PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Ned (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthew Francis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Francis is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by wings. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Ned
vs
Francis

190 cm
25
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
200 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Joe Ned!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Matthew Francis!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, James Glass and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Francis showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ned.
Ned jabs Francis to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Francis swats away the attempt to clinch by Ned.
Francis swats away the attempt to clinch by Ned.
Ned tries to close the distance and clinch up but Francis swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Francis drives through and clinches with Ned against the cage.
Francis drops down looking for an ankle pick but Ned pulls his leg out and moves away.
Some wild striking there from Ned.
Francis throws the kick towards the body but Ned avoids it.
Francis darts in trying to clinch

and Ned holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis tries to pull guard but Ned holds him up against the cage and eventually Francis drops back down to his feet.

Francis breaks from the clinch.

Ned gets tackled into the cage by Francis. Francis maintains the clinch.
Ned has had enough of the clinch but Francis keeps him there for the moment.
Francis is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ned to keep the fight standing.
Joe Ned has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthew Francis.
Ned is looking to break free of the clinch but Francis has double underhooks.

Francis pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ned tries to close the distance and clinch but Francis swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ned is looking to clinch but Francis is avoiding it.
Ned takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Ned misses with a few strikes there.
Ned doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Joe Ned seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ned tries to clinch there but Francis circles away.
Francis fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ned wants to clinch up but Francis keeps it at a distance.
Francis shoots in for a takedown but Ned shows good takedown defense.
Ned keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Ned lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ned misses with a wild combination.
No joy there for Ned, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Ned drives through and clinches with Francis against the cage.
Francis is trying to pull guard but Ned has him pressed against the cage.
Francis throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Ned has Francis pushed against the cage.

Francis is trying to trip Ned. He has hold of a leg but Ned is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Francis persists though and gets the takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Francis passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Ned is pushing Francis's head away, looking to escape. Francis manages to hold on to the position though.
Francis trying to control the position but Ned is working away.

Francis decides to stand back up. Francis steps back and let's Ned get back to his feet.
Francis shoots in for a takedown but Ned shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Ned fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ned stuns Francis with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Ned tries to close the distance and clinch but Francis swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Francis pushes Ned up against the cage in a clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ned lands a body punch.
Francis wants a takedown but no success here.
Ned is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Francis tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Ned just stands there and leans against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ned stalling in the clinch.
Francis jumps guard but Ned turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Ned looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Francis gets through Ned's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ned is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Ned is trying to break free.

Francis manages to pull guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Joe Ned will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ned connects with the punch.
Francis shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Francis avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Francis fails with a takedown attempt.
Francis closes this distance looking for a takedown but Ned circles away.
Joe Ned has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthew Francis.

Francis closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Francis stops Ned from getting back to his feet.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Francis lands a nice short elbow.
Ned is not content to let Francis control the position.

Ned kicks Francis off and gets back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Francis is looking to clinch but Ned is avoiding it.
Ned rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Francis moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ned is looking to land body kicks.
Francis throws a head kick that misses.
Francis looks to land a combination but Ned avoids it well.
Ned tries to close the distance and clinch up but Francis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Francis throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ned throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ned lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Ned tries to clinch but Francis moves away

and Francis counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Ned's guard now.

Francis stands and steps away. Ned gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Joe Ned is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Francis rushes Ned and presses him up against the cage.
Ned has had enough of the clinch but Francis keeps him there for the moment.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Francis has Ned pressed against the cage, preventing Ned from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Francis controlling the action here for a moment.

Francis's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A left and a right from Ned both land. Nice combination.

Francis tries to keep at a distance but Ned has taken the fight into the clinch.

Francis breaks from the clinch.

Francis closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francis tries for a takedown. No joy.
Francis tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Francis breaks the clinch.
Ned misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Francis misses with a body kick.
Francis misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Francis takes a jab right on the kisser.

Francis 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.
Francis stops Ned from standing up.
Francis is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Francis stands and steps away. Ned gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Francis shoots in for a takedown but Ned shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The fight stays on the outside here - Francis looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ned wants to clinch.

Ned gets tackled into the cage by Francis. Francis maintains the clinch.
Francis prevents Ned from breaking the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Francis has Ned pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ned manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Francis is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthew Francis showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Ned slips a straight right by Francis.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Ned!
Ned fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ned moves in looking to clinch but Francis pushes him off.
Ned throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Ned throws a nice looking combination but Francis bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Ned wants to clinch but Francis slips to the side

and Francis counters with a single leg into guard. Ned didn't expect that.
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!

Ned has his feet on Francis's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Francis gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Francis breaks from the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ned slaps away a takedown attempt from Francis, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Francis fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ned avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ned keeps the fight on the outside.
Ned steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Francis.
Joe Ned is winning the standup battle so far.
Sloppy strikes from Ned. Those never looked like landing.
Francis tries to land a leg kick but Ned saw it coming and moves away.
Ned fails to land with a series of punches.
Ned fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ned tries to close the distance and clinch up but Francis swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ned tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Francis counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Francis.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ned working hard to break the clinch.
Francis lands a nice uppercut.

Francis escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Francis tries to land a front kick but Ned steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Ned looks to clinch

and Francis counters with a single leg into guard. Ned didn't expect that.
Francis trying to control but Ned is working from the bottom.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Francis stands up and waves to Ned to follow him.
Francis shoots for a double leg takedown but Ned sprawls well. He's pushed Francis's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Joe Ned has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthew Francis.
Francis is trying hard to land a takedown here. Ned sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Ned lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francis closes this distance looking for a takedown but Ned circles away.
Ned feints a jab promting Francis to slip. Ned then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Francis slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Ned works over Francis's head and body with a nice combination.
Francis shoots in but no luck this time.
Ned tries to clinch but Francis moves out of range.
Ned slaps away a takedown attempt from Francis, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ned wants to clinch.
Ned lands with an overhand left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Francis shoots in for a takedown but Ned shows good takedown defense.
Ned throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Ned tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Francis manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ned tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Francis manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Francis just misses with a punch to the body.
A punch combination from Ned misses.
Francis tries a head kick but it misses.

Francis looking to score a takedown here. Ned is defending well but Francis drives through and ends up in Ned's guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Francis drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Francis jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Francis trying to control the position from guard on top but Ned is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
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 fight!
I would just about give that final round to Matthew Francis.
I think Francis has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Glass scores the fight 28:30
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Matthew Francis!
Matthew Francis opened up his post fight interview with a scream to camera that he wants a title shot! Whether he deserves the shot will be up to the management of the organization, so I guess he'll have to wait and see.