PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between James Franco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gerard Loomsville (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gerard Loomsville will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Franco
vs
Loomsville

179 cm
18
199 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

193 cm
21
195 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, James Franco!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Gerard Loomsville!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Johanna Lukiainen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Franco feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Franco looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Loomsville manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Franco manages to get himself to full guard.

Franco uses the cage to get back to his feet.

Franco drives through and clinches with Loomsville against the cage.
Loomsville wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Franco has him pressed against the cage.
Loomsville blocks the elbow strike.
Loomsville wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Franco pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Franco pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco fails to land the takedown.
Loomsville scores with a nice right hand.
Loomsville cracks Franco with an open hand slap.
Franco gets cracked there but stands up to it.
A jab from Loomsville finds it's way through Franco's defenses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Loomsville lands with a nice body punch.

Franco closes the distance and clinches.
Loomsville can't break the clinch.
Loomsville is trying to break free.

Franco pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Loomsville clobbers Franco with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Gerard Loomsville seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Loomsville throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Franco shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Franco showed some decent athleticism there.
Franco is breathing heavily.
Loomsville wants to control but Franco is keeping busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Loomsville is trying to stand up here but Franco is controlling him well.

Franco looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Loomsville is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Franco's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Franco's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco avoids the strikes from Loomsville.

Loomsville working for a choke but Franco reverses nicely into Loomsville 's guard.
Franco throws a strike but Loomsville rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Loomsville throws an elbow that misses. Franco uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Loomsville's guard. Nice move by Franco!
Loomsville keeping moving, preventing Franco from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franco throws an elbow that misses. Loomsville uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Franco's guard. Nice move by Loomsville!
Franco is trying to control the position but Loomsville postures up.
Loomsville has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Franco is proving hard to escape from.
Franco wants to sweep here but Loomsville controlling him for the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Loomsville accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Loomsville in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Loomsville in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Franco preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Franco avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gerard Loomsville dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Loomsville scores with a body shot.
Loomsville is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Loomsville misses with the combination.
Loomsville lunges at Franco with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Franco's hand.
Loomsville lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Franco dodges the punch combination from Loomsville.
Loomsville misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Gerard Loomsville seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Franco shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Franco showed some decent athleticism there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Franco content to control rather than advance.
Loomsville is looking for a sweep. Franco is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Loomsville pushes Franco off looking to stand but Franco dives back in and keeps control.
Loomsville is trying to control but can't.
The fighters are battling for position here. Loomsville manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Loomsville looking to control.
James Franco overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Loomsville working a defensive guard but Franco passes into half guard.
Franco seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Loomsville does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Franco slips a nice elbow through Loomsville's hands, connecting with Loomsville's forehead.
Loomsville wants to control but Franco is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Franco decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Loomsville throws a right and a left that both miss.
Loomsville misses with a two punch combination.
Loomsville thows a body shot but no joy.
Franco avoids the body shot from Loomsville.
Loomsville fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Franco looking to score a takedown here. Loomsville is defending well but Franco drives through and ends up in Loomsville's guard.
Loomsville is breathing heavily.
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!

Loomsville is working an open guard so Franco takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Loomsville looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Loomsville throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Franco counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Franco.

Franco gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Loomsville waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Franco.
Loomsville throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Franco sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Franco shoots in for a takedown but Loomsville shows good takedown defense.
A combination from Franco does no damage.
Loomsville shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Franco eats them both and turns towards Loomsville to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
A jab from Loomsville does it's job there.
Loomsville fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Loomsville misses with a few strikes there.
Loomsville has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Loomsville clobbers Franco with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Franco gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Loomsville has had enough of the clinch but Franco keeps him there for the moment.
Loomsville is trying to push Franco away but Franco has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Franco gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Loomsville really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Franco. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Franco is looking to take a break and control but Loomsville is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Loomsville is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Loomsville avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Franco.
Franco content to control rather than advance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that James Franco will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Danga de danga de dang - Loomsville scores with a four punch combination!
Loomsville will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Loomsville lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Franco uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Loomsville.
Loomsville scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Franco looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Loomsville fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Franco tries to score a power double leg takedown but Loomsville sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Franco somewhat.
Loomsville throws a right and a left that both miss.
Franco shoots for a double leg takedown but Loomsville sprawls well. He's pushed Franco's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Franco there as he acknowledges the shot.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Loomsville scores with a nice right hand.
Loomsville closes the distance and lands a one-two.

Franco drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Franco working the ground and pound but Loomsville is defending the strikes.
Franco trying to control the action but Loomsville is working from the bottom.
Loomsville is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Loomsville sneaks back into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Franco decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Gerard Loomsville is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice takedown defense from Loomsville. No joy for Franco on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Franco. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Loomsville will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Franco takes a jab right on the kisser.
Franco takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Loomsville scores with a punch to the head.
A right-left combo lands from Loomsville.
Loomsville cracks Franco with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Loomsville's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Loomsville duly obliges.

Franco is rocked!
Nice uppercut there from Loomsville.
Oh Franco is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Loomsville connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Loomsville throws an overhand right that drops Franco like a sack of potatoes! Loomsville dives in to finish the fight with more strikes and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:18 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Gerard Loomsville!