PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Haminall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rob McCaig (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Haminall comes into the arena with The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkle blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Haminall
vs
McCaig

185 cm
24
211 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

190 cm
27
210 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Brawler
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 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Matt Haminall!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Rob McCaig!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Patrick Alders and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Haminall gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and McCaig counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by McCaig.
Haminall managing to control the position.

McCaig drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and McCaig jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
McCaig passes into half guard.
Haminall controlling the position well.

McCaig is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Haminall doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time McCaig.
Haminall is pressing down on McCaig's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Haminall holds on and takes a little breather.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

McCaig drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and McCaig jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

McCaig thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Haminall has his hands on McCaig's head, controlling the position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Haminall has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Matt Haminall just wasn't active enough.

Haminall changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. McCaig looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Haminall happy to just control the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McCaig gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Haminall controlling the position easily from mount.

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.
Haminall'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.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

That's four 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Matt Haminall just wasn't active enough.
Haminall tries for a takedown but McCaig circles away easily
and McCaig counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
A punch combination from McCaig misses.
McCaig leaves Haminall with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Haminall. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haminall doesn't succeed with the takedown
and McCaig cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Haminall is breathing heavily.
Haminall misses with a takedown
and McCaig counters with a two punch combo.
McCaig throws a series of punches but Haminall moves out of range.
Haminall tries for a takedown but McCaig sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
McCaig misses with a double jab.
McCaig slaps away a takedown attempt from Haminall, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Haminall shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and McCaig counters with a left and a right that stings Haminall.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Haminall fails with the takedown
and McCaig counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
McCaig slaps away a takedown attempt from Haminall, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rob McCaig dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

McCaig throws a nice looking combination but Haminall bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Matt Haminall seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Haminall tries for a takedown but McCaig circles away easily
and McCaig counters with a nice uppercut.

It looks like Matt Haminall has been cut.
No joy there for McCaig, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

McCaig gets caught flat footed, as Haminall shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Haminall is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

Haminall feints and as McCaig raises his hands in defense, Haminall changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Haminall controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Matt Haminall has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Haminall is trying hard to land a takedown here. McCaig sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
McCaig stuffs the takedown attempt from Haminall. Haminall gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Haminall. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haminall shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and McCaig counters with a left and a right that stings Haminall.
A punch combination from McCaig misses.
McCaig slaps away a takedown attempt from Haminall, before circling back to the center of the mat.
McCaig tries to bum rush Haminall with a series of wild strikes but Haminall uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Haminall shoots in but McCaig avoids the takedown attempt easily.
McCaig throws a right and a left that Haminall avoids nicely.
McCaig misses with a series of wild punches.

Haminall shoots in and gets a takedown into McCaig's guard.
Haminall 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Matt Haminall.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Haminall.
Haminall in side control, just content to control the action for now.
McCaig is trying to get back to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Haminall controls the position from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Haminall dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Matt Haminall's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Haminall shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has McCaig pinned against the cage. McCaig gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Haminall misses with a takedown
and McCaig counters with a series of strikes. Haminall will be more careful next time no doubt.
McCaig misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Haminall gets the takedown into side control.
Haminall is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Matt Haminall has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Haminall shoots for a takedown but McCaig saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Haminall. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haminall shoots and misses
and McCaig counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Haminall has his takedown stuffed
and McCaig counters with a series of strikes. Haminall will be more careful next time no doubt.
Haminall shoots and misses
and McCaig counters with a three punch combo that has Haminall backing up. Haminall nods at McCaig to acknowledge the strikes.

McCaig drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Haminall wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

McCaig drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and McCaig jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haminall controlling McCaig's posture.
McCaig preventing the sweep.
Haminall is adopting a defensive guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Matt Haminall just wasn't active enough.
Haminall misses with a takedown attempt
and McCaig counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Haminall looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for McCaig!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Haminall sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Haminall wants to control the pace but McCaig is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haminall controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Matt Haminall wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Haminall decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Still in half guard, Haminall seems content to control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Haminall showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Haminall 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 29:28
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Haminall!