PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Marcus Hawthorn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sparka Man (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hawthorn's entrance music is Sam & Dave - Soul Man. A fine choice. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Hawthorn
vs
Man

175 cm
22
170 lbs
11 - 5 - 1

170 cm
29
155 lbs
15 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent elbows
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 1, fighting out of London, Marcus Hawthorn!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Sparka Man!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Steven Brown and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hawthorn shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Man manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
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.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Hawthorn prevents Man from getting back to his feet.
Man is adopting a defensive guard.
Hawthorn trying to control the position from guard on top but Man is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hawthorn controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Hawthorn with a nice head shot there.
Man preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hawthorn in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Man is trying to keep Hawthorn in close.
Hawthorn trying to control the position from guard on top but Man is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Hawthorn drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Man dives on top into guard.
Hawthorn keeping moving, preventing Man from controlling successfully.
Man tries to stand but Hawthorn is controlling from the bottom.
Man stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hawthorn swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorn can't keep his opponent in guard - Man advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Hawthorn is trying to get back to full guard.
Man is trying to control. Hawthorn wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Hawthorn is holding on to half guard well.
Man trying to control from Hawthorn's half guard. Hawthorn has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Man must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Man trying to control the position from guard on top but Hawthorn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Man really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hawthorn. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Hawthorn looking to control.
Man controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sparka Man was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Hawthorn takes the fight into the clinch.
Hawthorn blocking some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Man managing to block the knees to the body from Hawthorn.
Man doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Man avoiding damage as Hawthorn throws knees to the body.

Hawthorn has hold of one of Man's legs. Man is fighting the takedown attempt but Hawthorn gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Hawthorn trying to control but Man is working from the bottom.
Hawthorn throws a big elbow that misses.
Man is looking to stand up but Hawthorn isn't so interested in that idea.
Hawthorn is pushing down on Man's leg trying to pass to half guard. Man is fighting to maintain full guard but Hawthorn has managed to sneak the leg through.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hawthorn throwing shots but Man is blocking nicely.
Man is controlling Hawthorn's trapped leg to prevent Hawthorn from advancing to side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Hawthorn dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Hawthorn misses with a takedown attempt
and Man counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Man keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hawthorn is looking to clinch but Man is avoiding it.
Man connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Hawthorn slips a jab from Man.
Man feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Hawthorns jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Man throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hawthorn.
Hawthorn shoots in looking for a takedown but Man manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Hawthorn's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcus Hawthorn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawthorn shoots for a double leg takedown but Man sprawls well. He's pushed Hawthorn's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Hawthorn shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Man as he avoids it easily.

Man moves into the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Man leaning his opponent against the cage.
Man lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Man scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Man can't find room to land a body shot as Hawthorn controls the action.
Hawthorn tries to land knees in the clinch but Man avoids the damage to the body.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Hawthorn tries to land knees in the clinch but Man avoids the damage to the body.
A bit of stalling here from Man.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Man creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Still in the clinch, Man scores with a nice short uppercut.

Hawthorn is rocked!
Man lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Oh Hawthorn is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Man lands a right hand that snaps the head of Hawthorn backwards.
Man slows down the pace here.
A short uppercut from Man.
Man unloads with a big right hand that wobbles Hawthorn! He's leaning against the cage trying to keep his feet but Man is unloading with more strikes now! Hawthorn drops to his knees and the referee stops the fight for a TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Sparka Man! Sparka Man retains his lightweight title!