PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ethan Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrew Jones (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Andrew Jones told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Thomas
vs
Jones

185 cm
21
185 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

185 cm
23
185 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

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 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ethan Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Andrew Jones!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Aafke Stam and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas has his takedown stuffed
letting Jones counter with a right hand.
Thomas throws a nice looking combination but Jones bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Jones closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Jones lands in his opponent's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Thomas manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Jones shoots for a double leg takedown but Thomas sprawls well. He's pushed Jones's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Jones avoids the body shot from Thomas.
Jones looks to land a combination but Thomas avoids it well.

Thomas instigates a clinch.
Jones swings wildly with an uppercut but Thomas uses good head movement to avoid it.

Jones breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Jones looks gassed!
Thomas shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Jones sprawls well. Jones wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Thomas gets slowly back to his feet.
Thomas tries to clinch but Jones moves away

and Jones counters with a nice double leg into side control. Thomas won't be happy with that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Jones has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Thomas misses with a few strikes there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No joy there for Thomas, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Jones throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Thomas counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Thomas not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Thomas wants to take a breather but Jones is having none of it.

Thomas is working for a submission of some sort.
Thomas lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Thomas is pressing down on Jones's thigh, looking to free his foot. Jones is holding on for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomas seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Jones blocking the ground and pound attempt from Thomas.
Thomas wants to take a breather but Jones is having none of it.
Thomas not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Jones tries to get to full guard but Thomas has control of the leg.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Jones on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Thomas not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thomas is looking for a kimura but Jones is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Thomas to get the leverage.
Thomas seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Jones is in trouble now - Thomas has advanced to mount!
Jones wants to hold on but Thomas pushes him away.
Jones is wriggling around trying to escape.
BOOM! Thomas connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Thomas looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Thomas putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Thomas wants to control the pace but Jones is squirming around nicely.
Thomas postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Jones looks a forlorn figure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomas scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Jones?

Thomas has hold of Jones's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Jones manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Jones is bucking up trying to escape but Thomas cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Thomas landing strikes from the mount and Jones is in trouble!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Thomas can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Jones is looking to escape.
Thomas raining down hammerfists from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ethan Thomas dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Thomas uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Jones.
Thomas shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Jones but Jones pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Jones showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thomas.
Jones tries to clinch but Thomas is having none of it.
Thomas shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Jones misses with a two punch combination.
Jones displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Thomas.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ethan Thomas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thomas tries to clinch up.
Thomas tries to close the distance and clinch but Jones swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Thomas throws a right and a left that Jones avoids nicely.
Thomas looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Jones is fending him off so far but Thomas persists. Nope, Jones circles away and we're back to standing.
Ethan Thomas is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Jones looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Thomas!
Thomas is in all sorts of trouble here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Thomas can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Jones lands a nice shot to the head.
Thomas is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Jones landing shots from mount.
Jones with the ground and pound from mount.

Jones is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Thomas to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Thomas shrugs it off.
Thomas tries to hold on but Jones pushes him away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Jones looking to finish with strikes here!
Thomas tries to hold on but Jones pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones raining down hammerfists from mount.
Thomas is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Jones lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Jones putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Thomas sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Thomas regains full guard. Nicely done.

Thomas looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Thomas being controlled here, momentarily.
Jones wants to get up but he can't break Thomas's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones throws a strike but Thomas rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Thomas lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Thomas is in close to Jones's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Thomas wants to control from the top but Jones keeps moving.
Jones working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Thomas.
Thomas advances position into side control!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jones is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Thomas cracks Jones with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Thomas lands an elbow.
Thomas wants to lay and pray for a moment but Jones keeps working.
Jones is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Thomas asserts his dominance and retains side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thomas landing strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Andrew Jones will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Thomas wants to clinch up but Jones keeps it at a distance.
Ethan Thomas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Thomas shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Thomas showed some decent athleticism there.
Jones is refusing to be controlled, as Thomas sits in half guard.

Thomas looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Jones keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas is trying to control the action in half guard but Jones is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Thomas with the ground and pound but Jones uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Thomas scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Thomas is looking to work some ground and pound but Jones has wrist control.
Thomas postures up and lands a big shot to Jones's brow.
Thomas thows a big elbow that misses.
Jones keeping moving, preventing Thomas from controlling successfully.
Thomas lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Thomas has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Thomas postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas with a nice head shot there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thomas postures up in Jones's guard and throws a big left but Jones blocks it.
Thomas trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Thomas engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Ethan Thomas overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Thomas accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Thomas wants to control from the top but Jones keeps moving.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ethan Thomas.
Thomas will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thomas moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Thomas throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Thomas doesn't manage to clinch there - Jones circles away.
Jones misses with a two punch combination.
Thomas pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Jones back to the cage. Thomas follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Thomas forces Jones back against the cage and clinches.
Thomas working hard to break the clinch.
Thomas fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Thomas tries to pull guard but Jones won't allow it.

Jones jumps into guard, dragging Thomas to the mat.
Thomas wants to control from the top but Jones keeps moving.
Thomas is really struggling to control Jones but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thomas is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Jones is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Jones has escaped and now he's on top!
Jones won't allow Thomas to get back to his feet.
Thomas is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Jones chips away with some ground and pound.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jones pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Thomas is keeping the position for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ethan Thomas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Thomas 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 Albert Achterberg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ethan Thomas!
Ethan Thomas decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.