PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Mayhem Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexis Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Hardy
vs
Gracie

210 cm
19
145 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

183 cm
25
151 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

Good takedowns
Brawler
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mayhem Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alexis Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Wesley Smith and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie with a poor takedown

and Hardy counters by clinching up.
Hardy stops a takedown attempt from Gracie.
Gracie has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Hardy manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Hardy keeps moving.
Hardy tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Hardy kicks Gracie off and gets to his feet.

Hardy moves into the clinch.

Hardy jumps guard and drags Gracie to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hardy keeping moving, preventing Gracie from controlling successfully.
Gracie is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Gracie with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hardy has an active guard here but Gracie has managed to pass into half guard.
Hardy trying to control here.
Gracie tries to pass to full mount but Hardy defends it.
Hardy is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Gracie wants to take a breather but Hardy is having none of it.
Hardy is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Alexis Gracie was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Hardy has managed to clinch.

Gracie is fighting off a takedown attempt but Hardy is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Gracie to the mat. Gracie regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Gracie is trying to control the position but Hardy postures up.
Hardy preventing the sweep.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hardy's guard.
Hardy is pulling down on Gracie's head. It's preventing any offense from Gracie, at least for the moment.
Gracie loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hardy really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Gracie wants to stand but Hardy is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie trying to control but Hardy is working from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Hardy is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Gracie sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Hardy's guard.
Hardy gets full guard.
Gracie has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Hardy is proving hard to escape from.
Gracie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hardy swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Hardy keeps moving.
Gracie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hardy swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Alexis Gracie wasn't active enough on the ground.
Gracie has his takedown stuffed

and Hardy counters with a single leg into guard. Gracie didn't expect that.
Mayhem Hardy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alexis Gracie.
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!
Hardy controlling from the top position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gracie wants to sweep here but Hardy controlling him for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Mayhem Hardy will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Hardy connects with the punch.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Hardy as he jumps to the side.
Gracie looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Hardy avoids a punch combination nicely.

Hardy changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Gracie looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Mayhem Hardy overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gracie wants to control but Hardy postures up.

Hardy decides to stand back up. Hardy steps back and let's Gracie get back to his feet.
Gracie bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Hardy's head backwards.
Gracie shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Hardy moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hardy has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Gracie is trying to keep an underhook but Hardy manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Gracie wants to control but Hardy is keeping busy and won't allow it.
It looks like Hardy is going to stand back up.
Gracie slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Hardy knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gracie on the ground.
Hardy would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hardy throws and elbow that misses. Gracie uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Hardy's guard. Nice move by Gracie!
Hardy wants to sweep but no luck.
Gracie trying to control the position from guard on top but Hardy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hardy is looking to stand up but Gracie isn't so interested in that idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gracie is pushing down on Hardy's leg trying to pass to half guard. Hardy is fighting to maintain full guard but Gracie has managed to sneak the leg through.
Gracie is trying to control. Hardy wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie passes to full mount!
Gracie looking to ground and pound but Hardy is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy is trying desperately to improve position.
Gracie throwing strikes here but Hardy is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Gracie trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Hardy is trying to reverse the position but instead Gracie has taken his back - oops!

Gracie looking to break Hardy's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Hardy remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Gracie will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gracie is hanging on to Hardy's back as he tries to escape.
A lull in the action here.
Well, with Gracie on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Hardy is tapping out... Can he escape the position?

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gracie is looking for the choke from the back position but Hardy is controlling his hands well.

Gracie is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Hardy has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Hardy trying to control but not successfully.

Gracie looking for the choke but no joy.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Gracie is persistently looking for the submission but Hardy is defending it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexis Gracie showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Hardy clinches up against the cage.
Hardy putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Gracie in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

Hardy breaks from the clinch.
A nice combination there by Gracie.
Gracie misses with a double jab.
Gracie tries a head kick but it misses.

Gracie gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Hardy to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Hardy lands a couple of digs.

Gracie is looking for a triangle but Hardy pushes his legs off easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Hardy trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hardy throws a big right hand that misses.
Hardy lands a couple of elbows.
Hardy is looking to stand up but Gracie won't let him.
Hardy is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hardy will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Hardy looking to pass the guard.

Gracie had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Hardy defends it easily.
Hardy has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Gracie has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hardy can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Gracie takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy wants to stand but Gracie has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Hardy thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Hardy wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.
Gracie lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hardy!
BOOM! Gracie connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy is working to get back to half guard.
Hardy manages to regain half guard whilst avoiding the strikes.
Hardy won't allow Gracie to pass to mount.
Hardy is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Gracie seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Hardy does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Hardy pushes Gracie off and gets back to his feet.
Gracie shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Hardy defends it nicely.

Hardy has closed the distance and engaged Gracie in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hardy's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gracie doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Hardy counters by clinching up.
Gracie fails to pull guard.
Mayhem Hardy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alexis Gracie.
A bit of stalling here from Hardy.

Hardy pulls guard.
Gracie tries to free his leg and advance position but Hardy is retaining full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gracie trying to move into half guard but instead Hardy has managed to sweep!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gracie trying to keep a closed guard but Hardy is proving a slippery customer.
Gracie might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Hardy kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mayhem Hardy showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hardy 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mayhem Hardy!