PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Drederick Tatum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tony Masters (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Tatum
vs
Masters

180 cm
35
213 lbs
25 - 16 - 1

190 cm
28
205 lbs
12 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Conviction

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 25 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Drederick Tatum!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tony Masters!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Colin Fotheringham and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tatum digs a good hook to Masters's body.
Drederick Tatum seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Masters throws a sloppy head kick and Tatum moves out of range easily.
Tatum connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Masters with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Masters misses with an uppercut.
Masters tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tatum was well out of range. Poor timing from Masters.

Masters closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Tatum is refusing to be controlled, as Masters sits in half guard.
Tatum moves into full guard.
Tatum pulls Masters in to control the position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tatum is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masters postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Masters wants to control from the top but Tatum keeps moving.
Tatum looking for a sweep. Not yet Tatum, not yet.
Masters trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Masters accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Masters has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Tatum is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Masters is controlling him.
Tatum is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Masters content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Masters throws a big right hand that misses.
Masters is stalling in the full guard.
Tatum is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Masters is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tatum has momentary wrist control but Masters slips an elbow through the middle.
Tatum working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Masters.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masters trying to control the position from guard on top but Tatum is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Masters throws a strike but Tatum rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Tatum got a little sloppy there for a moment and Masters has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Tatum has managed to get both his arms back between Masters's legs - danger averted.

Masters looking for subs off his back but Tatum has passed one foot through into half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Masters moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Tatum wants to stand and escape but instead Masters has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Masters makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tatum wants to stand but Masters is controlling the position.
Masters connects with a couple of short punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Masters postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Masters dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Tatum misses with a looping right.
Masters drops his hands momentarily and Tatum takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Masters throws a nice inside leg kick.
Tatum throws a combination that misses

and Masters counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Tatum keeping moving, preventing Masters from controlling successfully.
Tatum is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Masters is controlling him.
Masters working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Tatum keeping moving, preventing Masters from controlling successfully.
Masters wants to pass the guard but Tatum is keeping the position.
Tony Masters has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tatum looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Masters misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Tatum misses with a lunging right hand
and Masters counters with a nice uppercut.
Masters pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Masters tries to land a leg kick but Tatum saw it coming and moves away.
Masters looks to land a combination but Tatum avoids it well.
Masters feints and then cracks Tatum's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Tatum down.
Masters scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Tatum.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tatum throws a body punch but Masters moves out of range.
A jab from Tatum misses.
Tatum misses with a hook
and Masters counters with a right hand to the body.
Masters misses with a body kick.
Masters is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Tatum.
Tatum checks the leg kick nicely there.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Tatum waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Masters.
Tatum misses with a two punch combination.
A nice inside leg kick there by Masters. That's going to slow Tatum down.
Masters ducks under a wild hook from Tatum.
Tatum throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Masters moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tatum needs to keep his hands up - Masters had a free shot at his head there.
A combination from Masters does no damage.
Masters tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Masters decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Tatum is refusing to be controlled, as Masters sits in half guard.
Tatum tries to kick Masters off but Masters keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Tatum won't allow Masters to pass to mount.
Masters throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Masters sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tatum defending well though.

Masters is working for a kimura but Tatum is defending it quite comfortably.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Masters drops an elbow to the side of Tatum's head.
Masters moves into full mount! Tatum won't be happy about that!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Masters raining down shots from the mount!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Masters scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Tatum?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Masters showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Masters throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Tatum stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Tatum throws a looping overhand right but Masters ducks down to avoid it.
Tatum throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Tatum misses with a hook. Masters ducked under it nicely.
Masters keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Masters.
Masters throws a right and a left that both miss.
Masters throws a nice outside leg kick.
Masters turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Tatum throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Masters cracks Tatum with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Masters bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Masters avoids the body shot from Tatum.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tatum connects with a crisp jab.
Masters looks to land a left hand but Tatum moved out of range nicely.
Tatum lands with an overhand left.
Tatum has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Masters.

Masters looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Masters wants to advance to full mount but Tatum doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Masters landing with the ground and pound.
Masters pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tatum is keeping the position for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tatum working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Masters.
Masters makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Masters lands a couple of elbows.
Masters trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Masters distracts Tatum with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Masters throwing strikes from guard but Tatum blocks nicely.
Masters stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Tatum swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masters is pushing down on Tatum's leg trying to pass to half guard. Tatum is fighting to maintain full guard but Masters has managed to sneak the leg through.
Masters lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Tatum is trying to control but can't.
Masters wants to lay and pray for a moment but Tatum keeps working.
Masters sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tatum defending well though.
Masters not doing much here.
Tatum is trying to stand back up but Masters is controlling him

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Masters is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Tatum sees it coming and defends easily.
Masters trying to control from Tatum's half guard. Tatum has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Tatum working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Masters.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Masters landing some decent shots from guard.
Masters loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tony Masters comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Masters has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 27:30
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tony Masters!
Our winner, Tony Masters, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.