PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Henderson Cormier (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Bates (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Cormier
vs
Bates

180 cm
19
224 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

188 cm
20
221 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Henderson Cormier!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Chris Bates!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Colin Fotheringham and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cormier shoots in looking for a takedown but Bates manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Cormier's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Bates misses with a jab, cross combination.
A combination from Bates does no damage.
Cormier shoots for a takedown but Bates saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A swing and a miss from Cormier.
Cormier shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Bates pinned against the cage. Bates gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Henderson Cormier. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A combination from Bates does no damage.
Bates lands a nice looking body shot.
Bates looks to score with a jab to the body but Cormier is just out of range.
Bates scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Bates misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Cormier fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Bates sprawls well initially but Cormier persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Bates has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Cormier is working away from the top position though.
Cormier trying to pass the guard but Bates defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cormier thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Bates gets back to full guard.
Bates looking to control.
Cormier has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Cormier with a flurry of punches that miss.
Cormier with a flurry of punches that miss.
Cormier in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bates working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Cormier.
Cormier working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Bates wants to sweep here but Cormier controlling him for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bates not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cormier trying to control the position from guard on top but Bates is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cormier tries to free his leg and advance position but Bates is retaining full guard.
Bates wants to get back to his feet but Cormier is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Cormier working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bates wants to get back to his feet but Cormier passes into half guard.
Bates regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Cormier.
Bates has Cormier pulled in close to control his posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cormier wants to control from the top but Bates keeps moving.
Bates not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bates working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Cormier.
Cormier preventing the sweep.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Cormier accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Cormier missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Cormier looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bates pulls Cormier in close to prevent any damage.
Cormier postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bates wants to stand and escape but Cormier is having none of it.
Cormier trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Cormier throws an elbow that misses. Bates uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Cormier's guard. Nice move by Bates!
Cormier is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cormier controlling the position.
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 Henderson Cormier will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Cormier uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Bates.
Cormier shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Bates pinned against the cage. Bates gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Bates slaps away a takedown attempt from Cormier, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Cormier darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Bates tries to kick Cormier off but Cormier keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Cormier landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Bates works his way to full guard. Good work.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Cormier accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Cormier throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cormier is looking to work some ground and pound but Bates has wrist control.
Cormier working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bates working a defensive guard here.
Cormier slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Cormier landing some decent shots from guard.
Cormier in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Cormier throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bates looking for a sweep. Not yet Bates, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cormier is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Cormier throws a big right hand that misses.
Cormier looking to sit in guard and control but Bates gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Bates slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Cormier looking to control but Bates passes into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cormier slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Henderson Cormier overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bates stopping the sweep attempt from Cormier.

Bates gets to his feet. Cormier looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Cormier throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Bates's waist but Bates gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Cormier off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Henderson Cormier. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bates lands a two punch combo.
Cormier fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Cormier throws a leg kick but Bates sees it coming and moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bates misses with a series of wild punches.
Cormier tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cormier avoids the body shot from Bates.
Cormier is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cormier is trying hard to land a takedown here. Bates sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Chris Bates is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fighters circling - Bates throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Cormier closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Bates did well to prevent Cormier getting side control.
Bates is not content to let Cormier control the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cormier looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bates with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Henderson Cormier 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. 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.

Nice takedown defense from Bates. No joy for Cormier on that attempt.
Cormier changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Bates tries to avoid it but Cormier manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Bates to the ground. Bates escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Cormier shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Bates counters with a lovely shot to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Henderson Cormier. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bates leaves Cormier with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Chris Bates seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cormier closes the distance and clinches up with Bates, looking for a takedown. Cormier pushes Bates against the cage but Bates circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Cormier darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Cormier wants to pass to mount but Bates is defending the position.
Cormier throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bates is trying to stand up here but Cormier is controlling him well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cormier thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Bates is looking for a sweep. Cormier is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Bates is trying to maintain the position but Cormier is very close to passing his half guard.
Bates pushes Cormier off looking to stand but Cormier dives back in and keeps control.
Cormier throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Cormier throwing shots but Bates is blocking nicely.
Bates wants to get back to full guard.
Cormier with the ground and pound but Bates uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cormier is working Bates over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Cormier loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bates keeping moving, preventing Cormier from controlling successfully.
Bates trying to control the position here.
Bates is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Cormier trying to control the position from guard on top but Bates is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cormier stopping the sweep attempt from Bates.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Bates displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Cormier.
Bates lunges at Cormier with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Cormier's hand.
Cormier shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Bates as he avoids it easily.
Cormier has his takedown stuffed
and Bates cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Henderson Cormier seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bates throws out a leg kick but Cormier moves out of range and Bates only half commits.
A telegraphed right hand from Bates misses the target.
Cormier dodges the punch combination from Bates.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bates throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Cormier.

Bates instigates a clinch.
Cormier tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bates is leaning against Cormier and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Cormier tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Bates just stands there and leans against the cage.
Good body shot from Bates.

Bates breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bates swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Cormier counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bates cracks Cormier with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Bates scores with a one two! Cormier had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

It looks like Henderson Cormier has been cut.
Bates fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Cormier is out of range.
Bates fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chris Bates comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Cormier has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight for Chris Bates!
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight for Chris Bates!
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight for Chris Bates!

Chris Bates wins by unanimous decision!
Chris Bates decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.