PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Justin Hall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Emil Gustafsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gustafsson has chosen Two Steps from Hell - Heart of Courage as his entrance music. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Hall
vs
Gustafsson

183 cm
18
181 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

190 cm
20
185 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Justin Hall!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Emil Gustafsson!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Andrew Berry and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gustafsson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Hall on the side of the head.

Hall tries to keep at a distance but Gustafsson has taken the fight into the clinch.
Hall avoiding damage as Gustafsson throws knees to the body.
Gustafsson tries to land a knee to the head but Hall blocks with his arms.
Hall is trying to drag Gustafsson to the mat but Gustafsson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Hall tries for a takedown. No joy.
Gustafsson misses with an elbow strike.
Gustafsson lands an elbow that stopped Hall in his tracks for a moment.
Gustafsson lands an elbow that stopped Hall in his tracks for a moment.
Nice elbow from Gustafsson.
Gustafsson lands a knee to the head.
Gustafsson misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson looking to throw knees to the head but Hall is blocking nicely.
Hall changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Gustafsson fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Justin Hall. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gustafsson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hall misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Gustafsson counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
A frustrated look appears on Hall's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Hall tries to stall but Gustafsson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Hall has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Gustafsson after a bit of a struggle.
Hall blocks an elbow strike.
Gustafsson lands a damaging elbow.
Hall wants to take the fight to the mat but Gustafsson manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hall.
Gustafsson is pressed up against the cage. Hall has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Gustafsson down to the mat. Gustafsson avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Hall fails with a takedown attempt.
Gustafsson connects with a crisp jab.
Hall throws a series of punches but Gustafsson avoids them all with ease.
Gustafsson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hall.
Gustafsson thows a left - swing and a miss!

Hall shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Gustafsson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hall is looking to take a break and control but Gustafsson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Gustafsson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Hall throws a strike aimed at the side of Gustafsson's head but Gustafsson avoids it well.
Hall lands a nice forearm strike.
Hall tries to score with some ground and pound. Gustafsson controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
You can see the frustration on Gustafsson's face as Hall controls the position.
Gustafsson manages to work his way to half guard, despite Hall's best efforts.
Hall stalling.
Gustafsson is trying to control but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson wants to get back to full guard.
Hall throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Gustafsson looking for submissions off his back.
Gustafsson is trying to maintain the position but Hall is very close to passing his half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hall not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Hall throwing shots but Gustafsson is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Emil Gustafsson will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hall throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hall throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Hall tries for a takedown but Gustafsson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Gustafsson misses the target.
Gustafsson misses with a looping left.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hall. Gustafsson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice straight punches there by Gustafsson. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Gustafsson.
Nice defenses there by Gustafsson.
Gustafsson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hall gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Gustafsson connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Hall's hands.

Hall closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Gustafsson to the mat! Gustafsson manages to get full guard.
Hall engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Hall won't allow Gustafsson to sweep him here.
Hall has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall tries to free his leg and advance position but Gustafsson is retaining full guard.
Gustafsson looking to control.

Gustafsson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hall can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Gustafsson looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Hall sitting in guard, not really doing much.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gustafsson is trying to control the position but Hall postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Hall doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Hall manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gustafsson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hall.
Gustafsson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hall throwing strikes but missing.
Hall trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hall looking to pass the guard.
Gustafsson seems keen to control Hall's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hall.
Gustafsson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hall throws a big elbow that misses.
Hall throws a strike but Gustafsson rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Hall controlling the position.
Hall on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Hall tries to get out of the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gustafsson prevents Hall from getting back to his feet.
Justin Hall overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hall wants to get back to his feet but Gustafsson passes into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Justin Hall will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Gustafsson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hall uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Gustafsson.
Hall swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Hall looks to score with a jab to the body but Gustafsson is just out of range.
Hall takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Gustafsson slips under a jab.
Gustafsson throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Gustafsson has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Hall shoots in looking for a takedown but Gustafsson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Hall's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hall throws a looping overhand right but Gustafsson ducks down to avoid it.
Hall dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Emil Gustafsson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Hall misses with a hook.
Gustafsson scores with a sloppy right hand. Hall should have avoided that one.

Hall shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Hall is pressing down on Gustafsson's thigh, looking to free his foot. Gustafsson is holding on for now.
Hall wants to control but Gustafsson is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hall wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gustafsson keeps working.

Gustafsson looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Hall trying to control from Gustafsson's half guard. Gustafsson has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Hall is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hall throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Gustafsson is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Hall content to stall in guard here.
Gustafsson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hall pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gustafsson is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Hall thows a body shot but no joy.
Hall fails with a takedown attempt.
Hall swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Hall closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Gustafsson quickly recovers to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gustafsson trying to control but Hall postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Justin Hall showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hall has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Justin Hall!