PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between BJ Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Josh Ellis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ellis has chosen Space Lord - Monster Magnet as his entrance music. BJ Penn has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Penn
vs
Ellis

176 cm
22
170 lbs
3 - 8 - 0

175 cm
24
173 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 3 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, BJ Penn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Josh Ellis!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Hugh Johnson and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ellis gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Ellis looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Ellis is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Penn 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.
Penn'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.
Penn wants to control from the top but Ellis keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up because BJ Penn just wasn't active enough.
Penn throws a right and a left that Ellis avoids nicely.
Penn wants to clinch up but Ellis keeps it at a distance.
Ellis wants to clinch.
Ellis tries to close the distance and clinch up but Penn swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Penn closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Ellis to the mat! Ellis manages to get full guard.
Penn content to stall in guard here.
Ellis keeping moving, preventing Penn from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn is working Ellis over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Ellis working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Penn.
Penn chips away with some ground and pound.
Penn scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ellis keeping full guard, as Penn tries to pass.
Penn distracts Ellis with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Penn with a nice head shot there.
Penn makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Penn scoring with some ground and pound.
Penn chips away with some ground and pound.
Penn cracks Ellis with a solid left hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Penn forces his way into half guard.
Penn trying to control the action but Ellis is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Penn winds up and cracks Ellis with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Ellis is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Penn pulls his head out easily.
Penn wants to take a breather but Ellis is having none of it.
Penn looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Ellis with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Penn seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ellis does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Penn is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Penn works his way into full mount!
Penn putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Penn looking to control but Ellis is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ellis is in a horrible position here. Penn smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Penn cracks Ellis with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Penn working Ellis over with strikes here.
Penn controlling the pace for now.
Ellis in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Penn lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Penn working the ground and pound effectively.
Penn wants to control the pace but Ellis is squirming around nicely.
Penn with the ground and pound from mount.

Ellis is rocked!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Ellis is looking to escape.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Penn raining down shots from the mount!
Ellis is still in real trouble! Can Penn finish him?
Penn looking to finish Ellis with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ellis!
Penn looking to finish Ellis with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ellis!
Penn sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Ellis tries to reverse the position but Penn maintains control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ellis is squirming around, avoiding Penn's attempts to control the action.
Penn avoids the attempt from Ellis to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

BJ Penn 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.

Penn fails with the takedown.
Ellis seems to have recovered his senses.
Ellis shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Penn as he jumps to the side.

Penn shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Ellis manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Penn postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Penn is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Penn with a nice head shot there.
BJ Penn overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Penn working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ellis's head.
Penn with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ellis is breathing heavily.
Penn lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Penn scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Penn lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Penn with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Penn is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ellis throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Penn chips away with some ground and pound.
Penn has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Penn connects with a couple of short punches.
Penn makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ellis keeping moving, preventing Penn from controlling successfully.
Penn stands up over Ellis, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

Penn postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Ellis is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Penn, into his guard.
Ellis wants to pass the guard but Penn is keeping the position.

Penn working for a triangle but Ellis defends it easily.
Penn is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ellis can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn trying to control the position.
Penn is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ellis is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Penn holds on and takes a little breather.
Penn is trying to keep Ellis in close.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Penn is looking for a triangle but Ellis pushes his legs off easily.
Ellis postures up.

BJ Penn has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ellis looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Penn closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Penn working the ground and pound.
Ellis taking punishment in the form of punches.
Penn scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Ellis to see if he's OK.
Ellis is trying to escape the position but Penn is controlling the position.
Penn tries to move to mount but Ellis blocks the move with his legs.
Penn is putting a hurting on Ellis here, landing some big shots from side control.
Penn connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Ellis some visible discomfort.

Penn is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Ellis has escaped the position, nice work there.
You can see the frustration on Ellis's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Ellis might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Penn haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Penn tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Penn has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Ellis is not content to let Penn control the position.
Penn working away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Penn working the ground and pound.
Ellis is not content to let Penn control the position.

Penn wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Ellis, who protects the arm well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

BJ Penn dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Penn closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Penn decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Ellis stuffs the takedown attempt from Penn. Penn gets slowly back to his feet.

Penn decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Penn lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Ellis is defending against the submission attempts here by Penn.
Penn scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ellis looks like he's trying to stand up.
Penn winds up and cracks Ellis with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ellis is trying to control but can't.
Penn slips a nice elbow through Ellis's hands, connecting with Ellis's forehead.

Penn is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Penn working Ellis over with strikes.
Ellis is trying to maintain the position but Penn is very close to passing his half guard.
Ellis is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Penn scores with a couple of nice shots.
Penn is looking to take a break and control but Ellis is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ellis taking some punishment here, with Penn in his half guard.
Penn is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn prevents Ellis from improving his position.
Penn scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Penn prevents Ellis from improving his position.
Penn looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Ellis has hold of Penn's hands but Penn slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ellis is refusing to be controlled, as Penn sits in half guard.

Penn is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ellis taking some punishment here, with Penn in his half guard.
Ellis wants to get back to full guard.
Penn winds up and cracks Ellis with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn is thwarting Ellis's attempts to control the position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Penn in particular looking to stall.

Penn decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Penn shoots in for a double leg but Ellis sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Penn will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for BJ Penn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ellis shoots in for a takedown but Penn shows good takedown defense.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Penn.

Penn fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Ellis sprawls well initially but Penn persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Ellis misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Penn is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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. Penn connects with a nice short shot to Ellis's temple.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ellis trying to control here.
Ellis has hold of Penn's hands but Penn slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Penn lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ellis is trying to get back to full guard.
Ellis wants to control but Penn is keeping busy.
Penn is controlling the pace.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ellis wants to control but Penn is keeping busy.

And that's the end of the fight!
BJ Penn showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Penn has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:26
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:26
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... BJ Penn!
A less than humble BJ Penn misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.