PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tony Gates (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Doug Copley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Doug Copley will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Gates
vs
Copley

185 cm
22
215 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
31
218 lbs
7 - 12 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tony Gates!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 12 - 0, fighting out of New York, Doug Copley!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, John Roberts and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Copley fails to land with a series of punches.
Copley misses with a wild combination.
A right-left combo lands from Copley.

It looks like Tony Gates has been cut.

Copley closes the distance and clinches.

Copley pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
No luck for Gates with that takedown attempt.
Copley misses with an uppercut

and Gates counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
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 is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Copley keeping moving, preventing Gates from controlling successfully.

Copley uses the cage to get back to his feet.

Copley is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Gates's half guard.
Gates is trying is best to control the position here.
Gates is looking for a sweep. Copley is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gates blocking the ground and pound attempt from Copley.
Copley missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gates actively working from the bottom here.
Copley slips a nice elbow through Gates's hands, connecting with Gates's forehead.
Gates gets back to full guard.
Copleyis looking to pass into half guard but Gates pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Gates is in guard.
Copley keeping moving, preventing Gates from controlling successfully.
Gates postures up and lands a big shot to Copley's brow.
Copley keeping moving, preventing Gates from controlling successfully.
Gates passes easily into side control. Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Copley is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
You can see the frustration on Copley's face as Gates controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gates tries to advance to mount but Copley denies him.
Copley is trying to improve his position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Copley throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.
Gates trying to control the action but Copley is working from the bottom.
Copley is looking to reverse the position.
Copley struggling a bit here.
Copley is looking for a sweep.
Copley gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Gates not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gates seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Copley does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Copley is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Gates's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Gates's back!
Copley lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Copley tries to keep control of the position but Gates is staying busy.
Gates rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Copley tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Copley wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gates keeps working.
Copley wants to stand up but Gates has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Gates moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Gates looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Gates is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gates manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Copley manages to get himself to full guard.
Gates postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Gates throws an elbow that misses. Copley uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Gates's guard. Nice move by Copley!
Copley scoring with punches to the head and body.
Gates lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Copley!
Gates lands with some strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Gates has control of Copley's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Copley regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Gates trying to control but Copley is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Gates dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Tony Gates's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Copley lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Gates backs up against the cage.
No joy there for Copley, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Copley cracks Gates with an open hand slap.
Copley swinging wildly here.
Gates shoots for a double leg takedown but Copley sprawls well. He's pushed Gates's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Doug Copley seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Gates gets caught flat footed, as Copley shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Gates trying to control the position.

Gates looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gates looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Copley throwing strikes but missing.
Tony Gates overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Gates working for a triangle but Copley defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gates looking to control.
Copley wants to stand and escape but instead Gates has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Copley can't keep his opponent in guard - Gates advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Copley trying to hold on to Gates's head to control him but Gates postures up.
Copley tries to roll over but Gates keeps him under control.
Gates thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Gates is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Copley has managed to free his arm - good work.
Gates sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Copley defending well though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gates seems to be looking for submissions.
Copley is looking to control Gates's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Copley avoid being mounted?
Copley tries to get to full guard but Gates has control of the leg.

Gates 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.
Gates trying to control the action but Copley is working from the bottom.
Gates working over Copley with some ground and pound. Copley looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Copley tries to get to full guard but Gates has control of the leg.
Gates stops Copley from getting back to his feet.
Gates thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Gates is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Gates wants to take a breather but Copley is having none of it.
Copley wants to get back to full guard.
Copley wants to get back to his feet.
Gates missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Copley wants to improve his position but Gates is controlling well.
Gates scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gates is working for a kimura but Copley is defending it quite comfortably.
Gates controlling the action here.
Copley tries to kick Gates off but Gates keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Copley misses with some strikes from the bottom.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Gates is working for a submission of some sort.
Copley tries to kick Gates off but Gates keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Copley taking some punishment here, with Gates in his half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Gates dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Tony Gates'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. This is the final round!

Copley moves into range and clinches up with Gates.
Gates is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Copley is defending well.
Copley softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Copley prevents the takedown attempt.
Copley using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Gates has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Copley misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Gates letting Copley take a breather here.
Gates looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tony Gates. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gates drops down looking for an ankle pick but Copley pulls his leg out and moves away.
Copley fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Copley feints and as Gates raises his hands in defense, Copley changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

Copley stands and steps away. Gates gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Copley throws a solid leg kick but Gates takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Copley.
Gates connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Gates checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

Copley is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Gates's half guard.
Copley prevents Gates from improving his position.
Gates works his way to full guard. Good work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Copley passes Gates's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Gates tries to roll over but Copley keeps him under control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gates looking for submissions off his back.

Gates looking for submissions off his back.
Copley scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Copley working over Gates with some ground and pound. Gates looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Copley wants to work for an arm triangle but Gates is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Copley wants to stand but Gates has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Copley takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Gates kicks off Copley and gets to his feet.
Copley throws a body kick that misses.
Copley fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Copley shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Gates manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Copley trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Gates has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Copley can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Gates looking for a guillotine here but Copley defends easily.
Copley wants to stand but Gates has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Gates is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Copley is aware though and is defending well.
Copley must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gates controls Copley momentarily but Copley frees himself.
Copley keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gates's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gates avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Gates is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Copley wants to control from the top but Gates keeps moving.
Copley advances position into side control!
Copley wants to stand but Gates has his arm trapped.
Copley wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gates keeps working.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Copley wants to stand but Gates is controlling his arm.
Doug Copley has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Copley working away.
Gates sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Doug Copley.
I think Gates 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 Anthony Taglia scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tony Gates!