PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Bjorn Borg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Justin Hale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Borg
vs
Hale

180 cm
22
155 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

175 cm
21
160 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bjorn Borg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Justin Hale!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Eliza Hachem and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Borg checks a low kick from Hale.
Sloppy strikes from Hale. Those never looked like landing.
Justin Hale seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hale fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hale swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Borg counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Borg tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hale wants to clinch up but Borg keeps it at a distance.
Hale throws a right and a left that Borg avoids nicely.
Borg connects with a right hand. Hale shakes it off.
Hale tries to clinch up
letting Borg counter with a right hand.
Hale shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Borg as he jumps to the side.
Borg circles away from the clinch attempt.
Hale takes a jab right on the kisser.
Hale keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Borg scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hale flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Hale tries to get to full guard but Borg has control of the leg.
Borg trying to control from half guard but Hale is working away.
Hale is looking for a sweep. Borg is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hale is trying to maintain the position but Borg is very close to passing his half guard.
Hale wants to get back to full guard.
Borg with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Hale looking for submissions off his back.
Hale has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Borg landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Borg is trying to control. Hale wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Hale blocking the ground and pound attempt from Borg.
Hale is holding on to half guard well.
Hale is staying active underneath Borg, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Hale actively working from the bottom here.
Hale works his way to full guard. Good work.

Hale is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Borg defends well.

Hale looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Borg passes into half guard.
Borg throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hale is not content to let Borg control the position.
Hale is trying to stand.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Borg throwing shots but Hale is blocking nicely.
Borg is pressing down on Hale's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hale is holding on for now.
Hale has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Borg is working away from the top position though.
Hale might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Borg kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hale looking for submissions off his back.

Hale kicks off Borg and gets to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hale looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Borg blocks a head kick by Hale.
Borg slips under a jab from Hale.
Hale wants to clinch.
Jab by Borg.
Hale showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Borg.
Borg darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hale tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Borg is able to avoid easily.
Hale throws a leg kick but Borg sees it coming and checks it nicely.
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 Bjorn Borg will probably get the nod.
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.

Hale swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Borg counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Borg tests Hale's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Borg moves out of range as Hale throws a body kick.
Hale tries a low kick but Borg avoids it.
Borg stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Borg wants it to stay on the feet.
Nice uppercut lands for Borg. That snapped Hale's head back.
A head kick misses from Hale.
Hale fails to land with a series of punches.
Hale swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Borg shoots in and gets a takedown into Hale's guard.
Borg stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hale swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Borg has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Borg wants to control from the top but Hale keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Borg controls the pace.
Hale keeping moving, preventing Borg from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Bjorn Borg just wasn't active enough.
Hale is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Borg showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hale.
Hale looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Borg is fending him off so far but Hale persists. Nope, Borg circles away and we're back to standing.
Hale is looking to land body kicks.
Hale swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Borg jabs Hale to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Borg scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hale throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hale throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Borg counters with a stiff right hand.
Hale misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hale wants to clinch.
A lazy left from Borg finds it's target.
Borg throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

Borg shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Borg showed some decent athleticism there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hale is looking for a sweep. Borg is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hale wants to control but Borg is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Borg wants to control but Hale is keeping him busy.
Borg seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Hale is trying to get back to full guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Borg connects with a nice short shot to Hale's temple.
Borg trying to control the action but Hale is working from the bottom.
Borg not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Borg performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Hale trying to control but Borg postures up.
Borg throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Borg throwing shots but Hale is blocking nicely.
Borg lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Hale is looking to escape.
Borg content to control rather than advance.
Hale is staying active underneath Borg, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Borg missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hale wants to get back to his feet.
Hale trying to control from the bottom.
Hale taking some punishment here, with Borg in his half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bjorn Borg dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Hale closes the distance looking to clinch
and Borg cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Borg lands a leg kick that knocks Hale off balance momentarily.
Hale throws a combination that misses
and Borg counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hale thinking.
Hale closes the distance but Borg moves to the side

and Borg counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Hale is trying to control the position but Borg postures up.
Borg sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Hale trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Hale will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Hale misses with a takedown attempt
and Borg makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
A right-left combo lands from Borg.
Borg is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Hale throws a low kick but it's checked well by Borg.
Borg swats away the attempt to clinch by Hale.
Hale looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Borg bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Hale's head.
Bjorn Borg is winning the standup battle so far.
Borg works Hale's body with a nice hook.
Hale misses with a series of wild punches.
Hale takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hale throws a sloppy head kick
and Borg cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Borg cracks Hale with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Hale throws a body punch but Borg moves out of range.

Borg throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Hale tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Borg is in Hale's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hale is striking off his back. Borg thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.
Borg lands with a punch from half guard.
Hale wants to get back to full guard.
Borg is trying to control the action in half guard but Hale is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Borg landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Borg is thwarting Hale's attempts to control the position.
Nice strikes from Borg there.
Borg slips a nice elbow through Hale's hands, connecting with Hale's forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hale missing with punches from the bottom.
Hale avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Borg.
Borg with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Borg not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hale pushes Borg off looking to stand but Borg dives back in and keeps control.
Borg is nestled in close to Hale, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Borg lands with a punch from half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hale manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Hale is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hale is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Borg loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hale escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Borg gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Borg landing with the ground and pound.
Borg chips away with some ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Hale is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Borg working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hale's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Borg is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Bjorn Borg overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Borg avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Justin Hale has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bjorn Borg is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Borg's corner is telling him to maintain position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bjorn Borg showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Borg has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bjorn Borg!