PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Harold Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Bunting (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Howard might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Eddie Money - Take me home tonight. 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.

Howard
vs
Bunting

196 cm
31
277 lbs
28 - 3 - 0

208 cm
25
297 lbs
16 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

GREEN!

Nutrition Your Way!
Hellbent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Harold Howard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Bunting!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Ian Loll and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Howard checks a low kick from Bunting.
Howard tests Bunting's chin there with a solid looking shot.

It looks like John Bunting has been cut.
Harold Howard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Howard throws a hook but Bunting avoids it easily.
Howard throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bunting fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Howard throws a hook but Bunting blocks it.
Howard misses with a looping left.
Bunting lands with a thumping leg kick.
Howard pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bunting throws a lazy right hand but Howard sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Bunting throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Howard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Howard throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A bone on bone clash there as Bunting blocks the leg kick.
Bunting throws a leg kick that is checked
and Howard counters with a nice leg kick.
Howard lands a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bunting avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Howard avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Bunting slips a jab from Howard.
Howard goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
A jab from Howard misses.
Bunting moves out of range as Howard strikes.
Bunting throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Howard stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Howard lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Bunting throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Howard on the side of the head.
Bunting cracks a nice hook into Howard's ribs.
Howard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Howard throws a quick inside leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bunting lands with an uppercut that bounces Howard off the cage and back into range.
Howard on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Bunting. Bunting obviously looking to wear him down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bunting looks to throw the jab but Howard is out of range.
Howard misses with a left hand

and Bunting counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Bunting.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Howard not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Howard keeping moving, preventing Bunting from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Howard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Howard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bunting with a flurry of punches that miss.
Bunting looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Howard wants to sweep but no luck.
Bunting throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Howard works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Howard might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Bunting missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard working a defensive guard here.
Howard controlling Bunting's posture.
Bunting throws an elbow that misses. Howard uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Bunting's guard. Nice move by Howard!
Howard tries to stand but Bunting is controlling from the bottom.
Howard trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Howard preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bunting controls Howard momentarily but Howard frees himself.
Bunting 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.
Howard tries to stand but Bunting is controlling from the bottom.
Bunting wants to sweep here but Howard controlling him for the moment.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Howard clinches with his opponent.

Bunting breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Howard throws a leg kick but Bunting sees it coming and checks it nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bunting throws a low kick but Howard moves out of range easily.
Howard fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Bunting manages to avoid it.
Bunting lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Howard takes a body punch but keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but John Bunting will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on John Bunting's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Bunting tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Howard was well out of range. Poor timing from Bunting.
Bunting feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Howard's calf.
Bunting avoids the body shot from Howard.
Howard takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Bunting is looking to slow Howard down with leg kicks.
Bunting uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Howard.
Howard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Howard lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
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!
Bunting ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Bunting keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Howard throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Bunting counters with a single leg into guard. Howard didn't expect that.
Bunting throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Howard works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bunting wants to pass the guard but Howard is keeping the position.
Bunting trying to control but Howard is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bunting preventing the sweep.
Bunting working some strikes from top position.
Bunting throws a big right hand that misses.
Bunting trying to control the position from guard on top but Howard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Howard looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Bunting throws a big elbow that misses.
Bunting trying to control the position from guard on top but Howard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bunting is in close to Howard's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bunting slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Howard is on top in guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Bunting is on top in guard.
Bunting in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Howard wants to sweep but no luck.
Bunting must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Bunting throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bunting content to stall in guard here.
Bunting postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bunting lands a couple of digs.
Bunting works over Howard with some ground and pound from guard.
Bunting trying to control the position from guard on top but Howard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Howard trying to control the position.
Howard looking for a sweep. Not yet Howard, not yet.
Bunting is working Howard over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Bunting is fighting to break Howard's control of his arms but Howard is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Howard keeping moving, preventing Bunting from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Howard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bunting loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bunting looking to pass the guard.
Bunting throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Howard works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bunting wants to control from the top but Howard keeps moving.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bunting throwing strikes from guard but Howard blocks nicely.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Howard waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Bunting.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Bunting showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on John Bunting's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Bunting misses with an uppercut. Howard saw that one coming.
Howard rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Bunting counters with a nice double leg into side control. Howard won't be happy with that.
Howard takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Bunting landing a few strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Howard can't do much from the bottom here.
Howard is not content to let Bunting control the position.
Bunting working the head and body with strikes.
Howard wants to control but Bunting postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bunting working the body and head with strikes.
Howard is looking for a sweep.
Howard taking a bit of punishment here - Bunting scoring with strikes.
Bunting scoring with punches from side control.
Bunting is looking to take a break and control but Howard is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
John Bunting has got the better of the ground game so far.
You can see the frustration on Howard's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Howard stops Bunting from passing to mount.
Bunting lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bunting lands a decent elbow from side control.
Bunting in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Howard is looking for a sweep.
Howard manages to get back to half guard.
Bunting is looking to take a break and control but Howard is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Bunting trying to pass the guard but Howard defending well.
Howard is looking to improve his position.
Howard keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Howard trying to control here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard is not content to let Bunting control the position.
Bunting has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Bunting lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Bunting trying to control the action but Howard is working from the bottom.
Howard is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Bunting's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Bunting's back!
Bunting rolls, trying to escape but Howard keeps control of the position.

Howard stands up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard misses with a body shot.
Bunting misses with a body shot.
A big left from Howard misses.
Howard misses with a wild body shot.
Bunting lands a nice shot that snaps Howard's head back.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bunting pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Howard steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bunting.
Bunting throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Bunting ducks under a wild hook from Howard.
Bunting has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Howard on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
A big right from Howard misses.
Howard digs a good body shot into Bunting's ribs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Bunting really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Bunting's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Howard swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Bunting's corner calls for a 1-2. Bunting obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Howard throws a left and a right that both miss

and Bunting counters with a nice double leg into side control. Howard won't be happy with that.
Bunting in side control lands a decent elbow.
Howard trying to remain calm as Bunting controls from the top position.
Howard gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Howard won't allow Bunting to pass to mount.
Bunting drops an elbow to the side of Howard's head.
Bunting seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Howard does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Bunting throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Howard is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howard avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bunting.
Bunting frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Bunting putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Howard is working to get back to half guard.
Bunting landing punches.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bunting is landing with some decent strikes but Howard is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You get the feeling that Howard really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Howard is looking to get to half guard.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Bunting scoring with strikes but Howard is staying in there.
Bunting is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Howard can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Howard is rocked!
Bunting connects with a bit shot that sees Howard covering up! More strikes from Bunting and the referee jumps in to stop the fight! Bunting is our winner by TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:44 of round 4, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). John Bunting!
John Bunting decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.