PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Erik Gustafsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike ONeil (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mike ONeil will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Gustafsson
vs
ONeil

180 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

178 cm
25
170 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Erik Gustafsson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Mike ONeil!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Daniel Bishop and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gustafsson closes the distance and clinches.

ONeil escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Gustafsson gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
ONeil stuns Gustafsson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
ONeil misses with a wild body shot.
Gustafsson fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but ONeil avoids it really well and circles away.
ONeil throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Gustafsson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gustafsson throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around ONeil's waist but ONeil gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gustafsson off to one side.
ONeil jabs at Gustafsson's body.
ONeil scores with a jab.
Nice jab there from ONeil.
Gustafsson takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

Gustafsson darts in and clinches ONeil up against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gustafsson looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Erik Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
ONeil looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
ONeil stops a takedown attempt from Gustafsson.
Gustafsson prevents a body shot from ONeil.
Gustafsson is trying to drag ONeil to the mat but ONeil just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Gustafsson decides to pull guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson working a defensive guard here.

Gustafsson is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and ONeil defends well.

ONeil gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson misses with a body shot.
ONeil digs a good body shot into Gustafsson's ribs.
Gustafsson shoots in looking for a takedown but ONeil manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Gustafsson's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
ONeil misses the shot to the body.
Gustafsson takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
ONeil cracks a nice hook into Gustafsson's ribs.
ONeil connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Gustafsson momentarily.
Gustafsson takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Gustafsson takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Nice straight punches there by ONeil. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of ONeil.
Mike ONeil seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
ONeil throws a body punch but Gustafsson moves out of range.
Gustafsson takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
ONeil cracks Gustafsson with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
ONeil connects with a crisp jab.
ONeil is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Gustafsson rather than just go for the knockout.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

ONeil tries to keep at a distance but Gustafsson has taken the fight into the clinch.
Gustafsson wants a takedown.
Gustafsson slows down the pace here.

Gustafsson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike ONeil dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

ONeil lands with a shot to the body.

Gustafsson looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
ONeil keeping moving, preventing Gustafsson from controlling successfully.
Gustafsson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Gustafsson slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
ONeil is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Gustafsson asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Gustafsson throwing strikes but ONeil manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Gustafsson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

ONeil has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
A slow jab from Gustafsson misses its intended target.
Good shot there by ONeil.
Gustafsson takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
ONeil cracks Gustafsson with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from ONeil.
Gustafsson shoots in but ONeil avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Gustafsson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
ONeil fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Gustafsson on the side of the head.
Nice body punch from ONeil.
Mike ONeil is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
ONeil lands a body shot.
ONeil scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Gustafsson doesn't seem bothered though.
Gustafsson avoids the body shot from ONeil.
Gustafsson walks into a straight right hand from ONeil.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
ONeil slips under a jab from Gustafsson.
ONeil ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Gustafsson moves away.
ONeil misses with a wild body shot.
ONeil takes a swing at Gustafsson's ribcage but misses.
Gustafsson gets cracked there but stands up to it.
No luck for Gustafsson with that takedown attempt.
A jab from Gustafsson misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson misses the shot to the body.
Gustafsson takes a shot right to the bread basket.
ONeil stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Gustafsson drives through with a takedown into guard.
Gustafsson throws a strike but ONeil rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Gustafsson controlling ONeil's posture.

ONeil decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
ONeil moves into range and connects with a jab.

Gustafsson closes the distance and clinches.
Gustafsson jumps guard but ONeil turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Erik Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gustafsson is pushing ONeil up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Gustafsson looking for a takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Mike ONeil will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

ONeil scores with the left hand. Gustafsson knows he should have avoided that one.
ONeil cracks Gustafsson with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Gustafsson on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
ONeil scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
ONeil fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Gustafsson on the side of the head.
ONeil connects with a nice looking jab.
Gustafsson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Gustafsson misses with a straight left.
Gustafsson shoots in for a takedown but ONeil shows good takedown defense.
ONeil lands a glancing blow to the side of Gustafsson's head.

Gustafsson looking to score a takedown here. ONeil is defending well but Gustafsson drives through and ends up in ONeil's guard.
ONeil wants to stand but Gustafsson is controlling the position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gustafsson wants to control from the top but ONeil keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Erik Gustafsson wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Gustafsson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
ONeil thuds a left hand into Gustafsson's body.

Gustafsson has taken the fight to the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Gustafsson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. ONeil is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson is trying to drag ONeil to the mat but ONeil just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Erik Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gustafsson taking a breather.
ONeil gets underhooks to prevent Gustafsson's takedown attempt.
ONeil lands a nice uppercut.

It looks like Erik Gustafsson has been cut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
ONeil is looking to break free of the clinch but Gustafsson has double underhooks.
Gustafsson looking for a takedown.
A frustrated look appears on Gustafsson's face as he tries to break the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on ONeil's face as he tries to break the clinch.
ONeil effectively controlling the action here.
Gustafsson looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson tries to pull guard but ONeil won't allow it.
ONeil is trying to force a seperation but Gustafsson has the dominant position.
ONeil just leaning against Gustafsson, taking a breather.
ONeil wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Erik Gustafsson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mike ONeil is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
ONeil wants to break the clinch but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike ONeil comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got ONeil winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mike ONeil!