PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Frank Pembelton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Holden James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pembelton's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Hail Mary by Tupac. 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.

Pembelton
vs
James

177 cm
30
179 lbs
19 - 16 - 0

178 cm
25
182 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Steel Terror-Trition: Video Proven 160Q+Laundry!
Steel Terror-Trition: Video Proven 160Q+Laundry!

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 19 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Frank Pembelton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Holden James!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Alan Glass and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pembelton is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by James.
James ducks under a wild hook from Pembelton.
A punch combination from Pembelton misses.
Pembelton throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A nice inside leg kick there by James. That's going to slow Pembelton down.
Pembelton shoots in looking for a takedown. James tries to sprawl out of it but Pembelton keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. James manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
James clobbers Pembelton with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
James swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Pembelton closes this distance looking for a takedown but James circles away.
No joy there for Pembelton, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
James buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Pembelton defending well as James loads up on a big left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Pembelton ducks under a wild hook from James.
James fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Pembelton on the side of the head.
Pembelton slips under a jab.
James scores with a hook to the body. Pembelton takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
James is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Pembelton throws a series of punches but James moves out of range.
Pembelton shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frank Pembelton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pembelton changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Pembelton tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but James was well out of range. Poor timing from Pembelton.
Pembelton avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pembelton tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but James was well out of range. Poor timing from Pembelton.
Pembelton missing with a left hand there. James was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

James closes the distance and clinches.

Pembelton pulls James into guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
James stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pembelton swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Pembelton keeping moving, preventing James from controlling successfully.
James tries to free his leg and advance position but Pembelton is retaining full guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
James stopping the sweep attempt from Pembelton.
James wants to control from the top but Pembelton keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pembelton is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Pembelton is looking for a kimura here.

Pembelton is trying to work for a kimura but James is defending well.
Pembelton throwing shots but James is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pembelton looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
James tries to roll over but Pembelton keeps him under control.
James really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pembelton. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pembelton not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Pembelton trying to pass the guard but James defending well.
James tries to roll over but Pembelton keeps him under control.
Pembelton tries to pass the half guard into mount. James knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Still in half guard, Pembelton seems content to control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Pembelton is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and James defends it well.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
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. Pembelton connects with a nice short shot to James's temple.
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 Frank Pembelton will probably get the nod.
That's time! Pembelton's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

James avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Pembelton drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
James is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Pembelton trying to control the position from guard on top but James is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
James is controlling Pembelton's posture.
Pembelton 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.
Pembelton trying to control but James is working from the bottom.
Pembelton lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
James working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Pembelton.
James has momentary wrist control but Pembelton slips an elbow through the middle.
Pembelton keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of James's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Pembelton throwing strikes from guard but James blocks nicely.
Pembelton preventing the sweep.
James is pulling down on Pembelton's head to control his posture.
Pembelton wants to control from the top but James keeps moving.
Pembelton preventing the sweep.
Pembelton pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. James is keeping the position for now.
Pembelton in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pembelton throws a strike but James rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Pembelton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
James trying to control but Pembelton is working from the bottom.
James is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
James must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Pembelton keeping full guard, as James tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pembelton escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. James gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Pembelton not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Pembelton pulls James in close to prevent any damage.
Pembelton lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for James!
James is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pembelton swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and James is now in Pembelton's guard. A big mistake from Pembelton there, giving up the dominant position!
James throws a big right hand that misses.

James gets to his feet. Pembelton looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Pembelton tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but James was well out of range. Poor timing from Pembelton.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pembelton chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before James can pounce on him.
James swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Pembelton counters with a nice body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pembelton staying out of range there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Pembelton dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Pembelton gets cracked there but stands up to it.
James lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Pembelton fails to land with a series of punches.
James misses with a low kick.
James tries to work over Pembelton's front leg with a kick but Pembelton checks it.
Pembelton tries to bum rush James with a series of wild strikes but James uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Pembelton lands a really nice looking cross but James seems unphased.
Pembelton blocks a leg kick.
James lands a jab.
Good leg kick by James there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Pembelton shoots in but James avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pembelton swats away the attempt to clinch by James.
Pembelton shoots in for a double leg but James sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
James scores with a body shot.
Holden James seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Pembelton staying out of range there.
James misses with a looping right.
James punishes Pembelton's body with a nice straight punch.
James is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Holden James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pembelton avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Pembelton fakes high and swings low for a body shot but James manages to avoid it.
Holden James has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Pembelton misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
James throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
James moves out of range of the strikes.
James slips under a jab.
A slow jab from Pembelton misses its intended target.
Pembelton moves out of range as James throws a body kick.
Pembelton doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
James buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
James tries to clinch up but Pembelton circles away and keeps his distance.
Holden James is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Pembelton blocks a jab.
Pembelton stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pembelton swinging wildly here.
James throws a leg kick which misses Pembelton's front leg but catches the back leg as Pembelton tries to avoid it.
James pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
James steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Pembelton.
James swings widly with a right hand
and Pembelton counters with a nice body shot.
James defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Pembelton.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frank Pembelton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pembelton misses the shot to the body.
James blocks a jab.
Pembelton fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Pembelton takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James wants to clinch.
Nice uppercut lands for James. That snapped Pembelton's head back.
Pembelton keeps the fight on the outside.
Frank Pembelton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
James connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
A solid body kick from James.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pembelton ducks down and throws a hook to the body but James moves away.
James throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
James darts in trying to clinch
and Pembelton counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Holden James comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Pembelton has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 29:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!