PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tito Ortiz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ezekiel Jackson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ortiz comes into the arena with Mosh By Eminem blaring out of the sound system. Ezekiel Jackson told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Ortiz
vs
Jackson

188 cm
22
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

189 cm
20
207 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 Las Vegas, Tito Ortiz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ezekiel Jackson!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ortiz shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Jackson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Jackson wants to stand up but Ortiz is controlling him.
Ortiz throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Jackson is looking to stand up but Ortiz isn't so interested in that idea.
Ortiz in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ortiz looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ortiz passes Jackson's left leg - he's now in half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Jackson manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Ortiz has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ortiz throwing strikes but missing.
Ortiz is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Ortiz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Jackson is keeping the position for now.
Jackson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jackson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Jackson wants to sweep here but Ortiz controlling him for the moment.
Ortiz stays in close to Jackson's body and controls the position.
Ortiz postures up.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Jackson is looking to clinch.

Ortiz gets the takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Ortiz is controlling him well.
Ortiz is working Jackson over with some ground and pound from side control.
Ortiz advances nicely into full mount.
Ortiz looking to control but Jackson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Jackson tries to lock up and control but Ortiz gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Jackson looks gassed!
Ortiz putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Ortiz controlling the pace for now.
Jackson tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ortiz landing shots from mount.
Jackson tries to hold on but Ortiz pushes him away.
Ortiz lands with some strikes.
Ortiz postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Jackson looks a forlorn figure.

Ortiz jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Jackson manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Ortiz grinds an elbow into Jackson's temple.
Ortiz working the head with strikes.
Jackson is letting Ortiz control him for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ortiz in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Ortiz lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Jackson tries to control but Ortiz manages to take his back.
Jackson rolls, trying to escape but Ortiz keeps control of the position.
Ortiz lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
Ortiz lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Ortiz trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Jackson doesn't escape.
Ortiz scores with punches to the body.
Ortiz is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tito Ortiz dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ortiz shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ortiz looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Jackson with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Jackson is pressing down on Ortiz's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Jackson is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Ortiz is controlling him.
Jackson has momentary wrist control but Ortiz slips an elbow through the middle.
Ortiz preventing the sweep.
Ortiz is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ortiz forces his way into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ortiz lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Ortiz is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

Ortiz is looking for a kimura here.
Ortiz prevents Jackson from improving his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Ortiz controlling the action here.
Ortiz looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Jackson with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Tito Ortiz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ortiz stalling.
Ortiz scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Ortiz slows the pace down in half guard.
Jackson is trying to maintain the position but Ortiz is very close to passing his half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ortiz lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Jackson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ortiz takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ortiz is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Jackson punching from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Ortiz winds up and cracks Jackson with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Jackson wants to improve his position but Ortiz is controlling well.
Ortiz trying to control from half guard but Jackson is working away.
Jackson wants to get back to full guard.
Ortiz working the head and body with strikes.
Jackson is trying to get back to full guard.
Jackson manages to get to full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jackson is pulling down on Ortiz's head. It's preventing any offense from Ortiz, at least for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tito Ortiz dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Ortiz looks for a takedown but Jackson sprawls well.
Ortiz shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Jackson as he jumps to the side.
Ortiz changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Jackson tries to avoid it but Ortiz manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Jackson to the ground. Jackson escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tito Ortiz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ortiz shoots in for a takedown but Jackson shows good takedown defense.
Tito Ortiz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Jackson tries for a takedown but Ortiz sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A head kick misses from Jackson.
Jackson lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Jackson.

It looks like Tito Ortiz has been cut.
Ortiz shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Jackson as he jumps to the side.
Jackson doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Ortiz counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ortiz.
Jackson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ortiz is one step ahead there.

Ortiz drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Ortiz jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Jackson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Ortiz trying to control the position from guard on top but Jackson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jackson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Ortiz postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Ortiz trying to control but Jackson is working from the bottom.

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

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Ortiz changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Jackson looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Jackson is trying to improve his position.
Ortiz slows the pace down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is trying to get back to half guard.
You can see the frustration on Jackson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Jackson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Jackson takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Jackson is not content to let Ortiz control the position.
The referee asks Ortiz politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Ortiz prefers to stall for the moment though.
Jackson wants to control but Ortiz postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ortiz wants to control but Jackson is keeping him busy.
Jackson gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Jackson tries to kick Ortiz off but Ortiz keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Ortiz is thwarting Jackson's attempts to control the position.
Jackson wants to get back to full guard.
Ortiz is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ortiz is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Jackson tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Ortiz raining down shots from the mount!
Jackson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ortiz postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Jackson looks a forlorn figure.
Ortiz sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Jackson in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Ortiz in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Ortiz scoring with strikes but Jackson is staying in there.
Jackson keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Ezekiel Jackson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ortiz punishing his opponent with strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tito Ortiz showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ortiz, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tito Ortiz!