PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Trent Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cole Taggart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cole Taggart has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Trent Smith's chin.

Smith
vs
Taggart

178 cm
18
162 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

169 cm
18
160 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Prefers standup

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

ACME-Blood Red Q158 Always $30 (5% Laundry SALE)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Trent Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Cole Taggart!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Hugh Johnson and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Smith wants to clinch but Taggart slips to the side
and Taggart counters with a nice uppercut.

Smith rushes Taggart and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Taggart lands an elbow that stopped Smith in his tracks for a moment.
Smith blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Smith.
Taggart changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Smith fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Smith tries to clinch up.
Taggart is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Smith instigates a clinch.
Taggart lands with a light punch inside.
Smith tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Taggart avoids it.
Taggart stalling in the clinch but Smith improves position.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Taggart tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Smith's elbow.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Smith.
Taggart is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Smith gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Taggart is defending well for now.
Smith blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Taggart creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Taggart throws a punch but it's blocked by Smith.
Taggart leaning his opponent against the cage.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Taggart throws a knee to the head but misses.
Smith blocks an elbow strike from Taggart.
Taggart misses with a hook from the clinch.
Taggart takes a knee to the side of the body.
Taggart managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taggart tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Smith's elbow.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith scores a nice knee to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Taggart goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Smith using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Taggart throws a head punch that misses.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Taggart.
Taggart managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Smith misses with a knee to the head.
Smith tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Taggart avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A knee to the head by Smith.
Taggart with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Taggart lands a hook that snaps the head of Smith backwards.
Taggart misses with some punches.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Smith dodges an elbow strike from Taggart.
Smith using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Taggart has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Taggart stalling in the clinch but Smith improves position.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Taggart missing with knees to the body.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Taggart has Smith pressed against the cage.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith blocks the elbow strike.
Smith tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Taggart misses with a hook from the clinch.
Taggart misses with a short punch on the inside.
Smith using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Taggart has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Taggart tries to work over Smith's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Taggart can't find room to land a body shot as Smith controls the action.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith looking to throw knees to the head but Taggart is blocking nicely.
The referee calls for Smith to work.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Taggart on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Taggart's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Taggart managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Trent Smith dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Smith tries to clinch

and Taggart counters by clinching up.
Taggart throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Smith blocks it with crossed arms.
Smith is trying to maintain a safe position but Taggart gets an underhook and turns Smith into the cage.
Taggart tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Taggart blocks it with crossed arms.
Taggart is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Smith is defending well.
Smith blocking some punches.
Taggart tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Smith smiles and moves away.
Smith wants to clinch up but Taggart keeps it at a distance.
Smith closes the distance but Taggart moves to the side
and Taggart counters with a nice low kick that buckles Smith's knee momentarily.
Smith tries to clinch but Taggart moves out of range.
Taggart tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Taggart circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taggart misses with a wild body shot.
Smith has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Taggart.
A head kick misses from Taggart.
Smith tries to clinch but Taggart is having none of it.
Smith closes the distance but Taggart moves to the side
and Taggart counters with a body kick.
Smith tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Taggart manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Taggart motions for Smith to come forward. Taggart throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Smith tries to clinch up.

Smith rushes Taggart and presses him up against the cage.
Taggart avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Smith landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Taggart misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Smith.
Trent Smith has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Taggart lands a right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Taggart misses with some punches.
Taggart lands a right hand.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smith putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Taggart in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Taggart pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Taggart takes a knee to the side of the body.
Taggart is breathing heavily.
Taggart tries a body shot but Smith blocks it.
Smith blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Taggart throws a punch but it's blocked by Smith.
Smith is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Taggart is keeping busy.
Smith trying to land knees to the body.
Taggart wants to stall.
Taggart on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Smith trying to control the position but instead, Taggart has worked for underhooks and has pushed Smith into the cage.
Taggart throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Smith blocks it with crossed arms.
Smith crunches a lovely knee into Taggart's ribcage.
Smith blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Smith scores a nice knee to the body.
Taggart misses with a punch to the body.
Taggart can't find room to land a body shot as Smith controls the action.
Taggart has a couple of punches blocked by Smith.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Smith blocks the elbow strike.
Smith working Taggart over with knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Taggart is defending well for now.
A head punch on the inside from Taggart fails to land.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Taggart throws a punch but it's blocked by Smith.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Taggart misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Taggart is defending well for now.
Taggart lands with a right to the head.
Smith lands a knee to the head.
Smith landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Taggart is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Smith to keep the fight standing.
Trent Smith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cole Taggart.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Smith blocks a body shot from Taggart.
Taggart misses with a knee strike.
Taggart misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Smith.
Taggart working aggressively here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Trent Smith 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!

Taggart misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Smith tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
The fight stays on the outside here - Smith looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Smith tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Smith rushes Taggart and presses him up against the cage.
Smith tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but Taggart blocks with his arms.
Taggart wants a takedown.
Taggart throws a punch but it's blocked by Smith.
Taggart tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Smith's elbow.
Taggart jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Smith walks away with a smile on his face. Taggart gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Taggart paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Taggart lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Smith has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Smith and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Taggart throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Smith checks a leg kick.
Smith closes the distance but Taggart moves to the side
and Taggart makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Taggart takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Smith fails with an attempt to clinch.
Taggart circles away from the clinch attempt.
Taggart circles away from the clinch attempt
and Taggart counters with an outside leg kick.
Smith looks to clinch
and Taggart counters with a nice low kick that buckles Smith's knee momentarily.
Trent Smith is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Smith is looking to clinch.
Smith wants to clinch up but Taggart keeps it at a distance.

Smith moves into the clinch.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Taggart avoids the damage to the body.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taggart throws a knee to the head but misses.
Smith unloads a knee to the mid-section. Taggart lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Smith landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Taggart with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Taggart has a couple of punches blocked by Smith.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Taggart misses with a punch on the inside.
Smith blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Taggart throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Taggart avoids the damage to the body.
Smith is trying to stall.
Taggart managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith crunches a lovely knee into Taggart's ribcage.
Taggart is trying to pull guard but Smith has him pressed against the cage.
Trent Smith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cole Taggart.
Taggart lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Smith tries to land knees in the clinch but Taggart avoids the damage to the body.
Smith crunches a lovely knee into Taggart's ribcage.
Smith landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Smith dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Smith scores a nice knee to the body.
Smith lands a knee to the body.
Smith lands a knee to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Smith.
Smith tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Taggart avoids it.
Cole Taggart has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Smith dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Smith tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Taggart avoids it.
Taggart misses with some punches.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Taggart blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Taggart throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Taggart managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith prevents a body shot from Taggart.

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!
Smith is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Taggart is defending well for now.
Taggart swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Smith connects with a nasty looking knee right to Taggart's face.
Smith using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Taggart.
Smith scores with a knee to the head.
Smith missing with knees to the body.
Smith tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Taggart misses with a short punch on the inside.
Taggart throws a head punch that misses.
Smith unloads a knee to the mid-section. Taggart lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Taggart misses with a body punch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Taggart.
Taggart looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Taggart scores with a nice hook to the head.
Trent Smith is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Smith with a knee to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Trent Smith showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Smith, 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Trent Smith!
An out of breath Trent Smith thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.