PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Gustafsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fred Pearce (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Alexander Gustafsson could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Fred Pearce's chin.

Gustafsson
vs
Pearce

196 cm
26
205 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

175 cm
25
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Alexander Gustafsson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Fred Pearce!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Sam Margolis and Colin Fotheringham.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gustafsson feints a jab promting Pearce to slip. Gustafsson then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Pearce slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Pearce avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Pearce tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gustafsson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gustafsson leaves Pearce with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Pearce walks forward, straight into a front kick from Gustafsson.
Gustafsson throws a head kick but Pearce moves out of range.
Pearce wants to clinch up but Gustafsson keeps it at a distance.

Pearce forces Gustafsson back against the cage and clinches.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Pearce jumps guard.
Gustafsson stops Pearce from standing up.
Gustafsson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Pearce has his foot on Gustafsson's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Gustafsson works his way back into a safe position though.

Gustafsson is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Pearce is trying to control the position but Gustafsson postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pearce wants to sweep but no luck.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Pearce holds on and takes a little breather.
Gustafsson wanted to stand there but Pearce had control of the position.
Gustafsson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pearce is keeping the position for now.
Gustafsson postures up.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Fred Pearce wasn't active enough on the ground.

Gustafsson gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Pearce is trying to drag Gustafsson to the mat but Gustafsson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Gustafsson manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
You can see the frustration on Pearce's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Gustafsson controlling from side mount.

Gustafsson tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Gustafsson has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Pearce manages to work his way to half guard, despite Gustafsson's best efforts.
Gustafsson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pearce has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Gustafsson is working away from the top position though.
Pearce manages to get to full guard.

Pearce pushes Gustafsson off and gets back to his feet.
Gustafsson connects with a high kick.
Gustafsson misses with the combination.
Gustafsson tries to bum rush Pearce with a series of wild strikes but Pearce uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson scores a takedown into full mount!
Gustafsson looking to control and managing it successfully.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pearce is looking to get to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gustafsson looking to control and managing it successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pearce tries to hold on but Gustafsson postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Gustafsson dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Gustafsson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Pearce fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Gustafsson moves into the clinch.

Gustafsson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Gustafsson feints and as Pearce raises his hands in defense, Gustafsson changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Pearce can't keep his opponent in guard - Gustafsson advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Alexander Gustafsson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pearce trying to control from the bottom.
Gustafsson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pearce on the ground.
Gustafsson stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pearce is looking to control Gustafsson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Pearce avoid being mounted?
Pearce is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Gustafsson is staying active.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Fred Pearce.
Gustafsson fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Pearce is out of range.
Pearce tries for a takedown but Gustafsson circles away easily
and Gustafsson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Gustafsson is trying hard to land a takedown here. Pearce sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Gustafsson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Pearce.
Alexander Gustafsson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fred Pearce.
Pearce tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gustafsson swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pearce keeps the fight on the outside.
Pearce blocks a low kick nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Pearce. No joy for Gustafsson on that attempt.
Gustafsson defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Pearce.
Pearce is breathing heavily.
Pearce misses with a head kick.

Gustafsson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Gustafsson wants to pass to mount but Pearce is defending the position.
Pearce gets full guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gustafsson throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson wanted to stand there but Pearce had control of the position.
Pearce is trying to control the position but Gustafsson postures up.
Gustafsson trying to control the position from guard on top but Pearce is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pearce is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Fred Pearce wasn't active enough on the ground.
Gustafsson scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Gustafsson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Pearce paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Pearce keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Gustafsson controlling his opponent.
Pearce is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Pearce is squirming around, avoiding Gustafsson's attempts to control the action.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pearce regains half guard.
Gustafsson has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Gustafsson dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Pearce shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gustafsson pinned against the cage. Gustafsson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pearce throws a big shot that misses.
Pearce is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Gustafsson throws out a powerful jab.
Pearce tries to close the distance and clinch but Gustafsson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Gustafsson tries to sprawl but Pearce drives through with a takedown into half guard.

Pearce seems to be working for a kimura but Gustafsson defends the submission attempt.
Pearce is looking to advance position but Gustafsson won't allow it.
Pearce takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson is staying active underneath Pearce, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Pearce is nestled in close to Gustafsson, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Gustafsson wants to get back to full guard.
Gustafsson is positioning himself well to prevent Pearce advancing to mount.
Pearce sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gustafsson defending well though.
Pearce seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Gustafsson wants to get back to his feet.
Gustafsson is not content to let Pearce control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Pearce is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Gustafsson doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Pearce.
Gustafsson looks like he's trying to stand up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pearce trying to control the action but Gustafsson is working from the bottom.
Gustafsson on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Gustafsson tries to get out of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Fred Pearce wasn't active enough on the ground.
Pearce fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gustafsson avoids it really well and circles away.
Gustafsson slaps away a takedown attempt from Pearce, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Alexander Gustafsson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fred Pearce.
Gustafsson lands a nice leg kick that just misses Pearce's sensitive parts.
Pearce misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A thudding body kick lands there by Gustafsson!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson moves into the clinch.

Gustafsson ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Gustafsson no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

Gustafsson uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Gustafsson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pearce tries to circle away but Gustafsson has him pinned against the cage.

Gustafsson gets control of Pearce's arms and successfully pulls guard. Gustafsson will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Gustafsson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Pearce is one step ahead there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gustafsson looking to control.

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 Alexander Gustafsson.
Well Gustafsson has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Gustafsson!