PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between RIck Brandford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Toni Turpa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Brandford
vs
Turpa

182 cm
22
190 lbs
8 - 4 - 1

183 cm
22
200 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very quick

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
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 8 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, RIck Brandford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Toni Turpa!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Turpa lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Brandford has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Brandford and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A jab from Turpa misses.
Brandford throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Brandford scoring well with a low kick there.

Turpa rushes Brandford and presses him up against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Brandford.
Turpa tries to pull guard but Brandford holds him up against the cage and eventually Turpa drops back down to his feet.
Brandford controlling the action here for a moment.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Brandford slows down the pace here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by RIck Brandford.
Brandford slips under a jab.
Brandford throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Turpa shoots in looking for a takedown. Brandford tries to sprawl out of it but Turpa keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Brandford manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Brandford swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Brandford throws the kick towards the body but Turpa avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Turpa pushes Brandford up against the cage in a clinch.
Turpa fails to pull guard.
RIck Brandford has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Toni Turpa.
Turpa is looking to control Brandford's arms but Brandford gets an underhook and turns him. Now Turpa has his back to the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Brandford taking a breather.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Turpa obliges.
Turpa struggles to land a body shot inside as Brandford controls his hands.
Brandford leaning against his opponent.
Turpa tries to land knees in the clinch but Brandford avoids the damage to the body.
Brandford is working for takedown but Turpa is calmly controlling the position for now.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Brandford breaks from the clinch.
Brandford gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Turpa counters with a left to the body.
Brandford lands a nice looking kick to the body. Turpa takes a step back to recover.

Turpa rushes Brandford and presses him up against the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Turpa is working for takedown but Brandford is calmly controlling the position for now.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

Turpa decides to pull guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Turpa controlling the position.

Turpa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Brandford is aware though and is defending well.
Turpa working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Brandford.
Turpa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Brandford throwing strikes from guard but Turpa blocks nicely.
Brandford trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Turpa is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Turpa is trying to keep Brandford in close.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Toni Turpa.
Brandford throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Turpa looks to score with a jab to the body but Brandford is just out of range.
Nice body punch from Brandford.
Turpa lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

Brandford shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Brandford showed some decent athleticism there.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Turpa trying to control from the bottom.
Turpa keeping control of the position.
Turpa wants to control but Brandford is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Brandford prevents Turpa from improving his position.
Turpa has hold of Brandford's hands but Brandford slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Nice strikes from Brandford there.
Turpa taking some punishment here, with Brandford in his half guard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Turpa has hold of Brandford's hands but Brandford slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Turpa is doing well to control the position and prevent Brandford from advancing to side control.
Let's hope that Turpa has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Brandford looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Turpa flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Turpa works his way to full guard. Good work.
Brandford postures up in Turpa's guard and throws a big left but Turpa blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brandford postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Brandford postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Turpa keeping full guard, as Brandford tries to pass.
Brandford postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Brandford working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Turpa's head.
Brandford makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Brandford postures up.
Brandford has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Brandford throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Turpa looking to hit a scissor sweep but Brandford is one step ahead there.
Turpa is pulling down on Brandford's head. It's preventing any offense from Brandford, at least for the moment.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Brandford loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
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 RIck Brandford will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Brandford looks to land a body kick but Turpa moved away.
A chopping leg kick lands by Brandford.
Brandford shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Turpa as he avoids it easily.
Brandford throws a big shot that misses.
Turpa misses with a hook.
Turpa lands a nice looking body shot.
Brandford looks to land a body kick but Turpa moved away.
Turpa checks a low kick from Brandford.
Turpa misses with an uppercut.
A swing and a miss from Turpa.
A slow jab from Turpa misses its intended target.
Brandford ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Turpa moves away.
A shot to the liver by Brandford. Beautiful body shot.
Brandford looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Brandford shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Brandford ducks under a wild hook from Turpa.
Turpa looks to land a right hand but Brandford moved out of range.
Brandford closes the distance and clinches up with Turpa, looking for a takedown. Brandford pushes Turpa against the cage but Turpa circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for RIck Brandford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A looping hook to the body misses from Brandford. Turpa does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brandford lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Brandford will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Turpa fails to land the takedown.
Turpa jabs at Brandford's body.
Brandford looking to land some kicks to the body here.
A telegraphed right hand from Turpa misses the target.
Turpa thows a left - swing and a miss!
Brandford throws a hook but Turpa avoids it easily.

Turpa moves into range and clinches up with Brandford.
Brandford stalling.
Turpa scores with a nice hook to the head.
Turpa tries to pull guard but Brandford won't allow it.
Turpa using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Brandford has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Brandford is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Turpa is keeping busy.
Brandford can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
Turpa tries to land a knee to the head but Brandford blocks with his arms.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brandford is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Turpa tries to pull guard but Brandford won't allow it.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by RIck Brandford.
Turpa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Brandford.

