PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jonathan Hawkes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nickolas Bryant (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hawkes comes into the arena with I'm Shipping Up to Boston blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters really staring eachother down here, as Nickolas Bryant enters the ring!

Hawkes
vs
Bryant

180 cm
26
181 lbs
11 - 10 - 0

170 cm
26
184 lbs
12 - 8 - 1

BJJ Brown Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

ADCC Champion
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jonathan Hawkes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Nickolas Bryant!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Taro Takaoka and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good exchange - Hawkes coming out on top.

It looks like Nickolas Bryant has been cut.
Hawkes misses with a hook.
Sloppy strikes from Hawkes. Those never looked like landing.
Hawkes throws a head kick that misses.
Hawkes wants to land a leg kick but Bryant is out of range.
Hawkes throws a head kick that misses
and Bryant counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Hawkes 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.
Hawkes throws a head kick but Bryant moves out of range.
Hawkes lands a body shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Hawkes clinches up against the ropes.
Bryant scores with a shoulder strike.
Hawkes using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bryant has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hawkes with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bryant blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Still in the clinch, Hawkes scores with a nice short uppercut.
Hawkes lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Bryant backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bryant dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the ropes.
Hawkes looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A short uppercut from Bryant.
A short left from Bryant.
Hawkes misses with a punch to the body.
Bryant lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Hawkes lands a nice uppercut.
Hawkes tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Hawkes blocks a body shot from Bryant.
Bryant stalling against the ropes.
Hawkes softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Bryant blocks an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes misses with a punch to the body.
Bryant misses with a body punch.
Hawkes trying to land knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hawkes throws a punch but it's blocked by Bryant.
Bryant can't find room to land a body shot as Hawkes controls the action.
A nice left hand lands by Hawkes.
Hawkes tries to land a knee to the head but Bryant blocks with his arms.
Hawkes swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hawkes creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Bryant's defenses.
Bryant blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bryant lands with a light punch inside.
Hawkes tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Bryant avoids the elbow strike from Hawkes, against the ropes.
Bryant has a couple of punches blocked by Hawkes.
Bryant managing to block the knees to the body from Hawkes.
Bryant misses with a body punch.
Hawkes misses with a punch on the inside.
Hawkes tries to land a knee to the head but Bryant blocks with his arms.

Bryant breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes throws a head kick but Bryant moves out of range.
Hawkes throws a head kick that misses
and Bryant cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hawkes is breathing heavily.

Hawkes gets caught napping as Bryant dives in and scores a takedown. Hawkes manages to retain guard.
Bryant content to stall in guard here.
Bryant postures up and lands a big shot to Hawkes's brow.
Bryant in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Bryant postures up in Hawkes's guard and throws a big left but Hawkes blocks it.
Bryant working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bryant throwing strikes from guard but Hawkes blocks nicely.
Bryant won't allow Hawkes to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bryant working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bryant with a flurry of punches that miss.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Hawkes utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Bryant wants to control from the top but Hawkes keeps moving.
Bryant showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Bryant trying to control but Hawkes is working from the bottom.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bryant lands a couple of digs.
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 Jonathan Hawkes will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Nickolas Bryant's cut.
That's time! Hawkes's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Bryant blocks a head kick by Hawkes.
Hawkes tries to close the distance and clinch up but Bryant swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Bryant lands a leg kick that knocks Hawkes off balance momentarily.
Bryant scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Hawkes throws a sloppy head kick
and Bryant counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Hawkes misses with a combination
and Bryant counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Hawkes wants to clinch up but Bryant keeps it at a distance.
Hawkes swings for the body but Bryant moves out of range.
Hawkes takes one on the chin but seems OK.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bryant jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Jab from Bryant.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawkes misses with an attempted mid kick.
Bryant scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Bryant avoids a punch combination nicely.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hawkes throws a wild body kick that Bryant sees coming a mile off.
Hawkes misses with a few strikes there.
Jonathan Hawkes is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bryant circles away from the clinch attempt.
Hawkes misses with a body kick.
Bryant connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Bryant ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Bryant checks a leg kick.
Bryant avoids the head kick by Hawkes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes misses with a body shot.
Bryant tries to clinch but Hawkes is having none of it.
Bryant lands with a nice body punch.
Hawkes slaps away a takedown attempt from Bryant, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bryant throws a head kick that misses.
Hawkes throws a head kick but Bryant moves out of range.
Bryant swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hawkes throws a head kick that misses.
Bryant lands a really nice looking cross but Hawkes seems unphased.
Hawkes looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes tries to clinch but Bryant is having none of it.
Hawkes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Bryant goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

It looks like Jonathan Hawkes has been cut.
Bryant lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
A left lands for Bryant.

Bryant closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Hawkes's guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bryant's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Bryant has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Hawkes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bryant with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hawkes looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bryant is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bryant trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Bryant lands a couple of elbows.
Bryant wants to control from the top but Hawkes keeps moving.
Bryant missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bryant throwing strikes but missing.
Bryant prevents Hawkes from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nickolas Bryant showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's time! Hawkes's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Hawkes throws a chopping leg kick but Bryant manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Hawkes throws a half hearted mid kick.
Bryant with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Bryant lands a high kick!
Hawkes misses with the body kick
and Bryant counters with a big head kick but Hawkes shrugs it off.
Hawkes misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nickolas Bryant seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bryant lands with a straight right. Hawkes didn't see that one coming.
Hawkes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Bryant moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hawkes moves in looking to clinch but Bryant pushes him off.
Bryant scores with a decent looking hook.
Bryant throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawkes throws a body punch but Bryant moves out of range.
Bryant misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Jonathan Hawkes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hawkes misses with a body kick.
Hawkes scores with a jab to the body.
Bryant shoots in but no luck this time.
Bryant scores with a nice body kick.
Hawkes lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Hawkes.
Bryant connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Bryant with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Bryant pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Hawkes back to the ropes. Bryant follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hawkes moves out of range of the strikes.
Hawkes tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hawkes misses with a lunging right hand
and Bryant counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hawkes thinking.
Bryant lands a right hook to the body.
Hawkes misses with a body shot.
Bryant buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Jonathan Hawkes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bryant connects with a nice looking jab.
A slapping leg kick lands for Bryant.
Hawkes misses with a body kick.
Bryant scores with a one two! Hawkes had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Bryant throws a quick inside leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes tries to clinch there but Bryant circles away.
Hawkes wants to clinch
and Bryant counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
A jab from Bryant does it's job there.
Hawkes tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. Bryant manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Hawkes has closed the distance and engaged Bryant in a clinch.
Bryant tries to stall but Hawkes uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Bryant lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Hawkes with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Hawkes struggles to land a body shot inside as Bryant controls his hands.
Hawkes lands a right hand that snaps the head of Bryant backwards.
Hawkes misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bryant is trying to trip Hawkes. He has hold of a leg but Hawkes is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Bryant persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Bryant throwing strikes but missing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bryant in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bryant thows a big elbow that misses.
Hawkes keeping moving, preventing Bryant from controlling successfully.
Bryant stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hawkes swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Bryant missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Hawkes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nickolas Bryant comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Bryant 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 28:29
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nickolas Bryant!