PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Paul Philips (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brad Michaels (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Paul Philips has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Philips
vs
Michaels

167 cm
22
155 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

167 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Intelligent

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Paul Philips!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Brad Michaels!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Damien Edna and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A big right from Michaels misses.
Philips wants to clinch but Michaels slips to the side

and Michaels counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Philips wants to stand and escape but Michaels is having none of it.
Michaels stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Philips swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Michaels wants to control from the top but Philips keeps moving.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Michaels throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Philips's waist but Philips gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Michaels off to one side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Philips swivels and escapes.
Paul Philips is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Michaels fails to land the takedown.
Paul Philips has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brad Michaels.
Philips moves in looking to clinch but Michaels pushes him off.
Michaels should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Michaels takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Philips lands with a straight right. Michaels didn't see that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Michaels gets a double leg takedown into Philips's guard.
Michaels looks gassed!
Michaels trying to control but Philips is working from the bottom.
Philips is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Michaels sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Paul Philips.
Michaels shoots in for a takedown but Philips shows good takedown defense.
Philips scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Philips closes the distance but Michaels moves to the side

and Michaels counters with a nice double leg into side control. Philips won't be happy with that.
Philips wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Philips gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Michaels can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Philips is looking to escape.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brad Michaels dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Philips has taken the fight to the clinch.
Michaels jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Philips walks away with a smile on his face. Michaels gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Brad Michaels seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The fight stays on the outside here - Philips looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Michaels moves into the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Michaels as Philips tries to tie him up.

Philips pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Philips misses with a low kick.
Paul Philips is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Philips swings for the body but Michaels moves out of range.
No luck for Michaels with that takedown attempt.
Philips wants to clinch.
Philips throws a chopping leg kick but Michaels manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Philips throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Michaels checks a leg kick nicely.
Philips throws a big shot that misses.
Philips is looking to clinch but Michaels is avoiding it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Philips but Philips pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Paul Philips has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brad Michaels.
Michaels misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Michaels is breathing heavily.
Philips goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Philips tries to clinch up but Michaels circles away and keeps his distance.
Michaels doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Philips counters by moving into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Philips scores a nice knee to the body.
Michaels is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Philips dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Philips seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.

Philips breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Philips dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Philips wants to clinch up but Michaels keeps it at a distance.
Michaels fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Philips moves into range and clinches up with Michaels.
Michaels wants to take the fight to the mat but Philips manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Philips tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Philips breaks from the clinch.
Michaels takes a swing at Philips's ribcage but misses.
A low kick from Michaels is predictable there
and Philips counters with an outside leg kick.
Michaels takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Philips fails in his attempt to clinch.
Michaels fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Paul Philips has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brad Michaels.
Michaels avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Philips throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Michaels shoots in but Philips avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Philips closes the distance and clinches.

Philips pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Michaels circles away from the clinch attempt.
Michaels looks to land a combination but Philips avoids it well.
Philips is looking to clinch.
Philips tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Michaels manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels avoids a kick to the body.
Michaels steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Philips. That one must have hurt.

Philips closes the distance and clinches.

Philips breaks the clinch.
Philips's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Philips duly obliges.

Philips moves into the clinch.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Philips moves to clinch but Michaels breaks away

and Michaels counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Philips tries to kick Michaels off but Michaels keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Philips kicks Michaels off and gets back to his feet.
Michaels takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Philips throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

And that's the end of the fight!
Paul Philips showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Philips 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Philips!
A very excited looking Paul Philips made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.