PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Derrick Hieron (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brian Blessed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Blessed has chosen Alive - P.O.D as his entrance music. Brian Blessed has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hieron
vs
Blessed

178 cm
26
142 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

175 cm
29
153 lbs
13 - 7 - 1

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Experienced

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Derrick Hieron!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Brian Blessed!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Paul Aken and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hieron has closed the distance and engaged Blessed in a clinch.
Hieron really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Come on Blessed - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Hieron working aggressively here.
Blessed stalling the fight.

Hieron breaks from the clinch.
Hieron moves in looking to clinch but Blessed pushes him off.
Blessed rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hieron moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Blessed misses with an uppercut. Hieron saw that one coming.
Blessed misses with a wild combination.
Blessed throws a jab but it's blocked by Hieron.
Hieron displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Blessed throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blessed throws a right hand that Hieron ducks under and follows up with a left that Hieron also avoids with ease.
Hieron staying out of range there.
Blessed throws a shot from downtown. Hieron moves away and avoids it.
Hieron staying out of range there.
Hieron wants to clinch but Blessed slips to the side
and Blessed counters with a nice uppercut.
Blessed slips a jab and a cross from Hieron.
Brian Blessed is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Blessed cracks Hieron with a right hand to the side of the head.
Blessed throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hieron falls off balance throwing a combination
and Blessed counters with a nice uppercut.
Hieron tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hieron slips under a jab.
The fighters circling - Hieron throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Blessed throws a jab but it's blocked by Hieron.
Hieron tries for a takedown but Blessed sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Hieron closes this distance looking for a takedown but Blessed circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A slow jab from Blessed misses its intended target.
Blessed moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Blessed tests Hieron's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Hieron shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hieron showed some decent athleticism there.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Blessed can do anything to dispel that myth.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Blessed gets full guard.
Blessed pulls Hieron in close to his closed guard and prevents Hieron from doing any damage or advancing position.
Hieron trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hieron distracts Blessed with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Blessed utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hieron looking to sit in guard and control but Blessed gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Blessed decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Hieron, up you get!
Blessed misses with a straight right.
Hieron slips a straight right by Blessed.
Blessed throws a right hand that misses

and Hieron counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Blessed regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hieron throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Blessed preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hieron scoring with some ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hieron throws a strike but Blessed rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Blessed wanted to stand there but Hieron had control of the position.
Hieron has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Blessed has passed into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Brian Blessed will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Blessed displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hieron.
Blessed looks to throw the jab but Hieron is out of range.
Hieron tries to close the distance and clinch but Blessed swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Blessed connects with a jab.
Blessed throws a big shot that misses.
Hieron tries to land a front kick but Blessed steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Hieron wants to clinch up but Blessed keeps it at a distance.
Blessed throws a jab but it's blocked by Hieron.
Hieron shoots in for a takedown but Blessed shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Blessed throws a lazy right hand but Hieron sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hieron misses with a wild body shot.
Blessed throws a good cross that connects.
Hieron swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Horrible takedown by Hieron or perhaps it was just good defense by Blessed which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Derrick Hieron. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hieron shoots in and drives through. Blessed sprawls well.
Hieron misses with a hook. Blessed ducked under it nicely.

Hieron shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Blessed's guard.
Hieron looking to sit in guard and control but Blessed gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Hieron throws his legs up looking for a submission but Blessed uses it to pass to side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Blessed taking a breather here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hieron tries to control but Blessed manages to take his back.
Blessed gets his hands free as Hieron looks to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blessed really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Hieron.
Blessed keeps control of the position as Hieron tries to break free.
Hieron is trying to stand back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Blessed biding his time, looking for the opening.
Blessed wants to control but Hieron manages to buck him off and is now in Blessed's guard! Nice work there by Hieron!
Blessed has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Brian Blessed will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Hieron is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Blessed swats away the attempt to clinch by Hieron.
Brian Blessed seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Blessed throws a hook but Hieron blocks it.
A telegraphed right hand from Blessed misses the target.
Hieron with a lazy takedown attempt
and Blessed counters with a stiff right hand.
Hieron misses with a hook. Blessed ducked under it nicely.
Hieron misses with a hook. Blessed ducked under it nicely.
Hieron bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hieron tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Blessed manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A big right from Blessed misses.
Blessed swats away the attempt to clinch by Hieron.
Derrick Hieron seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Blessed connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Hieron momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blessed blocks a low kick nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Blessed. Those never looked like landing.
Blessed avoids a punch combination nicely.
Blessed connects with a single shot there.
Blessed throws a lazy right hand but Hieron sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hieron loads up on a big right hand but Blessed slips the punch.
Blessed avoids the head kick by Hieron.
Blessed swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A slow jab from Blessed misses its intended target.
Nice defenses there by Hieron.
Hieron throws a hook but Blessed blocks it.
Hieron tries to clinch there but Blessed circles away.
Blessed throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hieron. Blessed does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hieron steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Blessed.

Hieron drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Blessed can't do much from the bottom here.
Hieron misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Hieron in side control, throwing shots but Blessed defends.
Hieron working the strikes but Blessed uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hieron throwing shots but Blessed is blocking nicely.
Blessed blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hieron.
Blessed is pressing down on Hieron's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Hieron throws a big right hand that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blessed working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hieron.
Hieron wants to control from the top but Blessed keeps moving.
Hieron with a flurry of punches that miss.
Blessed controlling the position.
Blessed is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Hieron is controlling him.
Blessed lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hieron!
Hieron is squirming around, avoiding Blessed's attempts to control the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hieron tries to hold on but Blessed postures up.
Derrick Hieron has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
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.
Blessed looking to control and managing it successfully.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Brian Blessed.
I've got Blessed winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Brian Blessed!
Brian Blessed got down on his knees post fight and begged the management for a title shot. 'Please, I want that title shot so bad! Give it to me!'