PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luke Thomason (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Michael James has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

James
vs
Thomason

195 cm
25
194 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

183 cm
26
192 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

Good wrestler
Good kicks
Granite chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Michael James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Luke Thomason!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Damien Edna and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
A head kick misses from Thomason.
A nice leg kick lands there from Thomason.
James misses with an attempted mid kick.
Thomason slips a jab and a cross from James.
A combination from James does no damage.
James goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Thomason throws a head kick but James moves out of range.
A punch combination from James misses.
A leg kick checked by Thomason.
James misses with a wild combination.
Thomason throws a series of punches but James moves out of range.
Thomason throws an overhand right that lands on James's shoulder, as James tries to avoid the shot.
James looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Thomason looks to score with a jab to the body but James is just out of range.
James throws a nice head kick!
Thomason tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thomason looks for the body kick but James saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Thomason throws a looping overhand right but James ducks down to avoid it.
James lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Thomason thows a body shot but no joy.
Thomason misses with a head kick.
A combination from James does no damage.
James is breathing heavily.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by James.
Sloppy strikes from James. Those never looked like landing.
A thudding body kick lands there by Thomason!
James misses with a looping right.
James staying out of range there.
Thomason looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Thomason fails to land with a series of punches.
Thomason throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thomason throws an uppercut from half a mile away. James sees it coming and avoids it easily.
James displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomason attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
James looks to land a combination. Thomason sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
James looks to land a combination but Thomason avoids it well.
A combination from James does no damage.
Thomason tried to score with a low kick but James checks it.
Thomason blocks a jab.
Thomason throws a series of punches but James avoids them all with ease.
James throws a series of punches but Thomason moves out of range.
Thomason throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
James throws a push kick but Thomason slaps the foot to one side.
Thomason throws a body punch but James moves out of range.
Thomason swinging wildly here.
Thomason falls off balance throwing a combination
and James cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Thomason throws a sloppy head kick and James moves out of range easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James throws a poor cross that misses
and Thomason makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
James avoids the head kick by Thomason.
Thomason lands a front kick.
Thomason avoids a kick to the body.
James with a hook.
Thomason rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but James moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
James throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thomason tries a head kick but it misses.
James rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thomason moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Donk. Thomason catches James right on the button with a cross.
Thomason lands with a thumping leg kick.
Thomason throws a series of punches but James avoids them all with ease.
Thomason misses the shot to the body.
James fails to land with a series of punches.
Thomason misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James throws a combination that misses
and Thomason counters with a head kick. That will keep James thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Thomason scoring well with a low kick there.
A head kick misses from Thomason.
James swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Thomason counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. James is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Thomason lands a head kick. James smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
A head kick misses from Thomason.
Thomason takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
James lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Thomason circles away quickly and effectively.
Thomason takes a swing at James's ribcage but misses.
Thomason swinging wildly here.
A head kick by Thomason misses
and James counters with a lovely shot to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice uppercut there from James.
James slips a jab from Thomason.
James misses with a series of wild punches.
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 Michael James will probably get the nod.
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.

Thomason throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
A head kick misses from Thomason.
James shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Thomason eats them both and turns towards James to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
James lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Thomason circles away quickly and effectively.
Thomason will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
James misses with a combination
and Thomason counters with a one-two to the body.
Nice shot by James.
Thomason throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
James looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Thomason swinging wildly here.
Thomason misses the shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A leg kick checked by Thomason.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Thomason.
James throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Thomason.
Thomason throws a sloppy head kick and James moves out of range easily.
Michael James is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thomason misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
James misses with an attempted mid kick.
James lands a nice looking body shot.
Thomason lands a jab-cross combination.
James is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Thomason will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Sloppy strikes from James. Those never looked like landing.
James throws a right and a left that both miss.
James throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
James rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thomason moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Thomason tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thomason bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Thomason.
Thomason tries a head kick but it misses.
A looping hook to the body misses from Thomason. James does a little dance to reset his feet.
Thomason looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Thomason throws a nice looking combination but James bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
James throws a body punch but Thomason moves out of range.
James is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Thomason wants to land a leg kick but James is out of range.
Luke Thomason seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Thomason avoids a punch combination nicely.
Thomason looks to land a combination but James avoids it well.
Thomason throws a combination but it was largely blocked by James.
Thomason lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
James connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Thomason tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James looks to land a combination but Thomason avoids it well.
No joy there for James, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Thomason misses with a body kick.
James takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Danga de danga de dang - James scores with a four punch combination!
James misses with a two punch combination.
Thomason throws a leg kick which misses James's front leg but catches the back leg as James tries to avoid it.
Thomason swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Thomason fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
James throws a body kick that misses.
James lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Thomason circles away quickly and effectively.
Thomason swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Thomason is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down James rather than just go for the knockout.
James misses with a two punch combination.
Thomason misses with a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
James showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thomason.
Thomason throws a right hand that James ducks under and follows up with a left that James also avoids with ease.
Thomason goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
James throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thomason will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
James looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
James throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Thomason.
Thomason misses with the combination.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thomason fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and James has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
James is looking to land body kicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Luke Thomason 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. This is the final round!

Thomason looks to score with a jab to the body but James is just out of range.
Sloppy strikes from James. Those never looked like landing.
Thomason avoids the head kick by James.
Thomason tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A slapping leg kick lands for Thomason.
James swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Thomason counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
A punch combination from James misses.
Thomason fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Thomason looks to land a combination but James avoids it well.
James blocks a head kick by Thomason.
A looping hook to the body misses from Thomason. James does a little dance to reset his feet.
James ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thomason moves away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Thomason throws a push kick but James slaps the foot to one side.
Thomason is looking to land body kicks.
James misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomason throws a body kick that misses.
Thomason misses with the combination.
James slips a jab and a cross from Thomason.
James scores with a sloppy right hand. Thomason should have avoided that one.
Thomason slips a jab and a cross from James.
Thomason misses with a double jab.
Thomason looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
James throws a sloppy head kick and Thomason moves out of range easily.
James looks to score with a jab to the body but Thomason is just out of range.
Thomason takes a swing at James's ribcage but misses.
Thomason throws a head kick that misses.
James misses with a few strikes there.
Thomason misses with a hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James connects with a body shot that sends Thomason's belly button to the back.
James throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
James misses with a double jab.
James looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
James misses with a double jab
and Thomason counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Crunch! Thomason slams his shin into James's torso.
Thomason dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
James throws a series of punches but Thomason avoids them all with ease.
James takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Thomason misses with a kick to the body.
Thomason throws a right and a left that both miss.
James throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
James misses with a wild combination.
James is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James blocks a head kick by Thomason.
James will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Thomason dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
James throws a jab but it's blocked by Thomason.
Thomason throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thomason goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
James misses with a jab, cross combination.
James pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Thomason tries a head kick but it misses.
Thomason tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
James throws a series of strikes that have Thomason backpedaling.
Thomason takes a swing at James's ribcage but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head kick from Thomason lands but James takes it in his stride.
James tries a head kick but it misses.
James throws the left hand but Thomason avoids the punch easily.
Both fighters circling a little - Thomason finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Thomason slips a straight right by James.
Thomason cracks James with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Thomason throws a front kick aimed at James's knee but James avoids it well.
Thomason misses with a low kick.
James throws a right hand that Thomason ducks under and follows up with a left that Thomason also avoids with ease.
Thomason misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
James cracks Thomason with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thomason lands with a kick to the ribs.
Both fighters circling a little - James finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as James checks a leg kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luke Thomason comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Thomason has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Donatello Bradman scores the fight 28:30
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 28:29
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luke Thomason!
A very excited looking Luke Thomason made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.