PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Frankie Edgar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Micky Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Edgar
vs
Ward

168 cm
21
145 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

175 cm
23
145 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Frankie Edgar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Micky Ward!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Ian Loll and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Edgar shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Ward pinned against the cage. Ward gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Ward shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Edgar gets back to full guard.

Ward decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Edgar, up you get!

Edgar gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Ward to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Edgar is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ward defends well.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ward is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Edgar's head.

Edgar has his foot on Ward's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ward works his way back into a safe position though.
Edgar is adopting a defensive guard.
Ward tries to free his leg and advance position but Edgar is retaining full guard.
Ward trying to control the position from guard on top but Edgar is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ward stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Edgar swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Edgar looking for a guillotine here but Ward defends easily.

Edgar is looking for a triangle here but Ward uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ward stands up and beckons Edgar to his feet.

Ward fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Edgar sprawls well initially but Ward persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ward works his way into full mount!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Edgar working to try and regain half guard.
Edgar is working hard here to advance position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward controlling from the full mount.
Edgar is working to get back to half guard.
Ward lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Ward controlling the pace for now.
Edgar regains half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Edgar trying to control here.
Ward takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Edgar is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Ward's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Ward's back!
Ward really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Edgar. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Edgar is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Ward knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Ward for a finish.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Edgar thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ward manages to reverse the position and now he's in Edgar's guard. Nice work there by Ward.

Edgar is looking for a triangle but Ward pushes his legs off easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Micky Ward dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Ward has closed the distance and engaged Edgar in a clinch.
Edgar drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Ward gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Ward prevents a takedown attempt there.
Ward gets underhooks to prevent Edgar's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frankie Edgar. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ward tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Edgar changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Ward fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Edgar shoots in and gets a takedown into Ward's guard.
Ward trying to keep a closed guard but Edgar is proving a slippery customer.
Edgar trying to control the position from guard on top but Ward is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward has control of Edgar's left arm, preventing Edgar from doing any damage.
Edgar throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ward preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Ward has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Edgar doesn't defend quickly enough and Ward has managed to lock this one up! Can Edgar escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Ward on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:47 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Micky Ward!