PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Georges Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Bell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Pierre
vs
Bell

180 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

180 cm
23
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Solid 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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Georges Pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Michael Bell!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Elvis Blanc and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pierre swings for the body but Bell moves out of range.
Pierre misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bell.
Bell ducks under a wild hook from Pierre.

Pierre tries to sprawl but Bell drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Bell is trying to control. Pierre wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Bell thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Pierre's head.
Bell working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Pierre has hold of Bell's hands but Bell slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Bell thows a huge punch but Pierre dodges it nicely.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bell stalling.
Pierre is breathing heavily.
Bell lands strikes from half guard.
Pierre on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Pierre tries to get out of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bell thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Pierre's head.

Bell seems to be working for a kimura but Pierre defends the submission attempt.
Bell missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Ground and pound from Bell.
Bell slips a nice elbow through Pierre's hands, connecting with Pierre's forehead.
Bell is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Bell in particular looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bell working the head and body with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Bell lands a nice short elbow.
Bell scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Bell wants to take a breather but Pierre is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bell with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Pierre trying to hold on to Bell's head to control him but Bell postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell working Pierre over with strikes.
Bell with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Bell trying to control from half guard but Pierre is working away.
Bell stalling.
Pierre knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Bell on the ground.

Michael Bell has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Pierre tries to keep at a distance but Bell has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bell tightens his grip and picks Pierre up, before dumping him to the ground. Pierre manages to land in guard.
Bell postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Bell controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Bell works over Pierre with some ground and pound from guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bell postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Bell works over Pierre with some ground and pound from guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bell accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bell has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Bell throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Pierre works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Bell 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.

Pierre tries to sprawl but Bell drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Bell is just content to waste time from the top position. Pierre takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Pierre can't keep his opponent in guard - Bell advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Bell trying to control from half guard but Pierre is working away.
Bell throwing shots but Pierre is blocking nicely.
Bell slips a nice elbow through Pierre's hands, connecting with Pierre's forehead.
Bell performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Bell thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bell looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Bell in particular looking to stall.
Bell lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bell content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Bell is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Michael Bell has got the better of the ground game so far.
Bell winds up and cracks Pierre with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bell looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Pierre with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Bell working Pierre over with strikes.
Bell working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said 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!
Pierre on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Pierre is rocked!
Bell seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Oh Pierre is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Bell lands a nice short elbow.

Bell looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Bell lands strikes from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell slips a nice elbow through Pierre's hands, connecting with Pierre's forehead.
Bell lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

Bell is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Pierre has managed to free his arm - good work.
Bell throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierre taking some punishment here, with Bell in his half guard.

Bell wants to work for an arm triangle but Pierre is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Pierre avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bell.
Bell is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Pierre taking some punishment here, with Bell in his half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bell throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Bell connects with a nice short shot to Pierre's temple.
Pierre taking some punishment here, with Bell in his half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Bell showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Bell moves into range and clinches up with Pierre.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Bell.
Pierre is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Bell is defending well.
Pierre goes for a takedown attempt but Bell pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Pierre seems to have got his legs back now.
Bell closes this distance looking for a takedown but Pierre circles away.
Bell has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A nice leg kick lands there from Bell.
Horrible takedown by Bell or perhaps it was just good defense by Pierre which made him look bad.
Pierre slips a jab and a cross from Bell.
Michael Bell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Bell has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bell has hold of one of Pierre's legs. Pierre is fighting the takedown attempt but Bell gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bell working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Bell lands a couple of elbows.
Bell controlling from the top position.
Bell trying to control but Pierre is working from the bottom.
Bell content to stall in guard here.
Bell wants to control from the top but Pierre keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pierre utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Michael Bell hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Bell tries to clinch up.
Bell misses with a takedown attempt - Pierre sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Georges Pierre has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michael Bell.
Bell fails to land with a series of punches.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Bell.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bell working the ground and pound from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell working the ground and pound from side control.
Bell passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Pierre!
Bell controlling his opponent.
Bell has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Pierre's face.
Bell working Pierre over with strikes here.
Bell looking to control but Pierre is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Bell lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bell raining down shots from the mount!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bell lands a nice shot to the head.
Georges Pierre has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bell breaks from Pierre's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Pierre really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Bell looking to finish here with some ground and pound. He lands one big shot that has Pierre covering up... and two more big strikes land, forcing the referee to step in and put and end to proceedings! This fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Michael Bell!
In his post fight interview, Michael Bell started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.