PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jon Tate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lincoln Hawk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Tate
vs
Hawk

178 cm
28
193 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

180 cm
27
200 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jon Tate!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Lincoln Hawk!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Damien Edna and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hawk tries for a takedown but Tate circles away easily

and Tate counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Hawk wants to stand up but Tate is controlling him.
Hawk is looking to sweep but instead, Tate has passed into half guard.
Tate prevents Hawk from improving his position.
Tate seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Hawk wants to control but Tate is keeping busy.
Tate is pressing down on Hawk's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hawk is holding on for now.
Hawk tries to roll over but Tate keeps him under control.
Hawk is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Tate controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Tate tries to pass to full mount but Hawk defends it.
Hawk is trying to maintain the position but Tate is very close to passing his half guard.
Tate controlling the action here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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

Tate shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hawk is on top in guard.
Tate controlling Hawk's posture.
Hawk stopping the sweep attempt from Tate.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tate working a defensive guard here.

Hawk has gone for a leg lock! Tate slips out almost immediately though and dives into Hawk's guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Tate passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Hawk is trying to get back to half guard.
Tate controlling from side mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawk struggling a bit here.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Sloppy strikes there by Tate.
Hawk is looking to regain half guard here but Tate keeps moving and retains side control.
Hawk can't do much from the bottom here.
Hawk is looking for a sweep.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Nice cross by Tate.
Lincoln Hawk seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Hawk fails with the takedown
and Tate counters with a stiff right hand.

Tate closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Tate trying to control from half guard but Hawk is working away.
Tate seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Tate prevents Hawk from improving his position.
Tate missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Tate is looking to take a break and control but Hawk is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Still in half guard, Tate seems content to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Jon Tate just wasn't active enough.
Hawk tries for a takedown but Tate circles away easily
letting Tate counter with a right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Tate dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hawk slips under a jab from Tate.
Hawk moves out of range as Tate strikes.
Donk. Tate catches Hawk right on the button with a cross.
Hawk with a poor takedown
and Tate counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Hawk with a lazy takedown attempt
and Tate counters with a stiff right hand.
Hawk with a poor takedown

and Tate counters with a takedown into side control.
Jon Tate has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lincoln Hawk.
Hawk is trying to escape the position but Tate is controlling the position.
Tate grinds an elbow into Hawk's temple.
Tate is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Hawk will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Tate lands some shots froms side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tate connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Hawk some visible discomfort.
Hawk stuck in half guard on the bottom here.
Tate lands a nice forearm strike.
Tate lands an elbow.
Tate looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Hawk is avoiding damage well.
Tate has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Tate breaks from Hawk's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Tate controlling from mount.
BOOM! Tate connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tate tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Tate trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Hawk is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Hawk is trying to escape the mount.
Tate wants to control the pace but Hawk is squirming around nicely.
Tate controlling his opponent.
Hawk slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Hawk is trying to maintain the position but Tate is very close to passing his half guard.
Tate is looking to stall here but Hawk recovers full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tate sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Hawk's guard.
Tate stalling.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tate wants to control but Hawk is keeping him busy.
Hawk trying to control from the bottom.
Hawk is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hawk won't allow Tate to pass to mount.
Hawk manages to get to full guard.
Tate tries to free his leg and advance position but Hawk is retaining full guard.
Hawk pulls Tate in close to prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tate advances to half guard.
Hawk is looking for a sweep. Tate is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hawk is breathing heavily.
Hawk moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Tate trying to control but Hawk is working from the bottom.
Hawk is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Tate stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hawk swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Tate showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Hawk keeping moving, preventing Tate from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Tate dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Hawk with a poor takedown

and Tate counters with a shoot takedown. Hawk fights it but they end up in guard.
Tate wants to control from the top but Hawk keeps moving.
Tate is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Tate preventing the sweep.
Tate postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Tate is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Tate has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

We're going to have a standup here because Jon Tate wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Hawk tries for a takedown but Tate circles away easily

so Tate counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Tate won't allow Hawk to sweep him here.
Hawk keeping moving, preventing Tate from controlling successfully.
Tate postures up in Hawk's guard and throws a big left but Hawk blocks it.
Hawk takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawk wants to sweep but no luck.
Tate pushing down on Hawk's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Hawk tries to get to full guard but Tate has control of the leg.
Hawk wants to control but Tate is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Tate slows the pace down in half guard.
Tate working Hawk over with strikes.
Tate slips a nice elbow through Hawk's hands, connecting with Hawk's forehead.
Hawk wants to get back to his feet.
Tate with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Hawk is looking to control Tate's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hawk avoid being mounted?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Tate in particular looking to stall.
Tate is trying to control. Hawk wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Hawk with a poor takedown

and Tate counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Hawk's guard now.
Jon Tate has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lincoln Hawk.
Tate passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Tate wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hawk keeps working.
Tate takes a little break here. Hawk wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawk takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Tate trying to control the action but Hawk is working from the bottom.
Tate is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Hawk will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Tate wants to control but Hawk is keeping him busy.
Tate controlling the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Jon Tate just wasn't active enough.
Hawk on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hawk closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Tate did well to prevent Hawk getting side control.
Tate wants to improve his position but Hawk is controlling well.
Hawk is pressing down on Tate's thigh, looking to free his foot. Tate is holding on for now.
Tate is trying to get back to full guard.
Tate trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Hawk manages to pass to mount!
Lincoln Hawk has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hawk wants to take Tate's back here but Tate is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jon Tate showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Tate has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jon Tate!