PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Neo Sparta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brandon Hays (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Sparta
vs
Hays

183 cm
25
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

184 cm
18
179 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Neo Sparta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Brandon Hays!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hays throws a nice looking combination but Sparta bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Sparta tries to clinch up but Hays circles away and keeps his distance.
Hays looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Sparta is fending him off so far but Hays persists. Nope, Sparta circles away and we're back to standing.
Sparta throws a nice looking combination but Hays bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Hays shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Hays was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Sparta wants to try and get back to his feet.
Sparta has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.

Sparta is trying to shake Hays off. He's managed it and has hopped back to his feet! Hays won't be happy about giving up the dominant position.
Sparta shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Hays eats them both and turns towards Sparta to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

It looks like Brandon Hays has been cut.
Sparta circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sparta misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sparta throws a combination. Hays tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Sparta has managed to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hays utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sparta works on Hays's body with a couple of short punches.
Hays avoiding damage as Sparta throws knees to the body.
Sparta has had enough of the clinch but Hays keeps him there for the moment.
Sparta looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A shot in the inside from Sparta.
Hays keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Sparta's efforts to push away.
Hays wants a takedown.

Sparta decides to pull guard.
Sparta wants to get back to his feet but Hays is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Hays stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sparta swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sparta is trying to control the position but Hays postures up.

Sparta has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hays can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Sparta wants to stand up but Hays is controlling him.
Hays looking to pass the guard.
Hays won't allow Sparta to sweep him here.
Hays stops Sparta from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hays throwing strikes from guard but Sparta blocks nicely.
Hays won't allow Sparta to get back to his feet.
Hays must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hays missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hays throws a big right hand that misses.
Hays trying to control but Sparta is working from the bottom.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hays is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Sparta is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Sparta has escaped and now he's on top!
Sparta won't allow Hays to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sparta missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sparta throws a big elbow that misses.

Sparta gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Hays misses with a two punch combination.
Hays swats away the attempt to clinch by Sparta.

Hays rushes Sparta and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Hays breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Sparta moves into the clinch successfully.

Sparta breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hays moves in looking to clinch but Sparta pushes him off.

Sparta clinches up against the cage.
Hays managing to block the knees to the body from Sparta.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Neo Sparta dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Brandon Hays's cut.
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.

Nice takedown defense from Sparta. No joy for Hays on that attempt.
Neo Sparta seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hays shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Sparta pinned against the cage. Sparta gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Hays avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Sparta feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Sparta cracks Hays with a solid left hand.

Sparta stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Sparta shoots for a double leg takedown but Hays sprawls well. He's pushed Sparta's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Sparta moves into the clinch successfully.
Sparta is trying to push Hays away but Hays has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Sparta breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Sparta closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Hays breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sparta tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hays paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sparta shoots in and drives through. Hays sprawls well.
Sparta lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Hays on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Hays throws a push kick but Sparta slaps the foot to one side.
Hays slips a jab and a cross from Sparta.
Hays shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sparta as he jumps to the side.
Neo Sparta has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brandon Hays.
Hays is breathing heavily.
Sparta misses with a takedown attempt - Hays sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Horrible takedown by Sparta or perhaps it was just good defense by Hays which made him look bad.

Sparta moves into the clinch successfully.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sparta takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sparta wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Sparta stops a takedown attempt from Hays.
Hays tries to stall but Sparta uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Sparta has had enough of the clinch but Hays keeps him there for the moment.
Sparta lands a nice uppercut.
Sparta is trying to push Hays away but Hays has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Sparta breaks the clinch.

Sparta closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sparta is looking to break free of the clinch but Hays has double underhooks.
Sparta works on Hays's body with a couple of short punches.

Sparta jumps guard and drags Hays to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sparta wants to stand but Hays is controlling the position.
Sparta tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Sparta can't keep his opponent in guard - Hays advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Sparta wants to stand back up but Hays manages to pass into side control.
Sparta is pushing Hays's head away, looking to escape. Hays manages to hold on to the position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hays looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hays with the ground and pound but Sparta regains half guard under the barage of strikes.

Sparta pushes Hays off and gets back to his feet.
Sparta tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Neo Sparta is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Sparta is defended easily by Hays.
Hays tries to close the distance and clinch but Sparta swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
No luck for Hays with that takedown attempt.

Sparta gets a clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Neo Sparta dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Brandon Hays's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Sparta fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hays defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sparta.
Sparta fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hays avoids it really well and circles away.
Sparta clobbers Hays with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Hays shoots in for a takedown but Sparta shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
A chopping leg kick lands by Hays.
Hays doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Sparta counters with a one-two to the body.
Sparta fails in his attempt to clinch.

Sparta fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Hays to the ground. Sparta is now in Hays's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sparta postures up in Hays's guard and throws a big left but Hays blocks it.
Sparta trying to control the position from guard on top but Hays is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sparta postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sparta keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hays's head.
Hays has momentary wrist control but Sparta slips an elbow through the middle.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Hays holds on and takes a little breather.
Sparta scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hays has momentary wrist control but Sparta slips an elbow through the middle.

Sparta stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Hays wants to clinch but Sparta slips to the side
and Sparta counters with a two punch combo.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Sparta is defended easily by Hays.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Neo Sparta. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hays fails with a takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sparta feints and as Hays raises his hands in defense, Sparta changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hays trying to control the position.
Sparta wants to control from the top but Hays keeps moving.
Hays is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hays keeping moving, preventing Sparta from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Sparta is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Neo Sparta wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Sparta shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hays but Hays pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Hays blocks a low kick nicely.

Sparta closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Hays drops down looking for an ankle pick but Sparta pulls his leg out and moves away.
Hays shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sparta but Sparta pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sparta bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Sparta creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Sparta scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Hays to see if he's OK.
Sparta landing a few strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Sparta decides to stand back up. Sparta steps back and let's Hays get back to his feet.

Sparta has taken the fight to the clinch.
Sparta pushes off an throws an elbow but Hays leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Hays is trying to pull guard but Sparta has him pressed against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sparta working Hays over with knees to the body.

Sparta has Hays pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Sparta pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Hays tumbling to the mat - Sparta dives into Hays's guard.
Brandon Hays has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Neo Sparta is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Sparta is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hays can do to turn this around?
Sparta showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Neo Sparta showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sparta 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Neo Sparta!
Neo Sparta tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.