PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Stu Harper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kasper Pedersen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Harper's entrance music is Long Way Round - Stereophonics. A fine choice. Stu Harper has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Harper
vs
Pedersen

184 cm
27
175 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

187 cm
24
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent elbows
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Stu Harper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Kasper Pedersen!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Andrew Berry and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pedersen avoids the head kick by Harper.

Pedersen moves into the clinch.

Harper successfully pulls guard.

Harper pushes Pedersen off and gets back to his feet.

Pedersen gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pedersen keeps control of Harper as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Pedersen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Harper avoids it.
Harper avoids the elbow strike from Pedersen, against the cage.
Pedersen lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Harper pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pedersen connects with a right hand. Harper shakes it off.

Harper looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Harper prevents Pedersen from getting back to his feet.
Pedersen keeping moving, preventing Harper from controlling successfully.
Harper prevents Pedersen from getting back to his feet.
Harper wants to stand but Pedersen is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pedersen wants to stand but Harper is controlling the position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Harper decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Pedersen, up you get!
Harper has a takedown stuffed.

Pedersen drives through and clinches with Harper against the cage.
Pedersen lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Stu Harper has been cut.
Pedersen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Harper.
Harper can't break the clinch.
Pedersen misses with a body punch.
Harper blocks an elbow strike from Pedersen.
Pedersen tries to circle away but Harper has him pinned against the cage.

Harper breaks from the clinch.

Pedersen drives through and clinches with Harper against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pedersen tries to land knees in the clinch but Harper avoids the damage to the body.
Pedersen has had enough of the clinch but Harper keeps him there for the moment.

Harper breaks the clinch.

Harper closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Pedersen quickly recovers to half guard.
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!

Harper stands up from half guard.
Pedersen chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Harper can pounce on him.
Harper throws a nice outside leg kick.
Harper fails with the takedown.

Pedersen has taken the fight to the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Pedersen.
Harper managing to block the knees to the body from Pedersen.
Pedersen tries to land knees in the clinch but Harper avoids the damage to the body.

Harper manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Pedersen works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Pedersen is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harper makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

Harper gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pedersen misses with an elbow strike.
Pedersen lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Pedersen misses with some punches.
Pedersen is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Harper pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Harper avoiding damage as Pedersen throws knees to the body.
Harper taking a breather.
Harper dodges an elbow strike from Pedersen.
Pedersen lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Harper's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Pedersen avoids a punch combination nicely.

Pedersen takes the fight into the clinch.

Harper breaks the clinch.
Harper throws a sloppy head kick and Pedersen moves out of range easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pedersen clinches up with Harper and pushes him back against the cage.
Harper lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Pedersen backwards.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Harper tries a knee to the head but Pedersen blocks it.
Pedersen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
With the fighters up against the cage, Pedersen throws an elbow but misses.

Pedersen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Pedersen has closed the distance and engaged Harper in a clinch.
Pedersen throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Pedersen unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Harper dodges an elbow strike from Pedersen.

Harper breaks from the clinch.
Pedersen throws a wild body kick that Harper sees coming a mile off.
Harper bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Pedersen moves into range and clinches up with Harper.

Harper's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Harper shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Pedersen really wants to buck Harper off and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Kasper Pedersen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Stu Harper's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Harper throws a head kick but Pedersen moves out of range.

Pedersen forces Harper back against the cage and clinches.
Harper jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Pedersen walks away with a smile on his face. Harper gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Pedersen darts in and clinches Harper up against the cage.
Harper jumps guard but Pedersen stands there with Harper around his waist. Harper gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Harper pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pedersen throws a series of strikes that have Harper backpedaling.

Pedersen moves into the clinch successfully.
Pedersen misses with the head strike.
Pedersen landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Pedersen just misses with a elbow thrown towards Harper's brow.

Pedersen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Pedersen moves into the clinch successfully.
Kasper Pedersen seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

Harper breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Pedersen has managed to clinch.
Harper can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Stu Harper. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Harper is stalling here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Harper breaks the clinch.

Pedersen clinches.
Pedersen is working Harper over against the cage.
Pedersen tries to land knees in the clinch but Harper avoids the damage to the body.
Harper tries to stall but Pedersen uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Pedersen creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Harper tries to circle away but Pedersen has him pinned against the cage.
Harper tries to break free but Pedersen pushes him back against the cage.
Harper is trying to break the clinch but Pedersen has him pressed against the cage.
Pedersen throws a head punch that misses.
A knee to the head by Pedersen.
Pedersen is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Pedersen misses with a shot to the kidneys.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Harper breaks the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harper shoots in but Pedersen avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Harper moves into the clinch successfully.
Pedersen tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pedersen prevents Harper from breaking the clinch.
Harper is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Harper's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
That kick from Harper tenderised Pedersen's leg. Pedersen is trying to keep his angry face on.
Harper bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

Pedersen gets a clinch.

