PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Mitchell Pearsen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Spencer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Spencer has chosen Ride Of The Valkyries - Richard Wagner as his entrance music. 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.

Pearsen
vs
Spencer

170 cm
29
159 lbs
21 - 17 - 0

170 cm
32
157 lbs
18 - 14 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

TWGC Champion
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Steel Penn's All 160
Reaper Combatwear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mitchell Pearsen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mark Spencer!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pearsen tries to clinch but Spencer is having none of it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Pearsen looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A combination from Spencer does no damage.
Pearsen misses the shot to the body.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Spencer.
Spencer has his takedown stuffed
and Pearsen counters with a stiff right hand.

It looks like Mark Spencer has been cut.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Pearsen dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Pearsen misses with an uppercut. Spencer saw that one coming.

Pearsen forces Spencer back against the cage and clinches.
Pearsen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Spencer's elbow.
Pearsen lands a left hand.
Spencer goes for a takedown attempt but Pearsen pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Pearsen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Pearsen moves into range and clinches up with Spencer.
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!
Pearsen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Spencer's elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pearsen misses with some punches.
Pearsen tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Spencer blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pearsen has Spencer pressed against the cage.
Spencer is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Pearsen pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Mitchell Pearsen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mark Spencer.
Pearsen working some nice short punches in the clinch.

Spencer breaks from the clinch.
Spencer steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Pearsen.
Pearsen misses with a body shot.
Spencer shoots in for a double leg but Pearsen sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Spencer throws a good cross that connects.
Pearsen throws an overhand right that lands on Spencer's shoulder, as Spencer tries to avoid the shot.
Pearsen misses with a looping left.
Spencer fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Spencer lands a jab to the nose.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pearsen tries to clinch up but Spencer circles away and keeps his distance.
A telegraphed right hand from Pearsen misses the target.
Pearsen throws out a loose jab but Spencer uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice uppercut there from Pearsen.

Spencer closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Pearsen did well to prevent Spencer getting side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Spencer sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Pearsen wants to get back to full guard.
Pearsen trying to hold on to Spencer's head to control him but Spencer postures up.
Spencer tries to stand but can't do so whilst Pearsen controls his leg.

Pearsen is defending against the submission attempts here by Spencer.
Spencer not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pearsen keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Pearsen trying to hold on to Spencer's head to control him but Spencer postures up.
Spencer sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Pearsen defending well though.
Spencer wants to pass to mount but Pearsen is defending the position.
Pearsen regains full guard. Nicely done.
Pearsen is looking to stand up but Spencer isn't so interested in that idea.

Pearsen escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Spencer gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Spencer forces his way into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spencer prevents Pearsen from standing back up.
Spencer scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pearsen is in trouble now - Spencer has advanced to mount!
Spencer has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Pearsen is trying desperately to improve position.
Pearsen is bucking up trying to escape but Spencer cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Spencer working the ground and pound effectively.
Pearsen taking shots to the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Spencer is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Spencer with shots to the head and body - Pearsen looks very uncomfortable down there.
Spencer in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Spencer dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mark Spencer's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

The fight stays on the outside here - Pearsen looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Pearsen tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Spencer counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Spencer lands a nice short elbow.
Pearsen is looking for a sweep. Spencer is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Spencer is trying to control the action in half guard but Pearsen is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Mark Spencer has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pearsen pushes Spencer off looking to stand but Spencer dives back in and keeps control.
Spencer is keen to just control but Pearsen is a slippery customer.
Spencer 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 crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Spencer in particular looking to stall.
Spencer wants to control but Pearsen is keeping him busy.
Pearsen gets full guard.
Pearsen is trying to keep Spencer in close.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spencer scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Pearsen looking for a sweep. Not yet Pearsen, not yet.
Spencer pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pearsen is keeping the position for now.

Pearsen is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Spencer is aware though and is defending well.
Spencer stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pearsen swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Pearsen working a defensive guard here.
Spencer content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Spencer chips away with some ground and pound.
Spencer trying to control the position from guard on top but Pearsen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Spencer prevents Pearsen from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spencer lands a couple of digs.
Spencer keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Pearsen's head.
Spencer content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Pearsen is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Spencer defends well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Spencer trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Spencer trying to control but Pearsen is working from the bottom.
Spencer with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Pearsen is looking for a triangle but Spencer pushes his legs off easily.
Pearsen keeping full guard, as Spencer tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spencer working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Spencer wants to stand but Pearsen has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Pearsen has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Spencer has passed into side control.
Pearsen tries to buck Spencer off but Spencer is having none of it.
Spencer working the ground and pound from side control.

Spencer is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Pearsen knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Spencer thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spencer in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Spencer is looking to take a break and control but Pearsen is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Spencer working the ground and pound from side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pearsen is trying to improve his position.
Pearsen is working hard here to advance position.
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!
Pearsen manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Spencer showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mark Spencer's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Pearsen tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Spencer manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A swing and a miss from Spencer.
Pearsen misses the jab.
Spencer lands with a nice body punch.
Spencer takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Spencer circles away from the clinch attempt.
Spencer looks to land a combination. Pearsen sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Spencer misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Spencer keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Spencer swats away the attempt to clinch by Pearsen.
Spencer shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pearsen as he jumps to the side.
Pearsen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Spencer paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Spencer shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Spencer content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pearsen working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Spencer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spencer throwing strikes but missing.
Pearsen keeping moving, preventing Spencer from controlling successfully.
Pearsen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Spencer is one step ahead there.
Spencer in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Spencer missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Spencer drops back, looking for a kneebar! Pearsen looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Pearsen looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Pearsen!
Spencer is not content to let Pearsen control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pearsen gets to mount! Spencer was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Spencer wants to hold on but Pearsen pushes him away.
Spencer is in all sorts of trouble here.
Spencer is squirming around, avoiding Pearsen's attempts to control the action.
Pearsen controlling from the full mount.
Pearsen trying to control but Spencer is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spencer is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

Spencer tries to improve his position but Pearsen has taken his back! Pearsen has a choke - it's sunk in pretty tight... Will Spencer tap? No... maybe... yes! He's tapped! Pearsen pushes Spencer away and gets up to celebrate with his corner!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:51 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Mitchell Pearsen!
An out of breath Mitchell Pearsen thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.