PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Gray Maynard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jao Thongchai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maynard's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Young Jezzy- Lose my mind. 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.

Maynard
vs
Thongchai

172 cm
19
158 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

170 cm
21
165 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

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 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Gray Maynard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jao Thongchai!
The judges for this bout are , Don Winkell and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thongchai looks to land a combination but Maynard avoids it well.
Thongchai closes the distance looking to clinch

and Maynard holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Thongchai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Maynard avoids it.
Thongchai missing with knees to the body.
Maynard goes for a takedown attempt but Thongchai pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Maynard shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Maynard trying to mount his opponent but Thongchai defends it.
Maynard throws a strike but Thongchai avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maynard throwing strikes but missing.
Maynard is working Thongchai over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thongchai is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Maynard scoring with punches to the head and body.
Maynard has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Maynard is looking to work some ground and pound but Thongchai has wrist control.
Maynard with a flurry of punches that miss.
Maynard is in close to Thongchai's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Thongchai is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Maynard is controlling him.
Maynard makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Maynard's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thongchai wants to stand up but Maynard is controlling him.
Maynard working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Maynard trying to control the position from guard on top but Thongchai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Maynard gets to his feet - Thongchai follows without any prompting.
Thongchai tries to clinch but Maynard moves away
letting Maynard counter with a right hand.

Maynard gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Maynard lands a shoulder strike.
Maynard drops down looking for an ankle pick but Thongchai pulls his leg out and moves away.
Thongchai keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thongchai tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Maynard counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Maynard not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Maynard tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Thongchai.
Maynard lands strikes from half guard.
Maynard landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Maynard is controlling the pace.
Thongchai is trying to stand back up but Maynard is controlling him

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maynard is trying to control the action in half guard but Thongchai is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Maynard winds up and cracks Thongchai with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Maynard not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Maynard content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Maynard tries to pass to full mount but Thongchai defends it.
Thongchai looks gassed!
Maynard throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Maynard thows a huge punch but Thongchai dodges it nicely.
Maynard winds up and cracks Thongchai with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gray Maynard dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Maynard throws a big shot that misses.
Maynard circles away from the clinch attempt
and Maynard counters with a stiff right hand.
Maynard circles away from the clinch attempt

and Maynard counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Maynard.

Maynard gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Maynard wants to control but Thongchai is keeping him busy.
Thongchai regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Maynard.
Maynard with a flurry of punches that miss.
Maynard sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thongchai wants to stand but Maynard is controlling the position.
Maynard wants to control from the top but Thongchai keeps moving.
Maynard throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Gray Maynard just wasn't active enough.
Thongchai wants to clinch
and Maynard connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A jab from Maynard does it's job there.
Gray Maynard is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maynard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Maynard gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Maynard lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Thongchai gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Maynard.

Maynard has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Thongchai is trying to keep an underhook but Maynard manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Ground and pound from Maynard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thongchai is trying to stand.
Maynard slows the pace down in half guard.
Maynard missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thongchai has hold of Maynard's hands but Maynard slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Thongchai pushes Maynard off looking to stand but Maynard dives back in and keeps control.
Maynard with the ground and pound but Thongchai uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Maynard chips away with some ground and pound.
Thongchai is breathing heavily.
Thongchai wants to stand up but Maynard is controlling him.
Thongchai working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Maynard.
Maynard landing some decent shots from guard.
Maynard stays in close to Thongchai's body and controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Maynard decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
A decent looking cross lands there for Maynard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Maynard clobbers Thongchai with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Thongchai tries to clinch but Maynard moves away
and Maynard counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nice uppercut lands for Maynard. That snapped Thongchai's head back.
Maynard waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Thongchai.
Thongchai moves to clinch but Maynard breaks away

and Maynard counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Maynard trying to control the position from guard on top but Thongchai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Maynard landing some decent shots from guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gray Maynard dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Thongchai tries to clinch
and Maynard counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Maynard moves into range and clinches up with Thongchai.
Thongchai looking to slow down the pace here.
A short uppercut from Maynard.
Maynard is working for takedown but Thongchai is calmly controlling the position for now.
Maynard has Thongchai pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Thongchai manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Thongchai is fighting off a takedown attempt but Maynard is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Thongchai to the mat. Thongchai regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Maynard is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Thongchai keeping moving, preventing Maynard from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thongchai is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Thongchai is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Thongchai is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gray Maynard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thongchai is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Maynard is keeping busy.

Thongchai is fighting off a takedown attempt but Maynard is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Thongchai to the mat. Thongchai regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Thongchai wants to get back to his feet but Maynard is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maynard postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Maynard postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Maynard is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Gray Maynard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thongchai takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Maynard lands a couple of decent looking shots.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Maynard content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Maynard is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Thongchai keeping moving, preventing Maynard from controlling successfully.
Maynard postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maynard chips away with some ground and pound.
Maynard trying to control but Thongchai is working from the bottom.
Maynard controls from within his opponent's guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Thongchai keeping full guard, as Maynard tries to pass.
Maynard is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thongchai can do to turn this around?
Thongchai keeping moving, preventing Maynard from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Gray Maynard just wasn't active enough.
Nice jab there from Maynard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thongchai throws a low kick but it's checked well by Maynard.
Thongchai blocks a jab.
Jab, jab by Maynard - just one landing.
Thongchai tries to clinch

and Maynard counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Maynard gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Maynard lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Maynard is keen to just control but Thongchai is a slippery customer.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Jao Thongchai has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Maynard escapes and gets back to his feet.

Maynard clinches with his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gray Maynard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Maynard 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight for Gray Maynard!
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight for Gray Maynard!
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight for Gray Maynard!

Gray Maynard wins by unanimous decision!
A pretty intense looking Gray Maynard took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.