Harper breaks the clinch.
A head kick misses from Harper.
Pedersen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Harper clinches up with Pedersen and pushes him back against the cage.
Harper dodges an elbow strike from Pedersen.
Pedersen trying to control the position but instead, Harper has worked for underhooks and has pushed Pedersen into the cage.
Harper lands a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Pedersen smiles and moves away.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Harper.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Pedersen clinches up against the cage.
Harper dodges an elbow strike from Pedersen.
Pedersen blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Pedersen wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Harper has him pressed against the cage.
Pedersen has Harper pressed against the cage, preventing Harper from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Harper jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Pedersen walks away with a smile on his face. Harper gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Harper clinches up against the cage.
Harper dodges an elbow strike from Pedersen.
Harper with a knee to the head.
Pedersen lands a damaging elbow.
Pedersen misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harper tries to pull guard but Pedersen holds him up against the cage and eventually Harper drops back down to his feet.

Harper drags the fight down to the ground.
Harper keeping full guard, as Pedersen tries to pass.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pedersen wants to control from the top but Harper keeps moving.
Pedersen would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Pedersen pushing down on Harper's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Harper is trying is best to control the position here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pedersen wants to stand but Harper has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Harper wants to control but Pedersen is keeping busy.
Pedersen trying to control from half guard but Harper is working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kasper Pedersen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Stu Harper's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Harper fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Pedersen throws a right and a left that Harper avoids nicely.

Harper moves into range and clinches up with Pedersen.

Harper escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Pedersen closes the distance and clinches.
Pedersen with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Pedersen keeps control of Harper as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Pedersen creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Pedersen is trying to stall.

Harper's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Harper breaks the clinch.
Pedersen fails to land the takedown.
Harper throws a sloppy head kick and Pedersen moves out of range easily.
Kasper Pedersen seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harper slips a jab and a cross from Pedersen.
Pedersen throws a low kick but Harper moves out of range easily.
Pedersen throws a sloppy head kick
and Harper counters with a head kick. That will keep Pedersen thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Pedersen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Pedersen closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Harper tries to land knees in the clinch but Pedersen avoids the damage to the body.

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

Pedersen closes the distance and clinches.
Pedersen misses with a body punch.
Harper looking to stall.

Harper escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Harper gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Harper breaks from the clinch.
Pedersen will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Harper feints and then cracks Pedersen's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Pedersen down.
Harper scores with a head kick. Pedersen tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

Pedersen clinches up with Harper and pushes him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Pedersen blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Pedersen pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Pedersen misses with a hook to the ribs.
Harper avoids a wild elbow strike from Pedersen.
Pedersen stops a takedown attempt from Harper.

Harper manages to break the clinch.
A nice inside leg kick there by Harper. That's going to slow Pedersen down.

Pedersen gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pedersen pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Pedersen comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

Harper manages to break the clinch.

Pedersen pushes Harper up against the cage in a clinch.
Pedersen drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Pedersen lands an elbow inside that Harper shrugs off.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Pedersen just misses with a elbow thrown towards Harper's brow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harper manages to break the clinch.
Harper wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Harper throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Pedersen crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Harper - the referee stops the clock and Pedersen gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Harper. Pedersen manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Pedersen fails with a takedown attempt.
Stu Harper has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kasper Pedersen.

Pedersen has closed the distance and engaged Harper in a clinch.
Pedersen trying to land knees to the body.
Harper wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Pedersen has him pressed against the cage.
Harper being controlled against the cage.
Harper wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Pedersen has him pressed against the cage.
Harper blocks an elbow strike.
Pedersen gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Harper.
Pedersen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Harper.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harper tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Pedersen just stands there and leans against the cage.
Stu Harper has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Harper lands with a right to the head.
Harper lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
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!
Harper managing to block the knees to the body from Pedersen.

Harper breaks the clinch.
A bone on bone clash there as Harper blocks the leg kick.

Pedersen instigates a clinch.

Harper breaks the clinch.

Harper clinches up with Pedersen and pushes him back against the cage.
Pedersen with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Harper tries to land knees in the clinch but Pedersen avoids the damage to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pedersen creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Harper's defenses.

Harper breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Pedersen gets a clinch.
Kasper Pedersen is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Harper escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Pedersen moves out of range of the leg kick from Harper.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Stu Harper.
I think Pedersen has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:29
Judge William Gold scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Stu Harper!
Our winner, Stu Harper, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.