue slips a jab and a cross from Howell.
Nice takedown defense from Howell. No joy for Le Nogue on that attempt.
Howell will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Bastien Le Nogue seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Le Nogue shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Howell's guard.
Howell working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Le Nogue.
Howell controls Le Nogue momentarily but Le Nogue frees himself.
Le Nogue loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Le Nogue has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Le Nogue 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.
Le Nogue trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Le Nogue wants to control from the top but Howell keeps moving.
Howell will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Le Nogue shoots in looking for a takedown. Howell tries to sprawl out of it but Le Nogue keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Howell manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Howell throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Le Nogue.
Le Nogue fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Howell avoids it really well and circles away.
Howell lands a nice looking body shot.
Howell is looking to wear down Le Nogue with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Le Nogue looks for a takedown but Howell sprawls well.

Le Nogue closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Howell to the mat! Howell manages to get full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Le Nogue looking to pass the guard.
Howell seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Le Nogue is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Le Nogue looking to sit in guard and control but Howell gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Le Nogue is looking to stand up but Howell isn't so interested in that idea.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Le Nogue shoots in but Howell avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Le Nogue tries to score a power double leg takedown but Howell sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Le Nogue somewhat.
Le Nogue shoots for a double leg takedown but Howell sprawls well. He's pushed Le Nogue's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Thomas Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bastien Le Nogue.

Le Nogue throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Howell tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Le Nogue is in Howell's guard.
Le Nogue slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Howell looking to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Le Nogue wants to control from the top but Howell keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Le Nogue not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Howell trying to keep a closed guard but Le Nogue is proving a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Thomas Howell wasn't doing enough on the ground.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Le Nogue.
Le Nogue doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Howell makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Le Nogue fails with the takedown
and Howell counters with a left to the body.
Howell comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Le Nogue is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howell misses with a series of wild punches.
Le Nogue looks for a takedown but Howell sprawls well.
Howell throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Le Nogue scores a takedown into full mount!
Le Nogue looking to ground and pound but Howell is blocking nicely.
Le Nogue lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Howell hang on?
Le Nogue is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Le Nogue punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Le Nogue lands a big shot there that rocks Howell but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Le Nogue avoids the attempt from Howell to control.
Le Nogue cracks Howell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Le Nogue trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Le Nogue landing shots from mount.
Le Nogue cracks Howell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Le Nogue lands with some strikes.
Bastien Le Nogue has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Le Nogue content just to control the position here.
Le Nogue looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Le Nogue in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Howell is in a horrible position here. Le Nogue smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Le Nogue landing strikes, looking to finish!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bastien Le Nogue showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Le Nogue fails with the takedown.
Le Nogue tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Howell makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Le Nogue is defended easily by Howell.
Le Nogue misses with a takedown attempt - Howell sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Thomas Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bastien Le Nogue.
Le Nogue dives in and grabs Howell's left leg, looking for a takedown. Howell pushes down on Le Nogue's head and hops out.
Le Nogue doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Howell counters with a left and a right that stings Le Nogue.

Le Nogue shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Le Nogue takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Le Nogue throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Le Nogue looking to finish with strikes here!
Le Nogue scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Howell?
Le Nogue content just to control the position here.
Le Nogue working Howell over with strikes here.
Le Nogue with good strikes from the mount here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Le Nogue cracks Howell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Howell is in a horrible position here. Le Nogue smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Le Nogue controlling the pace for now.
Howell in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Le Nogue sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Le Nogue is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Le Nogue breaks from Howell's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Le Nogue breaks from Howell's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Le Nogue landing strikes from the mount and Howell is in trouble!
Le Nogue lands a big elbow.
Le Nogue is landing with some decent strikes but Howell is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Le Nogue working the ground and pound effectively.
Le Nogue looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Le Nogue with the ground and pound from mount.
Le Nogue with good strikes from the mount here!
Le Nogue putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Le Nogue postures up and throws a couple of big shots that have Howell in real trouble here! The ref calls for Howell to improve his position which he doesn't do, so the referee has no choice but to end the fight due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:51 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Bastien Le Nogue!