PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mark Matrione (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Judge Nelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Judge Nelson is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Matrione
vs
Nelson

170 cm
21
190 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

186 cm
20
189 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mark Matrione!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Judge Nelson!
The judges for this bout are Josh West, Jeff Smith and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Matrione takes a swing at Nelson's ribcage but misses.
Matrione ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nelson moves away.
Matrione swings for the body but Nelson moves out of range.
Matrione fails with a takedown attempt.
Matrione shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Nelson pinned against the cage. Nelson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Nice sprawl there from Nelson as Matrione shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Matrione. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Nelson rushes Matrione and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Nelson lands a nice knee to the body.
Nelson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Matrione's face.

Nelson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Matrione bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Nelson's head.
Matrione misses the body punch
and Nelson counters with a nice body kick.
Nelson takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matrione misses with a looping right.
Matrione avoids the head kick by Nelson.
Matrione shoots for a takedown but Nelson saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Matrione loads up on a big right hand but Nelson slips the punch.
Mark Matrione seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sloppy strikes from Matrione. Those never looked like landing.
Matrione attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Matrione swings widly with a right hand
and Nelson counters with a head kick.
Matrione dodges the punch combination from Nelson.
Nelson gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Matrione.
Nelson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Matrione throws out the jab.
Nice defenses there by Nelson.
Matrione fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Nelson instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson digs a right hand into Matrione's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Matrione's gas tank.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nelson lands an elbow that stopped Matrione in his tracks for a moment.
Nelson lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Nelson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Matrione is breathing heavily.
Matrione is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Nelson to keep the fight standing.
Matrione throws a head punch that misses.
Matrione fails to pull guard.
Nelson lands a shot to the body.

Nelson manages to break the clinch.

Nelson clinches up with Matrione and pushes him back against the cage.
The referee calls for Nelson to work.
Nelson creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Matrione's defenses.
Matrione can't find room to land a body shot as Nelson controls the action.
Nelson taking a breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Nelson scores with a knee to the head.

Matrione successfully pulls guard.
Matrione not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Nelson throwing strikes from guard but Matrione blocks nicely.
Matrione keeping full guard, as Nelson tries to pass.
Nelson slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Matrione is trying to control the position but Nelson postures up.
Nelson tries to free his leg and advance position but Matrione is retaining full guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Nelson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Matrione misses the shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Matrione looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Nelson!
Matrione throws some wild stikes that Nelson manages to avoid easily.
Nelson is in a horrible position here. Matrione smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Nelson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Matrione. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Matrione looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Nelson manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Matrione thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Nelson kicks off Matrione and gets to his feet.
Matrione shoots for a double leg takedown but Nelson sprawls well. He's pushed Matrione's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Matrione scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Matrione throws a right hand that Nelson ducks under and follows up with a left that Nelson also avoids with ease.
Matrione fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Judge Nelson dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Nelson throws out a powerful jab.
Matrione bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Matrione shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Nelson sprawls well. Nelson wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Matrione gets slowly back to his feet.
Matrione fails with a takedown attempt.
Matrione takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Nice sprawl there from Nelson as Matrione shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Matrione. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Nelson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Matrione tries to break free but Nelson pushes him back against the cage.
Nelson will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Matrione up against the cage.
Nelson lands a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson slows down the pace here.

Matrione manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Nelson would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Matrione can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Nelson controls the pace.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Nelson's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Judge Nelson.
Nelson fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Matrione.
Nelson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Matrione ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nelson moves away.
Nelson throws a head kick that half lands.
Matrione keeps the fight on the outside.
Matrione swings away with a body shot that misses
and Nelson makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Matrione really felt that one!
Matrione shoots in and drives through. Nelson sprawls well.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Nelson.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nelson is looking to clinch.
Matrione does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Matrione fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Matrione shoots in for a double leg but Nelson sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matrione shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Nelson pinned against the cage. Nelson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A big right from Matrione misses.
Matrione fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nelson manages to avoid it.
Matrione fails to land the takedown.
Nelson throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Matrione.
Nelson tries to clinch but Matrione moves out of range.
Nelson wants to clinch up but Matrione keeps it at a distance.
Nelson tries to clinch but Matrione is having none of it.

Nelson has closed the distance and engaged Matrione in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Matrione backwards.
Nelson slowing the pace effectively.

Matrione drags the fight down to the ground.
Matrione keeping full guard, as Nelson tries to pass.
Matrione trying to control the position.
Nelson looking to pass the guard.
Nelson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Matrione is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nelson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Matrione is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Matrione keeping moving, preventing Nelson from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Judge Nelson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Nelson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Matrione.
Matrione looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Nelson is fending him off so far but Matrione persists. Nope, Nelson circles away and we're back to standing.

Matrione tries to keep at a distance but Nelson has taken the fight into the clinch.
Nelson tries to land a knee to the head but Matrione blocks with his arms.
Nelson tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Matrione tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
The referee calls for Nelson to work.
Nelson lands a body shot.
Nelson lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Matrione backwards.
Nelson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Matrione letting Nelson take a breather here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Nelson on the inside.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Matrione takes an elbow to the temple.
Nelson tries a knee to the head but Matrione blocks it.
Matrione is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Nelson to keep the fight standing.
Matrione tries to pull guard but Nelson holds him up against the cage and eventually Matrione drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Matrione. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Nelson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nelson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Matrione tries for a takedown but Nelson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Nelson takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Matrione throws a body punch but Nelson moves out of range.
Nelson avoids the body shot from Matrione.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Matrione. Nelson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Matrione moves out of range as Nelson strikes.
Matrione shoots in but no luck this time.
Matrione misses with a body shot.
Matrione fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Nelson avoids it really well and circles away.
Nelson wants to clinch.

Nelson drives through and clinches with Matrione against the cage.
Nelson is struggling to control the position.
Matrione tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Nelson just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Matrione has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Nelson pushes Matrione back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Nelson lands a damaging elbow.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Matrione as Nelson tries to tie him up.
Nelson tries a body shot but Matrione blocks it.
Nelson trying to control the position but instead, Matrione has worked for underhooks and has pushed Nelson into the cage.
Matrione letting Nelson take a breather here.
Nelson blocks an uppercut.

Nelson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Matrione is looking to wear down Nelson with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Matrione fails with a takedown attempt.
Matrione tries to score a power double leg takedown but Nelson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Matrione somewhat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson is looking to clinch but Matrione is avoiding it.
Nelson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Matrione manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A head kick misses from Nelson.
Nelson cracks the inside of Matrione's front leg.
Mark Matrione has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Matrione tries for a takedown but Nelson circles away easily

and Nelson holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Matrione misses with some punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Matrione presses Nelson against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Nelson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Judge Nelson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Nelson using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Matrione has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
Judge Nelson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Nelson has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Josh West scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Judge Nelson!
Judge Nelson managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Unique Wear and Custom Design, into his post fight interview.