PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Buri Grimnir (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Grimnir
vs
Howard

196 cm
22
285 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

185 cm
32
247 lbs
21 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Buri Grimnir!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, John Howard!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Grimnir throws a predictable looking body shot
and Howard cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Grimnir misses with a telegraphed body shot
letting Howard counter with a right hand.
Grimnir feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Howards jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Howard gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Grimnir to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Grimnir makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Grimnir is looking to advance position but Howard has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Grimnir tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Howard throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Grimnir because Howard loaded up on that one.
Howard looking to ground and pound but Grimnir is blocking nicely.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grimnir is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Grimnir is working to get back to half guard.
Grimnir gets back to half guard.
Howard missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Howard thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grimnir controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Grimnir is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Howard thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Grimnir's head.
Grimnir wants to control but Howard is keeping busy.
Grimnir preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grimnir trying to control from the bottom.

Buri Grimnir has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Howard uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Grimnir.
Grimnir fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Howard manages to avoid it.
Howard fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Grimnir has Howard up against the cage in a clinch.
Grimnir stalls.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Grimnir scores with a shot to the side of Howard's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard is looking for a takedown.
Grimnir misses with the head strike.
Howard blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Howard drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Buri Grimnir has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Howard.
Grimnir misses with a punch on the inside.
Grimnir stalls.
Grimnir seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard is looking to take this one to the mat.
Come on Grimnir - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Grimnir tries for a takedown. No joy.
Howard drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Grimnir gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Howard blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Grimnir.
Grimnir has a couple of punches blocked by Howard.
Howard blocking some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Buri Grimnir dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A telegraphed right hand from Howard misses the target.
Howard shoots in for a takedown but Grimnir shows good takedown defense.
Grimnir lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Howard at a distance.

Grimnir manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Howard on his heels. He'll look to pass Howard's guard now, I'm sure.
Grimnir throws a strike but Howard rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Howard won't allow Grimnir to sweep him here.
Grimnir is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Howard loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grimnir seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Grimnir lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Howard!
Grimnir will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Grimnir connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Grimnir is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Grimnir content just to control the position here.
Grimnir throwing strikes here but Howard is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howard taking shots to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Grimnir tries to control but Howard wriggling away.
Grimnir controlling his opponent.
Grimnir working away from the top, dropping strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grimnir lands a big shot there that rocks Howard but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Howard tries to hold on but Grimnir postures up.
Howard is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Grimnir 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.
Howard is working to get back to half guard.
Grimnir scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Howard?
Grimnir throws a sloppy strike and Howard uses the opportunity to reverse the position! A bit of a scramble here and Howard has ended up in Grimnir's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Grimnir kicks Howard off and gets to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grimnir catches Howard with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Howard dives in and grabs Grimnir's left leg, looking for a takedown. Grimnir pushes down on Howard's head and hops out.
Howard with a lazy takedown attempt
and Grimnir counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Buri Grimnir has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Howard.
Howard is breathing heavily.

Howard ducks straight into an uppercut from Grimnir and tumbles to the canvas! It’s a flash knockdown though - Howard manages to regain guard straight away.

Howard is rocked!

It looks like John Howard has been cut.
Grimnir throwing strikes but missing.
Howard is still in real trouble! Can Grimnir finish him?
Grimnir controlling from the top position.
Howard seems to have recovered his senses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Buri Grimnir dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on John Howard's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Grimnir throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Grimnir fails in his attempt to clinch.
Grimnir dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Grimnir is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Howard can do to turn this around?
Grimnir wants to clinch up but Howard keeps it at a distance.
Howard moves out of range of the strikes.
Howard takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Howard avoids the body shot from Grimnir.
Howard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A looping hook to the body misses from Grimnir. Howard does a little dance to reset his feet.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Grimnir, as that shot connected.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Grimnir moves into range and throws a big uppercut. OH! Howard goes down! Can Grimnir finish him!?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Grimnir seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Grimnir works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Grimnir tries to pass the half guard into mount. Howard knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Buri Grimnir overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Grimnir stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Grimnir thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Howard's head.
Grimnir is pressing down on Howard's thigh, looking to free his foot. Howard is holding on for now.
Grimnir scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Well, if Grimnir is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grimnir throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Howard to regain full guard.
Grimnir loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Grimnir with a flurry of punches that miss.
Howard trying to control the position.
Grimnir looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Grimnir looking to sit in guard and control but Howard gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard throwing strikes from guard but Grimnir blocks nicely.
Grimnir has his hands on Howard's head, controlling the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Buri Grimnir clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on John Howard's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Grimnir cracks Howard with a good jab.
Grimnir jabs Howard right on the nose. Howard blinks but takes it well.
Grimnir tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Howard manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Grimnir throws a right and a left that both miss.
A lazy left from Howard finds it's target.
Grimnir misses with a shot to the body
and Howard counters with a one-two to the body.
Grimnir is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Howard.

Grimnir gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Grimnir manages to break the clinch.
Howard takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Howard is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.

Grimnir closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Howard quickly recovers to half guard.
Grimnir not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Grimnir perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Grimnir trying to control from half guard but Howard is working away.
Grimnir not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Howard keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grimnir keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

We're going to have a standup here because Buri Grimnir wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Grimnir digs a good body shot into Howard's ribs.
A shot to the liver by Grimnir. Beautiful body shot.
Howard ducks right into an uppercut from Grimnir.
Grimnir scores with a jab to the head.
Buri Grimnir is winning the standup battle so far.
Howard walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Grimnir takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Howard tries to get into range but Grimnir steps to the side and lands a beautiful hook that drops Howard! He's faceplanted into the mat, ass in the air... he's out cold! That's an image he won't want to show his grandkids when he gets older! Grimnir scores the big KO victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:54 of round 4, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Buri Grimnir!
Buri Grimnir retains his heavyweight title!
Buri Grimnir thanked the fans post fight for their support.