PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Toni Hernandez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Maurice McDonald (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Hernandez
vs
McDonald

178 cm
21
168 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

180 cm
22
184 lbs
9 - 8 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Toni Hernandez!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Maurice McDonald!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McDonald rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hernandez moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
McDonald misses with a body shot.
McDonald on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
McDonald walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

It looks like Maurice McDonald has been cut.
Hernandez feints and then cracks McDonald's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow McDonald down.
McDonald slips a jab and a cross from Hernandez.
McDonald lands a jab to Hernandez's midsection.
Hernandez throws a looping overhand right but McDonald ducks down to avoid it.
McDonald tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hernandez was well out of range. Poor timing from McDonald.
Hernandez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but McDonald manages to avoid it.
Hernandez throws a right hand that misses
and McDonald counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Hernandez lands a nice hook to McDonald's body. McDonald takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McDonald takes one to the side of the head.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Hernandez, as that shot connected.
McDonald thows a body shot but no joy.
Hernandez misses with a low kick.
Hernandez looks to score with a jab to the body but McDonald is just out of range.
McDonald misses with an uppercut. Hernandez saw that one coming.
Hernandez throws a series of punches but McDonald avoids them all with ease.
McDonald is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Hernandez rather than just go for the knockout.
Hernandez throws a leg kick
and McDonald counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Hernandez throws a looping overhand right but McDonald ducks down to avoid it.
Hernandez misses the jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McDonald displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hernandez throws out the jab.
Hernandez throws a big shot that misses.
Hernandez lands a jab to McDonald's midsection.
Hernandez works McDonald's body with a nice hook.
McDonald moves away from the strike by Hernandez.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hernandez misses with a hook
and McDonald counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hernandez thinking.
Hernandez misses with an uppercut.
McDonald misses with a double jab.
Hernandez falls off balance throwing a combination
and McDonald makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald slips a jab and a cross from Hernandez.
Hernandez throws a left and a right that both miss
letting McDonald counter with a right hand.
McDonald ducks under a wild hook from Hernandez.
Hernandez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
A low kick from Hernandez misses
and McDonald counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hernandez thinking.
McDonald has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from McDonald there as he acknowledges the shot.
Nice shot by McDonald.
Hernandez uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before McDonald has time to react.
McDonald rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Hernandez counters with a nice leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez falls off balance throwing a combination
and McDonald counters with a straight right hand.
McDonald slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Hernandez throws a combination that misses
and McDonald counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hernandez thinking.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hernandez throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and McDonald counters with a two punch combo.
Hernandez throws a shot to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hernandez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from McDonald.
Hernandez bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps McDonald's head backwards.
McDonald takes one on the button.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Toni Hernandez dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Maurice McDonald's cut.
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.

Hernandez misses with a combination
enabling McDonald to counter with a crisp jab.
Hernandez swinging wildly here.
Hernandez misses with a combination
and Hernandez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
McDonald dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Good exchange - McDonald coming out on top.
Hernandez uses good head movement to avoid the hook from McDonald.
McDonald moves out of range of the strikes.
McDonald keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from McDonald. Hernandez does a little dance to reset his feet.
A good leg kick by Hernandez.
Hernandez thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on McDonald if he has to take too many more of those.
Hernandez misses with a two punch combination.
Hernandez throws a shot from downtown. McDonald moves away and avoids it.
Hernandez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hernandez lands a head kick!
Hernandez moves out of range as McDonald strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hernandez throws a leg kick
and McDonald counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
McDonald blocks a jab.
Toni Hernandez is winning the standup battle so far.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hernandez, right into the meat.
Hernandez tries to bum rush McDonald with a series of wild strikes but McDonald uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hernandez looks to land a body kick but McDonald moved away.
Hernandez throws an off balance right hand
and McDonald counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hernandez swings for the body but McDonald moves out of range.
Toni Hernandez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
McDonald misses with a hook
enabling Hernandez to counter with a crisp jab.
Hernandez scores with a three punch combo!
Sloppy strikes from Hernandez. Those never looked like landing.
Hernandez misses with a lunging right hand
and McDonald counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Hernandez misses with the body kick
enabling McDonald to counter with a crisp jab.
McDonald just misses with a punch to the body.
Hernandez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but McDonald manages to avoid it.
McDonald blocks a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McDonald moves forwards but Hernandez connects with a nice, crisp jab.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
McDonald uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hernandez.
Hernandez throws a leg kick
and McDonald counters with a left and a right that stings Hernandez.
Nice uppercut there from McDonald.
McDonald throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
McDonald slips a jab from Hernandez.
McDonald lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice body punch from McDonald.
Hernandez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Toni Hernandez will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Maurice McDonald's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Hernandez jabs McDonald right on the nose. McDonald blinks but takes it well.
Hernandez tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
McDonald misses with a wild body shot.
A combination from Hernandez does no damage.
A jab from Hernandez finds it's way through McDonald's defenses.
Hernandez gets off balance looking for a body kick
and McDonald counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
McDonald misses with a wild body shot.
Hernandez stuns McDonald with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Hernandez throws a jab when McDonald was well out of range.
McDonald throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hernandez stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

That's one minute gone in the round.

