PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Pence Apene (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tex Bighorn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Apene
vs
Bighorn

187 cm
32
205 lbs
15 - 4 - 0

180 cm
29
220 lbs
12 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Pence Apene!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Tex Bighorn!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Damien Edna and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bighorn ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Apene moves away.
A combination from Bighorn does no damage.
Bighorn throws a right hand that Apene ducks under and follows up with a left that Apene also avoids with ease.

Apene shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Bighorn is trying to defend but Apene finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Apene stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Apene has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Pence Apene wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Sloppy strikes from Bighorn. Those never looked like landing.
Apene moves in looking to clinch but Bighorn pushes him off.
Tex Bighorn is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Apene has taken the fight to the clinch.
Bighorn misses with a hook from the clinch.
Bighorn misses with some punches.

Apene gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Bighorn is refusing to be controlled, as Apene sits in half guard.
Apene sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Bighorn defending well though.
Apene throwing shots but Bighorn is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Apene is actively looking for submissions here but good counter grappling here from Bighorn as he works his way to full guard.
Apene not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Apene thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Apene looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Apene pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bighorn is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Apene drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Bighorn manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Apene has Bighorn in his guard.
Bighorn tries to stand but Apene is controlling from the bottom.

Apene looking for a guillotine here but Bighorn defends easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Apene pulls Bighorn in close to his closed guard and prevents Bighorn from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bighorn tries to stand but Apene is controlling from the bottom.
Apene bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Bighorn's guard.
Apene pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bighorn is keeping the position for now.
Apene works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Bighorn looks like he's trying to stand up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bighorn avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Apene.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pence Apene dominated that round.
That's time! Apene's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Bighorn misses with a left hand

and Apene counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Bighorn!
Apene tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

Apene decides to stand up, so the ref orders Bighorn to his feet.
Apene fails to land the takedown.
Bighorn takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Bighorn misses with a few strikes there.
Bighorn throws a right hand that Apene ducks under and follows up with a left that Apene also avoids with ease.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bighorn misses with a combination
letting Apene counter with a right hand.
Apene shoots for a double leg takedown but Bighorn sprawls well. He's pushed Apene's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Bighorn gets caught flat footed, as Apene shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Apene trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Bighorn manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Bighorn wants to stand but Apene is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bighorn is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Apene pulls Bighorn in close to prevent any damage.

Apene is looking for a triangle but Bighorn pushes his legs off easily.
Bighorn preventing the sweep.
Bighorn wanted to stand there but Apene had control of the position.
Apene has control of Bighorn's left arm, preventing Bighorn from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Pence Apene just wasn't active enough.
Bighorn keeps the fight on the outside.
Apene takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Apene fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pence Apene. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice takedown defense from Bighorn. No joy for Apene on that attempt.
Bighorn swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Bighorn fails to land with a series of punches.
Bighorn misses with the combination.
Apene misses with a takedown attempt - Bighorn sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Bighorn throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nice defenses there by Apene.
Apene closes this distance looking for a takedown but Bighorn circles away.
Bighorn throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Bighorn swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Apene connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Bighorn misses with a series of wild punches.
Pence Apene is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Apene looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Bighorn!
Apene tries to move to mount but Bighorn blocks the move with his legs.
Sloppy strikes there by Apene.
Apene trying to control the position but Bighorn is working away.

Apene is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Bighorn is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Apene is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Apene scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Bighorn to see if he's OK.

Apene is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Bighorn knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Apene is trying to get an arm triangle but Bighorn is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pence Apene dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Apene fails with a takedown attempt.
Apene slips a jab from Bighorn.
A punch combination from Bighorn misses.
Apene dodges the punch combination from Bighorn.
Bighorn looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Some wild striking there from Bighorn.
Bighorn misses with a double jab.

Apene closes the distance and pushes Bighorn back into the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Apene's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Apene fails to pull guard.
Bighorn tries to work over Apene's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bighorn tries to work over Apene's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bighorn misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bighorn has a couple of punches blocked by Apene.
Apene tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Bighorn smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pence Apene. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice takedown defense from Bighorn. No joy for Apene on that attempt.
Bighorn dodges the punch combination from Apene.
Bighorn lands a slapping body shot.
Bighorn looks to throw the jab but Apene is out of range.
Apene shoots in but no luck this time.
Apene scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Tex Bighorn seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bighorn throws a series of punches but Apene moves out of range.

Apene gets the takedown into side control.
Bighorn is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Apene asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Tex Bighorn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bighorn takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Apene in side control, throwing shots but Bighorn defends.
Apene wants to control but Bighorn is keeping him busy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bighorn is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Apene asserts his dominance and retains side control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Apene wants to control but Bighorn is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Apene tries to score with some ground and pound. Bighorn controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

Apene is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Bighorn has escaped the position, nice work there.
Bighorn is not content to let Apene control the position.
Bighorn managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Apene.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Apene taking a breather here.
Bighorn avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Apene.
Pence Apene is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Apene controlling from side mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Apene wants to control but Bighorn is keeping him busy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pence Apene showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Apene, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pence Apene!
Pence Apene very nearly forgot to thank Blood Bank ($10) amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.