PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hugh Matthews (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Budiman Prang (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matthews comes to the cage accompanied by Headstrong-Trapt. Budiman Prang will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Matthews
vs
Prang

179 cm
32
180 lbs
18 - 7 - 0

172 cm
26
175 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

iFight Fight Gear - Steel Penn - $10
STEEL PENN'S 160 OF STEEL $50 Hilo

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 18 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Hugh Matthews!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Budiman Prang!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Lou da Vinci and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Prang misses with a straight right.
Prang thows a left - swing and a miss!
Matthews avoids the body shot from Prang.
Matthews tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Prang paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Matthews lands an overhand right.
Prang uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Matthews has time to react.

Matthews fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Prang sprawls well initially but Matthews persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Matthews trying to control from Prang's half guard. Prang has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Prang wants to stand but Matthews is controlling the position.
Matthews controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Prang really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Matthews. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Matthews stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Prang swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Matthews with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matthews trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Matthews 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.
Prang is looking to stand up but Matthews isn't so interested in that idea.
Matthews controls from within his opponent's guard.
Matthews is looking to work some ground and pound but Prang has wrist control.
Matthews postures up in Prang's guard and throws a big left but Prang blocks it.
Matthews is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Prang throws a big shot that misses.
Matthews throws a looping overhand right but Prang ducks down to avoid it.
Jab from Matthews.

Prang gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Prang wants to stand up but Matthews is controlling him.
Matthews engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matthews's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Hugh Matthews has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Prang misses with a series of wild punches.
Prang pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Prang misses with a wild body shot.
Prang stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Prang wants it to stay on the feet.
Matthews fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Matthews moves out of range as Prang strikes.
Budiman Prang is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Matthews slips under a jab.
Prang lands a body shot.
Matthews throws a right hand that Prang ducks under and follows up with a left that Prang also avoids with ease.

Matthews throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Prang was covering up waiting for the punch and Matthews finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Matthews trying to control but Prang is working from the bottom.
Prang being controlled here, momentarily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Matthews tries to free his leg and advance position but Prang is retaining full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hugh Matthews dominated that round.
That's time! Matthews's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Prang dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Budiman Prang seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Prang misses with a body shot.

Matthews closes the distance and clinches.
Prang blocking some punches.
Matthews doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Prang lands with a short shot to the head.
Prang blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A nice right hand lands inside from Prang.
Prang is trying to force a seperation but Matthews has the dominant position.
Matthews blocks a body shot from Prang.
Matthews is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Maybe Matthews would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.
Prang pushes off an throws an elbow but Matthews leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Matthews digs a right hand underneath Prang's ribcage. Prang let out a lung full of air as it connected.
A short right from Prang.
Prang can't break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Prang makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Prang cracks Matthews with a nice body shot.
Prang blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Prang.
Matthews changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Prang fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Matthews closes the distance and clinches up with Prang, looking for a takedown. Matthews pushes Prang against the cage but Prang circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Matthews lands with a nice body kick.
Prang lands with a cross.
Matthews takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Prang scores with a jab.
Matthews avoids a punch combination nicely.
Prang waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Matthews.
Nice takedown defense from Prang. No joy for Matthews on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hugh Matthews. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Prang scores with a nice strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matthews uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Prang.
A left lands for Matthews.
Prang takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Prang throws a lazy right hand but Matthews sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Nice sprawl there from Prang as Matthews shoots in.
Good exchange - Prang coming out on top.
Matthews takes a jab right on the kisser.
Matthews throws a hook but Prang blocks it.
Prang scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Prang connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Matthews blocks a jab.
Prang works Matthews's body with a nice hook.

Matthews closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Matthews lands in his opponent's guard.
Matthews is looking to work some ground and pound but Prang has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Matthews drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Prang manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Matthews has Prang in his guard.
Prang stopping the sweep attempt from Matthews.
Matthews controls Prang momentarily but Prang frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Hugh Matthews wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Prang lands with an uppercut that bounces Matthews off the cage and back into range.
Prang looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Horrible takedown by Matthews or perhaps it was just good defense by Prang which made him look bad.
Good exchange - Prang coming out on top.
Matthews tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Prang paws at him with a jab and circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Prang checks a low kick from Matthews.
Left hook, right uppercut from Prang.
Prang darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Prang scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Budiman Prang showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Prang is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Matthews.
Matthews misses with an uppercut.
Some wild striking there from Matthews.
A telegraphed right hand from Prang misses the target.
Matthews shoots in looking for a takedown. Prang tries to sprawl out of it but Matthews keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Prang manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Matthews misses with a body kick.
Matthews looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Prang is fending him off so far but Matthews persists. Nope, Prang circles away and we're back to standing.
Prang is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Matthews.
Prang misses with a straight right.
Prang might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Prang throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Matthews counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Matthews fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hugh Matthews. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Matthews moves out of range as Prang strikes.
Jab from Prang.

Matthews shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Prang wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Matthews punching from mount but Prang doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Prang is squirming around, avoiding Matthews's attempts to control the action.
Matthews throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Matthews looking to finish with strikes here!
Matthews throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matthews can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Prang is looking to escape.
Matthews in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

Matthews is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Prang has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Prang!
Matthews wants to stand but Prang is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Hugh Matthews wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Prang looks to score with a jab to the body but Matthews is just out of range.
Matthews attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Prang tries to clinch there but Matthews circles away.
Prang throws a body kick that misses.
Nice defenses there by Matthews.
Prang throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Matthews stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Matthews bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Prang's head.
Prang misses with a looping right.
Matthews waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Prang.
Prang lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Nice uppercut there from Prang.
Nice uppercut lands for Matthews. That snapped Prang's head back.
Matthews slips a jab from Prang.
Matthews misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Prang.
Matthews uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Prang.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Prang.
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!
Prang thows a left - swing and a miss!
Prang tries to clinch up.
Matthews throws a leg kick which misses Prang's front leg but catches the back leg as Prang tries to avoid it.
Matthews doesn't manage to clinch there - Prang circles away.
Prang looks to land a right hand but Matthews moved out of range.

Matthews looking to score a takedown here. Prang is defending well but Matthews drives through and ends up in Prang's guard.
Prang avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Matthews trying to control but Prang is working from the bottom.
Matthews looking to pass the guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Matthews 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.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hugh Matthews showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Matthews 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:28
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 29:28
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hugh Matthews!
A relieved looking Hugh Matthews thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.