PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Luke Upton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Calvin McCork (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Upton comes to the cage accompanied by Shutterbug. The crowd seem to be enjoying McCork's choice of entrance music: Great Balls Of Fire By The Killer Himself. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the fighters buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Upton
vs
McCork

182 cm
30
181 lbs
11 - 7 - 0

172 cm
29
183 lbs
7 - 7 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Luke Upton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 1, fighting out of New York, Calvin McCork!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Jonathan Paton and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Upton makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Upton fails to land.
Upton lands an elbow inside.
A short body shot lands from Upton as the two fighters clinch.
Upton is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. McCork is defending well for now.
Upton misses with the head strike.
Upton goes for a takedown in the clinch but McCork prevents it.
Upton fails to pull guard.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Upton as McCork tries to tie him up.
Upton tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Upton goes for a takedown in the clinch but McCork prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Luke Upton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Upton lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of McCork backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCork lands a left hand that snaps the head of Upton backwards.
Upton lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Upton with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
McCork trying to stall but Upton improves his position.
Upton lands with a right to the head.
Upton tries to throw a body punch but McCork avoids it by throwing Upton back against the cage.
Nice body punch from Upton.
Upton blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
McCork is trying to slow the pace down but that's a couple of times in a row that he's tried to get underhooks and Upton has denied him.
Upton throws a head punch that misses.
A hook to the body from Upton.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Upton tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Upton throws an elbow but it misses.
Upton misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Upton lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of McCork backwards.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Upton.
Upton lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
A short right from Upton on the inside.
Upton missing with knees to the body.
McCork content to slow the pace in the clinch.
McCork misses with a body punch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Upton.
McCork is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Upton is keeping busy.
Upton misses with an elbow over the top.
Upton scores with an uppercut up the middle.

Upton wants the takedown. McCork is fighting it off but Upton persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in McCork's guard against the cage.
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.
Upton postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

McCork is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Upton content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

McCork has his foot on Upton's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Upton works his way back into a safe position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Upton throws a big right hand that misses.
Upton preventing the sweep.
McCork has momentary wrist control but Upton slips an elbow through the middle.

McCork working for a triangle but Upton defends it easily.
McCork looking to control.

McCork is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
McCork looks gassed!

McCork had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Upton defends it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

McCork had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Upton defends it easily.
Upton cracks McCork with a solid left hand.
Upton working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of McCork's head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Upton looking to pass the guard.
Upton passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Upton connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused McCork some visible discomfort.

Upton is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. McCork knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Upton is trying to get an arm triangle but McCork is defending well.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
McCork is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luke Upton dominated that round.
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.

Upton swinging wildly here.
McCork lands with a good body shot.
McCork fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
McCork pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
McCork misses the shot to the body.
Upton lands a jab to the nose.
McCork misses with a low kick.
McCork throws a nice looking combination but Upton bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Upton lands a nice shot that snaps McCork's head back.
McCork swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Upton cracks McCork with a right hand to the side of the head.
McCork dodges the punch combination from Upton.
Upton throws out a powerful jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McCork pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
McCork throws the left hand but Upton avoids the punch easily.
McCork throws a hook but Upton avoids it easily.
Upton takes one to the side of the head.

It looks like Luke Upton has been cut.
A big right from McCork misses.
Upton lands a jab to the head.
Upton bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
McCork is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
McCork missing with a left hand there. Upton was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Upton shoots in for a takedown but McCork shows good takedown defense.
McCork misses with a looping right.
Good exchange - Upton coming out on top.
McCork looks to throw the jab but Upton is out of range.
McCork walks into a straight right hand from Upton.
McCork throws a leg kick that is checked
and Upton counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Upton is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
McCork throws a series of punches but Upton avoids them all with ease.
McCork takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McCork walks forward, straight into a front kick from Upton.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Upton swings for the body but McCork moves out of range.
Upton moves out of range of the strikes.
Upton blocks a jab.
McCork misses with a combination
and Upton counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Upton lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Luke Upton is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sloppy strikes from McCork. Those never looked like landing.
Upton closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Upton lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Upton.
Upton takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
McCork takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Upton lands with a nice body punch.
McCork drops his hands momentarily and Upton takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

Upton closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Upton working the ground and pound.
McCork regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCork wants to improve his position but Upton is controlling well.
McCork is breathing heavily.

Upton is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, McCork has managed to free his arm - good work.

McCork looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Upton passes to full mount!
McCork keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
McCork wants to control but Upton is having none of it.
McCork is desperately trying to improve his position but Upton has a good base and remains in mount.

Upton looking to secure an arm triangle but McCork defends it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCork tries to lock up and control but Upton gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Upton looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Upton is going oldschool here, as he tries to force McCork to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so McCork shrugs it off.
McCork is in a horrible position here. Upton smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
McCork tries to reverse the position but Upton maintains control.
Upton putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Luke Upton overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Upton punishing his opponent with strikes.
McCork tries to lock up and control but Upton gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Upton looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Upton landing strikes, looking to finish!
McCork is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luke Upton dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Luke Upton's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

McCork takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A slow jab from McCork misses its intended target.
McCork misses with a straight right.
McCork misses with a straight left.
McCork is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Upton.

Upton shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Upton showed some decent athleticism there.

McCork looking for submissions off his back.
McCork manages to get to full guard.
Upton scoring with punches to the head and body.
Upton stops McCork from standing up.
Upton 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.
McCork takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Upton landing some decent shots from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Upton got a little sloppy there for a moment and McCork has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Upton has managed to get both his arms back between McCork's legs - danger averted.
Upton is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Upton landing some decent shots from guard.
Upton cracks McCork with a solid left hand.
Upton working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of McCork's head.
Upton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that McCork can do to turn this around?

Upton is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Upton lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

McCork is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Upton is aware though and is defending well.
Upton content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Upton accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Upton wants to pass the guard but McCork is keeping the position.
Upton landing with the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

McCork has his foot on Upton's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Upton works his way back into a safe position though.
Upton lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Upton content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Upton stopping the sweep attempt from McCork.
Upton works over McCork with some ground and pound from guard.
Upton works over McCork with some ground and pound from guard.
Upton content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Upton lands a couple of digs.
Upton passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Upton in side control lands a decent elbow.
McCork is trying to get back to half guard.
Upton in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Upton is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, McCork has escaped the position, nice work there.
Upton working the ground and pound from side control.
McCork is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Upton working the body and head with strikes.

Upton working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Upton grinds an elbow into McCork's temple.
Calvin McCork has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Upton working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
McCork on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Upton working away.
McCork tries to get back to half guard but can't.
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!

Upton is trying to get an arm triangle but McCork is defending well.
McCork tries to get back to half guard but can't.

Upton is trying to get an arm triangle but McCork is defending well.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
McCork is trying to get back to half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luke Upton showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Upton 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 Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luke Upton!
Luke Upton 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.