PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Choi Siwon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Justin Hale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Siwon
vs
Hale

179 cm
24
157 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

175 cm
20
160 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Kobra Clothing Inc. *$8 Sale*

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Choi Siwon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Justin Hale!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, John Mangel and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hale lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Siwon circles away quickly and effectively.
Siwon bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A punch combination from Hale misses.
Hale rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Siwon moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Siwon shoots in looking for a takedown. Hale tries to sprawl out of it but Siwon keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Hale manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Siwon shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hale as he avoids it easily.
Good exchange - Hale coming out on top.
Hale tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hale looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Hale misses with a two punch combination.
Hale falls off balance throwing a combination

and Siwon counters with a shoot takedown. Hale fights it but they end up in guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Siwon in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hale is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Siwon defends well.
Hale controls Siwon momentarily but Siwon frees himself.
Siwon trying to control but Hale is working from the bottom.
Hale bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Siwon's guard.
Hale wants to stand but Siwon has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Siwon is adopting a defensive guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hale wants to stand and escape but instead Siwon has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Hale is controlling Siwon's posture.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Hale waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Siwon.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Hale!
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!
Siwon checks the leg kick.
Hale misses with a wild combination.
Hale throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Siwon.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Siwon walks into a stiff left hand from Hale.
Hale tries a low kick but Siwon avoids it.
Hale throws a body kick that misses.
Sloppy strikes from Hale. Those never looked like landing.
Hale looks to land a combination but Siwon avoids it well.

Hale drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Siwon is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Siwon throws Hale to one side and escapes!
Hale throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hale closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Siwon quickly recovers to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Siwon manages to get to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hale trying to stand up but can't free himself from Siwon's guard.
Siwon has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hale accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Siwon defending well as Hale loads up on a big left hand.
Siwon looks for a takedown but Hale sprawls well.
Siwon shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hale sprawls well. Hale wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Siwon gets slowly back to his feet.
Choi Siwon is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hale throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hale displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Siwon.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Choi Siwon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hale misses with a low kick.
Siwon avoids a punch combination nicely.
Siwon fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hale avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hale misses with a straight left.

Siwon tries to keep at a distance but Hale has taken the fight into the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Hale just misses with a elbow thrown towards Siwon's brow.
Hale tries to stall but Siwon uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Hale gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Siwon regains guard.
Siwon managing to control the position.
Hale trying to control but Siwon is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Siwon wants to sweep but no luck.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hale has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Siwon is proving hard to escape from.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Justin Hale.

Hale drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hale misses with the ground and pound.
Siwon wants to control but Hale postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Siwon is not content to let Hale control the position.
Hale wants to stand but Siwon is controlling his arm.
Hale throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Hale working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

Hale stands up and beckons Siwon to his feet.
Hale tries to bum rush Siwon with a series of wild strikes but Siwon uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Siwon moves out of range of the leg kick from Hale.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hale throws a series of punches but Siwon moves out of range.
Hale pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Siwon fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Hale stalks Siwon and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Siwon's face. Siwon staggers backwards, shaken.

Hale gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Hale manages to break the clinch.
Hale misses with a head kick.
Hale will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hale is breathing heavily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A punch combination from Hale misses.

Hale moves into range and clinches up with Siwon.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Hale 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!

Siwon moves out of range of the body kick.
Justin Hale seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A punch combination from Hale misses.
Hale scores with a kick to the body.
Siwon displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hale throws out the jab.
Justin Hale seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Siwon shoots in looking for a takedown. Hale tries to sprawl out of it but Siwon keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Hale manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Hale shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Hale has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Siwon is proving hard to escape from.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Siwon seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale trying to control the position from guard on top but Siwon is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hale might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Siwon kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Justin Hale.
Hale throws a nice head kick!
Hale lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Siwon circles away quickly and effectively.
Hale will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good work by Siwon as he checks the leg kick.
Hale will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hale takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sloppy strikes from Hale. Those never looked like landing.
Hale misses with a kick to the body.

Hale fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Siwon, pushing him back against the cage.
Hale is trying to force a seperation but Siwon has the dominant position.
Hale misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Siwon.
Hale is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Hale is trying to trip Siwon. He has hold of a leg but Siwon is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Hale persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hale accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Siwon controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hale wants to stand but Siwon is controlling his posture from full guard.
Siwon managing to control the position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Choi Siwon wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Hale throws a body punch but Siwon moves out of range.
Hale misses with a two punch combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hale gets caught flat footed, as Siwon shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Hale working for a triangle but Siwon defends it easily.

Siwon thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Siwon showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Choi Siwon has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Justin Hale is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Siwon forces his way into half guard.
Hale tries to roll over but Siwon keeps him under control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Siwon missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hale manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

And that's the end of the fight!
Justin Hale comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hale has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Justin Hale!