PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between John Rice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jeremy Welch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rice
vs
Welch

186 cm
24
177 lbs
10 - 9 - 0

184 cm
25
177 lbs
13 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Rice!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jeremy Welch!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, George Francis and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rice dodges the punch combination from Welch.
Welch connects with an inside leg kick.
Rice darts in trying to clinch
and Welch connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Welch counters with a nice low kick that buckles Rice's knee momentarily.
Welch cracks Rice with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Rice darts in trying to clinch
and Welch counters with a straight right hand.
Rice wants to clinch but Welch slips to the side
and Welch counters with an outside leg kick.
Rice tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Welch counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Rice is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Welch circles away from the clinch attempt
and Welch counters with a nice low kick that buckles Rice's knee momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rice moves to clinch but Welch breaks away
and Welch counters with a slapping leg kick.
Welch fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Rice looks to clinch
and Welch counters with a head kick.
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Welch counters with a one-two to the body.
Rice closes the distance but Welch moves to the side
and Welch makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Rice wants to clinch
and Welch counters with a thumping low kick.
Rice tries to clinch
and Welch counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rice thinking.
Welch throws a head kick that half lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Welch moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Rice darts in trying to clinch

and Welch counters with a head kick that drops Rice to the mat! Rice scrambles across the canvas and gets back to his feet, still wobbly!

Rice is rocked!

It looks like John Rice has been cut.
John Rice seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rice is breathing heavily.
Welch throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Welch rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rice moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Welch shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Welch swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Welch throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A nice leg kick lands there from Welch.
John Rice is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Welch with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Rice is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Welch.
No luck for Welch with that takedown attempt.
John Rice has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jeremy Welch.
Rice walks into a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Welch fails to land with a series of punches.
Welch goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Rice moves to clinch but Welch breaks away
enabling Welch to counter with a crisp jab.
Oh Rice is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Welch is defended easily by Rice.
Rice seems to have got his legs back now.
Rice darts in trying to clinch
and Welch counters with a big head kick but Rice shrugs it off.
Rice tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Welch counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Welch misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Welch uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Rice has time to react.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rice has managed to clinch.

Welch breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rice tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Welch counters with a straight right hand.
Welch tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Rice is able to avoid easily.
Rice tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Welch counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rice blocks a head kick by Welch.
Rice tries to clinch but Welch moves away
and Welch counters with a left and a right that stings Rice.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Welch lands a head kick!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rice looks to clinch

and Welch counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Rice!
Welch trying to control but Rice is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeremy Welch dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Rice's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Welch fails with the takedown.
Rice showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Welch.
Rice tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Welch counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Rice tries to clinch up
and Welch counters with an outside leg kick.
Rice is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rice moves to clinch but Welch breaks away
and Welch counters with a nice leg kick.
No joy there for Welch, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rice darts in trying to clinch
and Welch counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Rice is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Rice wants to clinch
and Welch counters with a nice low kick that buckles Rice's knee momentarily.
John Rice is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A big left from Welch misses.
Rice leaves Welch with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Rice tries to clinch up
and Welch cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Welch has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Welch counters with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Welch attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Rice closes the distance but Welch moves to the side
and Welch counters with a head kick.
Rice looks to clinch
and Welch makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Welch fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rice moves to clinch but Welch breaks away

and Welch decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Rice's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rice is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Welch gets to his feet - Rice follows without any prompting.
Rice darts in trying to clinch
and Welch counters with a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Welch throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rice.
Rice tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Welch counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Rice wants to clinch
and Welch counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Jeremy Welch seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rice looks to clinch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

Rice instigates a clinch.

Welch escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rice closes the distance but Welch moves to the side
and Welch counters with a three punch combo that has Rice backing up. Rice nods at Welch to acknowledge the strikes.
Rice wants to clinch but Welch slips to the side
and Welch counters with a left and a right that stings Rice.
Rice moves to clinch but Welch breaks away

and Welch counters with a takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Welch decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Rice takes a kick to the side of the head.
Rice wants to clinch but Welch slips to the side
and Welch counters with a slapping leg kick.
Rice tries to clinch but Welch moves away
and Welch counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Rice tries to clinch but Welch moves away
and Welch counters with a leg kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rice tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Welch counters with a big head kick but Rice shrugs it off.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Welch motions for Rice to come forward. Welch throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rice darts in trying to clinch

so Welch counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeremy Welch showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on John Rice's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Welch tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Welch circles away from the clinch attempt
and Welch counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Welch misses with a series of wild punches.
Rice moves to clinch but Welch breaks away
and Welch counters with a three punch combo that has Rice backing up. Rice nods at Welch to acknowledge the strikes.
Rice displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Welch.
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Welch counters with a series of strikes. Rice will be more careful next time no doubt.
Rice takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Rice looks to clinch
and Welch counters with a three punch combo that has Rice backing up. Rice nods at Welch to acknowledge the strikes.
Welch swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Rice moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rice lands a left hand.
Welch blocks a body shot from Rice.
Rice tries to throw a body punch but Welch avoids it by throwing Rice back against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rice.

Welch breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rice tries to clinch but Welch moves away
and Welch counters with a two punch combo.
Rice tries to clinch
and Welch counters with a one-two to the body.
Welch circles away from the clinch attempt
and Welch counters with a one-two to the body.
Welch takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rice closes the distance but Welch moves to the side
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Rice tries to clinch up

and Welch counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
John Rice has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jeremy Welch is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Welch tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Jeremy Welch has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rice tries to kick Welch off but Welch keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Rice pushes Welch off and gets back to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Welch ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rice moves away.
Welch lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Rice tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Welch misses with the combination.
Rice closes the distance but Welch moves to the side
and Welch counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Welch is working the combinations to good effect here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Welch misses with a head kick.
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Welch counters with a head kick.
Rice wants to clinch but Welch slips to the side
and Welch counters with a three punch combo that has Rice backing up. Rice nods at Welch to acknowledge the strikes.
Rice looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Rice tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Welch counters with a head kick. That will keep Rice thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Rice closes the distance but Welch moves to the side
and Welch counters with a left and a right that stings Rice.
Good standup being displayed there by Welch as he connects with a hook.
Rice takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Welch counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Welch throws a series of punches but Rice moves out of range.
Rice wants to clinch but Welch slips to the side

and Welch counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Rice tries to kick Welch off but Welch keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Welch stands up and beckons Rice to join him on the feet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rice closes the distance looking to clinch

and Welch counters with a takedown into side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Welch decides to stand up, so the ref orders Rice to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jeremy Welch comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Welch winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 25:30
Judge George Francis scores the fight 25:30
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jeremy Welch!