PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Philip Power (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Xavier Belial (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Philip Power has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Power
vs
Belial

190 cm
18
185 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

182 cm
23
185 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Tends to cut

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Philip Power!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Xavier Belial!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Yves DeLean and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Belial pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Power moves out of range as Belial throws a body kick.
Power fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Belial smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Belial throws a head kick but Power moves out of range.
Nice cross by Belial.
Belial thuds his shin into the meat of Power's side.
Belial throws a big shot that misses.
Belial misses with a head kick.
Xavier Belial seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Power fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Belial throws a lazy right hand but Power sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Belial looks to land a right hand but Power moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Power misses with a leg kick.
Belial misses with a leg kick

and Power counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Belial wants to stand and escape but Power is having none of it.
Belial has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Power prevents Belial from getting back to his feet.

Belial working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Power doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Power manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Belial keeping busy on the bottom but Power has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belial wants to stand back up but Power manages to pass into side control.
Belial is looking to reverse the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belial is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Belial trying to control from the bottom.
Belial wants to get back to full guard.

Power decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Power fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Philip Power. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Power takes a head kick and keeps coming.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belial falls off balance throwing a combination

and Power counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Belial's guard now.
Belial looks gassed!
Belial trying to control the position.
Belial working a defensive guard but Power passes into half guard.

Power decides to stand and escape the position.
Belial lands a high kick!
A lazy left from Belial finds it's target.
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 Philip Power will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Power moves out of range as Belial strikes.
Belial stuffs the takedown attempt from Power. Power gets slowly back to his feet.

Power shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Belial is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Belial is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Belial is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Power defends it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belial is pressing down on Power's thigh, looking to free his foot. Power is holding on for now.
Belial tries to stand and escape but Power is controlling the position.
Power pushes Belial off looking to stand but Belial dives back in and keeps control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Belial tries to pass the half guard into mount. Power knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Belial is breathing heavily.
Power is looking to escape.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Power takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Belial throws a looping overhand right but Power ducks down to avoid it.
No luck for Power with that takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belial tries to land a body kick

and Power counters with a shoot takedown. Belial fights it but they end up in guard.
Belial is wriggling around but Power manages to pass to half guard.

Power decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Belial moves into range and connects with a jab.
Belial throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Power sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Belial moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nice takedown defense from Belial. No joy for Power on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Philip Power. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belial throws a left and a right that both miss

and Power counters with a takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
Belial tries to contro but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Belial wants to hold on but Power pushes him away.
Belial regains half guard.
Power stops Belial from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Philip Power dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Belial throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Power sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Belial tries to land a leg kick but Power saw it coming and moves away.
Belial thows a left - swing and a miss!

Power gets the takedown into side control.
Belial is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Power off and has taken his back!

Belial looking for the RNC.
Power is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Power trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Belial looking to hold on to the position here but Power rolls and ends up regaining guard.

Belial stands and steps away. Power gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Belial throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
A decent looking cross lands there for Belial.
Belial keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Power shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Belial as he avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belial throws the left hand but Power avoids the punch easily.
Belial throws a shot from downtown. Power moves away and avoids it.
Power shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Belial but Belial pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Philip Power. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head kick misses from Belial.
Power shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Belial fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Power on the side of the head.
Belial throws out a loose jab but Power uses good head movement to avoid it.
Belial lands a head kick!
Nice cross by Belial.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Power looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
A head kick misses from Belial.
Belial pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Power fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Philip Power is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Belial slow jab from Power misses its intended target.
Power dodges the punch combination from Belial.
Power slips a jab and a cross from Belial.
Xavier Belial has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Power swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

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.
Belial throws a half hearted mid kick.
Power uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Belial.
Power slips a straight right by Belial.
Power slips under a jab.

Power looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Belial!

Power get's back to his feet.
Belial missing with a left hand there. Power was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Belial misses with a kick to the body

and Power counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Power decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Belial, up you get!

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 Philip Power.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Power, 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Philip Power!