Turpa fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Brandford, pushing him back against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Brandford taking a breather.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Brandford takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Turpa digs a right hand into Brandford's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Brandford's gas tank.
Brandford is looking to control Turpa's arms but Turpa gets an underhook and turns him. Now Brandford has his back to the cage.
Turpa tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Brandford avoids it.
Brandford trying to control the position but instead, Turpa has worked for underhooks and has pushed Brandford into the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by RIck Brandford.
Turpa checks the leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brandford has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Turpa finds it's way round the side to connect with Brandford's head.
RIck Brandford is winning the standup battle so far.
Brandford misses with a leg kick.
Turpa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Turpa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Turpa misses with a hook. Brandford ducked under it nicely.
Turpa lands a right hook to the body.
Brandford smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Brandford steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Turpa.
Turpa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Brandford.
Turpa throws a body punch but Brandford moves out of range.
Brandford cracks Turpa with a right hand to the side of the head.
A low kick from Brandford misses

and Turpa counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Turpa.
Turpa is working for takedown but Brandford is calmly controlling the position for now.
Turpa is breathing heavily.
Turpa tries to pull guard but Brandford holds him up against the cage and eventually Turpa drops back down to his feet.
Turpa fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Brandford escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Brandford finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Turpa throws a body punch but Brandford moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brandford throws a push kick but Turpa slaps the foot to one side.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Brandford.
A slow jab from Brandford misses its intended target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Brandford drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
RIck Brandford overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Turpa can't do much from the bottom here.
Turpa taking punishment in the form of punches.
Turpa wants to control but Brandford postures up.
Turpa is working to avoid the ground and pound but Brandford connects with a decent elbow.
Brandford lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Turpa down.

Turpa is rocked!
Turpa gets back to half guard.
Turpa is still in real trouble! Can Brandford finish him?
Brandford looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Turpa punching from the bottom.
Turpa is trying is best to control the position here.
Turpa trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

RIck Brandford dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Brandford moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Turpa seems to have recovered his senses.

Turpa closes the distance and clinches.
Turpa taking a breather.
Turpa misses with a knee to the head.
Brandford stalling in the clinch but Turpa improves position.
Toni Turpa seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Turpa misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Turpa misses with the head strike.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Turpa as Brandford tries to tie him up.
Brandford stalls.
Turpa missing with knees to the body.
Brandford taking a breather.
Turpa tries to land a knee to the head but Brandford blocks with his arms.
Turpa tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Brandford just stands there and leans against the cage.
Brandford avoiding damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by RIck Brandford.
Turpa checks the leg kick nicely there.
Turpa jabs Brandford to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Turpa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Brandford manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Turpa on his heels. He'll look to pass Turpa's guard now, I'm sure.
Brandford landing with the ground and pound.
Turpa keeping full guard, as Brandford tries to pass.
Brandford throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Brandford postures up in Turpa's guard and throws a big left but Turpa blocks it.
Turpa has Brandford pulled in close to control his posture.
Brandford lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Brandford preventing the sweep.

Turpa has his foot on Brandford's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Brandford works his way back into a safe position though.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Brandford landing with the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brandford thows a big elbow that misses.
Brandford thows a big elbow that misses.
Turpa trying to keep a closed guard but Brandford is proving a slippery customer.
Brandford loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Turpa is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Brandford won't allow Turpa to sweep him here.
Brandford is fighting to break Turpa's control of his arms but Turpa is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Turpa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Toni Turpa has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Brandford avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Turpa misses the jab.
Brandford goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Brandford throws out a loose jab but Turpa uses good head movement to avoid it.
Brandford closes the distance and clinches up with Turpa, looking for a takedown. Brandford pushes Turpa against the cage but Turpa circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Turpa.
Toni Turpa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Turpa tries to land a leg kick but Brandford saw it coming and moves away.

Brandford changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Turpa looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Turpa struggling a bit here.
Sloppy strikes there by Brandford.
Turpa struggling a bit here.
Brandford cracks Turpa with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Turpa gets back to half guard.
Brandford missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Turpa wants to improve his position but Brandford is controlling well.
Brandford lands strikes from half guard.
Turpa punching from the bottom.
Ground and pound from Brandford.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Turpa trying to hold on to Brandford's head to control him but Brandford postures up.

Turpa is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Brandford pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Turpa is holding on to half guard well.
Brandford working over Turpa with some ground and pound. Turpa looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Brandford scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Turpa gets back to full guard.
Brandford wants to pass the guard but Turpa is keeping the position.
RIck Brandford is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Turpa is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Brandford is aware though and is defending well.
Brandford trying to control but Turpa is working from the bottom.
Brandford seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Turpa has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Brandford can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to RIck Brandford.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Brandford, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... RIck Brandford!