PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Phil Neal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hugo Martinez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hugo Martinez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Neal
vs
Martinez

188 cm
23
152 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

180 cm
25
155 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Phil Neal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Hugo Martinez!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Anthony Taglia and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Neal takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Martinez throws a jab but it's blocked by Neal.
Martinez shoots in for a takedown but Neal shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Martinez throws a leg kick but Neal sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Martinez is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Neal.
Neal looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Martinez is fending him off so far but Neal persists. Nope, Martinez circles away and we're back to standing.
Martinez looks to clinch

and Neal counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Neal looking to sit in guard and control but Martinez gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Neal seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Neal really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's one minute gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Phil Neal wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Martinez throws a low kick but Neal avoids it.
Neal punishes Martinez's body with a nice straight punch.
Neal paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Martinez.
Neal manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Neal missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Neal is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martinez wants to get back to full guard.
Neal is trying to control. Martinez wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Neal throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Neal misses with a head shot. Martinez uses the momentum to regain guard.
Neal trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Neal scoring with some ground and pound.
Neal trying to control but Martinez is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neal postures up in Martinez's guard and throws a big left but Martinez blocks it.
Neal landing some decent shots from guard.
Martinez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Martinez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Neal tries to free his leg and advance position but Martinez is retaining full guard.
Martinez keeping moving, preventing Neal from controlling successfully.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Neal slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Neal throws a big right hand that misses.

Phil Neal has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Nice takedown defense from Martinez. No joy for Neal on that attempt.
Martinez scores with a spinning back kick!
Martinez doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Martinez connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Neal's hands.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Neal gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Neal wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Neal dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Martinez defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Neal.
Martinez slaps away a takedown attempt from Neal, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Martinez throws a head kick that misses.
Neal avoids the body shot from Martinez.
Martinez scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Neal shoots in looking for a takedown. Martinez tries to sprawl out of it but Neal keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Martinez manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Phil Neal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Martinez thows a leg kick but Neal checks it
and Neal counters with a nice body kick.
Martinez tries to bum rush Neal with a series of wild strikes but Neal uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Martinez tries to clinch but Neal is having none of it.
Neal shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Martinez displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Neal.
Hugo Martinez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Martinez cracks Neal with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
A telegraphed right hand from Martinez misses the target.
Martinez misses with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Martinez keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Martinez clobbers Neal with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Neal closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Martinez's guard.
Neal trying to control the position from guard on top but Martinez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Neal is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Martinez is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Neal postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Neal in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neal wants to control from the top but Martinez keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Phil Neal just wasn't active enough.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Martinez.
Neal shoots in looking for a takedown. Martinez tries to sprawl out of it but Neal keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Martinez manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Neal fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Martinez sprawls well initially but Neal persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Martinez is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Neal's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Neal's back!
What can Neal do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Phil Neal overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Martinez has the hooks in. Neal is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Martinez avoiding Neal 's attempts to control his hands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Neal is in bad spot here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Phil Neal.
Neal swats away the attempt to clinch by Martinez.
Neal misses with a takedown attempt - Martinez sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Neal throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Martinez's waist but Martinez gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Neal off to one side.
Hugo Martinez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Neal.
Martinez feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Neals jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Hugo Martinez will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Neal just misses with a punch to the body.
Martinez lands with a straight right. Neal didn't see that one coming.
Hugo Martinez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Neal shoots in but Martinez avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Martinez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Neal manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Neal has a takedown stuffed.
Neal lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

Martinez gets caught flat footed, as Neal shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Martinez is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Neal throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Martinez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Martinez is pulling down on Neal's head to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Martinez working a defensive guard here.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Hugo Martinez.
Neal shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Martinez sprawls well. Martinez wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Neal gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Phil Neal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Martinez tries to clinch but Neal is having none of it.
Neal fails with the takedown.
Martinez leaves Neal with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Martinez attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Neal doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Martinez counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good work by Neal as he checks the leg kick.
Neal shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Martinez throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Martinez scores with a jab.
Martinez loads up on a big right hand but Neal slips the punch.
A big left from Martinez misses.
Neal dives in and grabs Martinez's left leg, looking for a takedown. Martinez pushes down on Neal's head and hops out.
Martinez shoots in looking for a takedown. Neal tries to sprawl out of it but Martinez keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Neal manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Neal circles away from the clinch attempt.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Martinez throws a front kick aimed at Neal's knee but Neal avoids it well.

Neal shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Neal pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Martinez is keeping the position for now.
Neal trying to control the position from guard on top but Martinez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neal working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Martinez's head.
Martinez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Neal.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Neal accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Martinez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Neal.
Neal throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Martinez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Neal trying to control the position from guard on top but Martinez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martinez utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Neal with a nice head shot there.
Neal trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Neal keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Martinez's head.
Neal wants to control from the top but Martinez keeps moving.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Neal throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Martinez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Phil Neal showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Neal 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Phil Neal!