McDonald shoots in and gets a takedown into Hernandez's guard.
McDonald trying to control but Hernandez is working from the bottom.
McDonald throwing strikes from guard but Hernandez blocks nicely.
McDonald throwing strikes but missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McDonald throwing strikes but missing.
McDonald missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

We're going to have a standup here because Toni Hernandez wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Hernandez jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A jab from Hernandez misses.
Hernandez lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but McDonald circles away quickly and effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Toni Hernandez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hernandez misses with a leg kick
and McDonald counters with a nice uppercut.
Hernandez misses the shot to the body.
McDonald moves forwards but Hernandez connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Hernandez looks to land a combination. McDonald sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Hernandez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but McDonald manages to avoid it.
Hernandez misses with a wild body shot.
Hernandez misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hernandez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Hernandez.
Hernandez throws an off balance right hand
and McDonald counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
McDonald lands with a nice combination. Hernandez backs away looking to recover.
A big right from Hernandez misses.
Hernandez misses with an uppercut. McDonald saw that one coming.
Hernandez throws a lazy uppercut
and McDonald connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hernandez tries to bum rush McDonald with a series of wild strikes but McDonald uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hernandez misses with a right hand
and McDonald counters with a right hand to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Toni Hernandez did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The cut man is working on Maurice McDonald's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hernandez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
A punch combination from Hernandez misses.
McDonald cracks Hernandez with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
McDonald cracks Hernandez with a good jab.
McDonald ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nice uppercut lands for McDonald. That snapped Hernandez's head back.
McDonald lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
McDonald walks into a left hand.
Hernandez wants to slow McDonald down by chopping away at his legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hernandez looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Hernandez throws a nice outside leg kick.
McDonald cracks a nice hook into Hernandez's ribs.
Hernandez scores with a body shot.
McDonald scores with a decent looking hook.
McDonald tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hernandez was well out of range. Poor timing from McDonald.
Hernandez misses with a series of wild punches.
Hernandez tried to score with a low kick but McDonald checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez avoids the body shot from McDonald.
McDonald scores with a crisp jab that stopped Hernandez in his tracks.
McDonald scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Hernandez drops his hands momentarily and McDonald takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Hernandez on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Hernandez looks to land a combination but McDonald avoids it well.
Hernandez is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hernandez avoids the body shot from McDonald.
Hernandez misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald misses with a body shot.
Hernandez misses with a lunging right hand
and McDonald counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hernandez thinking.
Hernandez connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Hernandez jabbing away but nothing is landing.
No joy there for Hernandez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
McDonald misses with an uppercut.
Hernandez looks to throw a body kick
and Hernandez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from McDonald.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McDonald throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hernandez looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Hernandez lands the left hand.
McDonald misses the shot to the body.

McDonald scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
McDonald is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Hernandez trying to control here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hernandez wants to improve his position but McDonald is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maurice McDonald dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Maurice McDonald's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

McDonald comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Hernandez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Hernandez connects with a looping right hand.
Hernandez tries to land a front kick but McDonald steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Hernandez throws a lazy uppercut
and McDonald counters with a lovely shot to the body.
McDonald defending well as Hernandez loads up on a big left hand.
Hernandez throws a hook but McDonald avoids it easily.
Hernandez misses with an attempted mid kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hernandez throws an ugly left hook that misses
and McDonald counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
McDonald looks to score with a jab to the body but Hernandez is just out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from McDonald. Hernandez does a little dance to reset his feet.
McDonald moves out of range as Hernandez throws a body kick.
McDonald missing with a left hand there. Hernandez was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Hernandez throws a nice looking combination but McDonald bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
McDonald throws a jab when Hernandez was well out of range.
McDonald defending well as Hernandez loads up on a big left hand.
McDonald misses the shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A left lands for Hernandez.
McDonald throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
McDonald takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
McDonald slips a jab and a cross from Hernandez.
Hernandez takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Hernandez misses with a hook. McDonald ducked under it nicely.
Hernandez looks to land a right hand but McDonald moved out of range.
Hernandez takes a shot right to the bread basket.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez throws a right hand that misses
and McDonald makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
A punch combination from Hernandez misses.
Hernandez takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
McDonald throws a hook but Hernandez avoids it easily.
Maurice McDonald has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sloppy strikes from Hernandez. Those never looked like landing.
Toni Hernandez is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
McDonald fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hernandez manages to avoid it.
Hernandez misses with an uppercut.
McDonald uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hernandez.
McDonald avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from McDonald finds it's way round the side to connect with Hernandez's head.
Hernandez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by McDonald.
Hernandez showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from McDonald.
Hernandez misses with a lunging right hand
and McDonald counters with a right hand to the body.
McDonald sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Hernandez throws a series of punches but McDonald avoids them all with ease.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McDonald fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hernandez manages to avoid it.
McDonald misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hernandez.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Maurice McDonald.
I think Hernandez 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 49:46
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 48:48
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Toni Hernandez!
Toni Hernandez retains his welterweight title!