PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Will Hans (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Skjelbred (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Skjelbred has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Will Hans's chin.

Hans
vs
Skjelbred

170 cm
27
145 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

175 cm
28
124 lbs
16 - 5 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Will Hans!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Skjelbred!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Daniel Cesar and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hans with a lazy takedown attempt

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

Hans pulls guard effortlessly.
Skjelbred trying to control but Hans is working from the bottom.
Hans pulls Skjelbred in close to his closed guard and prevents Skjelbred from doing any damage or advancing position.
Hans is trying to keep Skjelbred in close.
Skjelbred wanted to stand there but Hans had control of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hans is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Skjelbred shoots in looking for a takedown but Hans manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Skjelbred's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skjelbred tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hans swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Hans has Skjelbred up against the cage in a clinch.
Hans tries to pull guard but Skjelbred holds him up against the cage and eventually Hans drops back down to his feet.
Hans managing to block the knees to the body from Skjelbred.
Skjelbred tries to pull guard but Hans won't allow it.
Hans goes for a takedown attempt but Skjelbred pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Will Hans. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hans slips under a jab.
Skjelbred fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Skjelbred tries to clinch but Hans is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Skjelbred wants to clinch

and Hans counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Hans prevents Skjelbred from improving his position.
Skjelbred keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hans with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Skjelbred slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Hans stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Skjelbred swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Skjelbred is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Hans defends well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hans postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skjelbred is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hans is stalling in the full guard.

Skjelbred looking for a guillotine here but Hans defends easily.
Hans postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Skjelbred is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Hans is aware though and is defending well.
Skjelbred working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hans.
Hans thows a big elbow that misses.
Skjelbred tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Skjelbred is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Hans defends well.
Skjelbred looks gassed!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hans accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Hans landing some decent shots from guard.
Skjelbred can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Hans controls the pace.
Hans trying to control but Skjelbred is working from the bottom.
Hans throwing strikes from guard but Skjelbred blocks nicely.
Skjelbred trying to control the position.
Hans trying to control but Skjelbred is working from the bottom.
Hans postures up.
Skjelbred is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

We're going to have a standup here because Will Hans wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Hans moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Will Hans dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Skjelbred tries to sprawl but Hans drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Hans wants to control but Skjelbred is keeping him busy.
Hans takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hans lands strikes from half guard.
Hans is thwarting Skjelbred's attempts to control the position.
Skjelbred is trying to get back to full guard.
Hans takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hans throwing shots but Skjelbred is blocking nicely.
Skjelbred is looking for a sweep. Hans is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hans is controlling the pace.
Hans thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Skjelbred's head.
Hans is taking a breather. Skjelbred says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hans has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Will Hans has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Hans with a poor takedown
and Skjelbred counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hans tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hans fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Hans slips a jab from Skjelbred.

Hans pushes Skjelbred up against the cage in a clinch.

Skjelbred pulls guard.
Hans trying to control but Skjelbred is working from the bottom.
Hans is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Skjelbred is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Hans is stalling in the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Skjelbred looking for a sweep. Not yet Skjelbred, not yet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Will Hans.
Hans tries to clinch up but Skjelbred circles away and keeps his distance.
Hans with a lazy takedown attempt
enabling Skjelbred to counter with a crisp jab.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Will Hans. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A jab lands there for Skjelbred.
Skjelbred tries to clinch up.
Hans is looking to clinch.
Skjelbred shoots for a double leg takedown but Hans sprawls well. He's pushed Skjelbred's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Hans clinches up with Skjelbred and pushes him back against the cage.
Hans tries to pull guard but Skjelbred holds him up against the cage and eventually Hans drops back down to his feet.
Hans fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hans on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Skjelbred has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Hans clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!

Skjelbred looking for the choke from the back.
Hans tries to escape the position.
Hans rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Skjelbred sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Hans defending well though.
Hans is trying to control but can't.

Skjelbred is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Hans doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Skjelbred.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hans is not content to let Skjelbred control the position.
Skjelbred is breathing heavily.
Hans wants to control but Skjelbred is keeping busy.
Hans gets full guard.
Skjelbred trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hans is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but John Skjelbred will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Hans slaps away a takedown attempt from Skjelbred, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Will Hans is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hans tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Skjelbred manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Skjelbred rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Hans counters with a shoot takedown. Skjelbred fights it but they end up in guard.
Hans working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hans sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Will Hans overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Skjelbred is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Skjelbred working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Hans doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Hans manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Hans sitting in guard here, content to control.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hans wants to control from the top but Skjelbred keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Will Hans wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Hans tries to clinch up
and Skjelbred counters with a straight right hand.
Skjelbred wants to clinch but Hans slips to the side

and Hans holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Skjelbred goes for a takedown in the clinch but Hans prevents it.
Hans wants a takedown.
Skjelbred is trying to break the clinch but Hans has him pressed against the cage.
Hans keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Skjelbred's efforts to push away.
Hans has Skjelbred pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Skjelbred manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Skjelbred breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hans shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Will Hans. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Skjelbred tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hans paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hans closes the distance and clinches up with Skjelbred, looking for a takedown. Hans pushes Skjelbred against the cage but Skjelbred circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Skjelbred throws a series of punches but Hans moves out of range.
A slow jab from Skjelbred misses its intended target.
Skjelbred swinging wildly here.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Hans.

Skjelbred has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hans is trying to drag Skjelbred to the mat but Skjelbred just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Skjelbred stalling in the clinch.

Hans has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Skjelbred regains guard immediately.
Skjelbred wants to sweep here but Hans controlling him for the moment.
Skjelbred controls Hans momentarily but Hans frees himself.
Skjelbred looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hans is one step ahead there.
Skjelbred keeping moving, preventing Hans from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Will Hans wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Hans rushes Skjelbred and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hans wants a takedown but no success here.

Skjelbred pulls guard successfully.
Hans postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Skjelbred looking for a sweep. Not yet Skjelbred, not yet.
Hans missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Skjelbred preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hans trying to control the position from guard on top but Skjelbred is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Skjelbred looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hans wanted to stand there but Skjelbred had control of the position.
Skjelbred preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Will Hans showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hans 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 29:28
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Will Hans!