PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ben Knox (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Padraig O Hare (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Knox comes to the cage accompanied by Cinderella Man - Eminem. Ben Knox has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Knox
vs
O Hare

177 cm
22
185 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

190 cm
21
196 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Ben Knox!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Padraig O Hare!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, James Atkins and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Knox looks to land a left hand but O Hare moved out of range nicely.
O Hare shoots in looking for a takedown. Knox tries to sprawl out of it but O Hare keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Knox manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Donk. Knox catches O Hare right on the button with a cross.
O Hare shoots in for a double leg but Knox sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
O Hare blocks a head kick by Knox.
Padraig O Hare seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice straight punches there by Knox. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Knox.
O Hare avoids the body shot from Knox.
Knox feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits O Hares jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
O Hare closes the distance and lands a one-two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knox slaps away a takedown attempt from O Hare, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ben Knox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Padraig O Hare.
O Hare shoots in looking for a takedown. Knox tries to sprawl out of it but O Hare keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Knox manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A big left from Knox misses.
O Hare fails with a takedown attempt.
Knox tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Knox slaps away a takedown attempt from O Hare, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Hare shoots in for a takedown but Knox shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
O Hare takes a body punch but keeps moving.

O Hare takes the fight into the clinch.

O Hare has picked Knox up - he's going for a ride! O Hare dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

O Hare is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Knox has managed to free his arm - good work.

O Hare is looking for a kimura here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
O Hare is keen to just control but Knox is a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knox is looking to improve his position.
O Hare trying to control the action but Knox is working from the bottom.

O Hare is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Knox is just riding it out for now. O Hare eventually gives up the hold.
Knox is looking for a sweep. O Hare is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox is staying active underneath O Hare, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

O Hare is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Knox has managed to free his arm - good work.
O Hare is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Knox trying to control but O Hare postures up.

O Hare looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

O Hare is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Padraig O Hare will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

O Hare looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Knox is fending him off so far but O Hare persists. Nope, Knox circles away and we're back to standing.
Knox keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
O Hare shoots for a takedown but Knox saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Knox misses with a straight left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox lands a really nice looking cross but O Hare seems unphased.
Knox misses with the combination.
Padraig O Hare is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
O Hare throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Knox's waist but Knox gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing O Hare off to one side.
Ben Knox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Padraig O Hare.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knox misses with a hook. O Hare ducked under it nicely.
O Hare shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Knox as he avoids it easily.
Knox misses with a body punch
and O Hare counters with a one-two to the body.
A big right from Knox misses.
A head kick misses from Knox.
O Hare shoots in for a double leg but Knox sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

O Hare shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Knox might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Knox keeping moving, preventing O Hare from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

O Hare drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Knox manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now O Hare has Knox in his guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now O Hare is on top in guard.
Knox looking to hit a scissor sweep but O Hare is one step ahead there.
This has been an exciting period of action!
O Hare trying to control the position from guard on top but Knox is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knox looking for a sweep. Not yet Knox, not yet.
O Hare passes into half guard.

O Hare is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
O Hare trying to control the action but Knox is working from the bottom.
Knox trying to control but O Hare postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Hare is stalling here. Knox is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! O Hare seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Knox has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
O Hare is looking for a sweep.
O Hare is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
O Hare slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

O Hare had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Knox defends it easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
O Hare wants to sweep here but Knox controlling him for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Padraig O Hare showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

O Hare keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Knox wants to clinch.
Knox misses with a lunging right hand

and O Hare counters with a nice double leg into guard.
O Hare trying to control the position from guard on top but Knox is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Knox lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for O Hare!

Knox gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Knox throws a combination. O Hare tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Hare fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Knox manages to avoid it.
Knox tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but O Hare was well out of range. Poor timing from Knox.
O Hare fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
O Hare will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Knox paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
O Hare misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Knox looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ben Knox is winning the standup battle so far.
O Hare shoots in but no luck this time.
Ben Knox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Padraig O Hare.
Knox stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Knox wants it to stay on the feet.
O Hare shoots in but no luck this time.
O Hare avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Knox tries to clinch up but O Hare circles away and keeps his distance.
Knox connects with a looping right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Hare throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A telegraphed right hand from Knox misses the target.
O Hare shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Knox sprawls well. Knox wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. O Hare gets slowly back to his feet.
O Hare slips a jab from Knox.
Knox punishes O Hare's body with a nice straight punch.
O Hare shoots in for a takedown but Knox shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Knox fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches O Hare on the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Hare tries to score a power double leg takedown but Knox sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten O Hare somewhat.
O Hare takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
O Hare keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Knox.
Nice body punch from Knox.
O Hare fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from O Hare is defended easily by Knox.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
O Hare takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Knox showed his dominance in that final round.
I think O Hare has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Paul Tew scores the fight for Padraig O Hare!
Judge James Atkins scores the fight for Ben Knox!
Judge William Gold scores the fight for Padraig O Hare!

Padraig O Hare wins by split decision!