PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Melvin Lawler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nick Lawless (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Melvin Lawler could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Nick Lawless's chin.

Lawler
vs
Lawless

177 cm
25
160 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

178 cm
20
160 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Melvin Lawler!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nick Lawless!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Stewart Dunkirk and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lawless slips under a jab from Lawler.
Lawler will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Lawler throws a wild body kick that Lawless sees coming a mile off.
Lawler throws a looping overhand right but Lawless ducks down to avoid it.
Lawler tries to land a front kick but Lawless steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Lawler bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Lawless's head.
Melvin Lawler seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Lawless shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Lawless is working for a kimura but Lawler is defending it quite comfortably.
Lawless landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Lawless winds up and cracks Lawler with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ground and pound from Lawless.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawless missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Lawless wants to work for an arm triangle but Lawler is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lawless thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Lawler's head.

Lawless is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Lawler defends it well.

Lawless is working for a kimura but Lawler is defending it quite comfortably.

Lawless is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Lawless is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Lawler sees it coming and defends easily.

Lawless is working for a kimura but Lawler is defending it quite comfortably.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lawless thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Lawless is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Lawless working Lawler over with strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Lawless is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Lawless is trying to work for a kimura but Lawler is defending well.
Lawless missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lawler actively working from the bottom here.
Lawler trying to control but Lawless postures up.
Lawless not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Lawler makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Lawler.
Lawless throwing strikes but missing.
Lawless throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lawless working some strikes from top position.
Lawler working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Lawless.
Lawler trying to control the position.
Lawler has momentary wrist control but Lawless slips an elbow through the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lawler looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Lawless cracks Lawler with a solid left hand.
Lawless works over Lawler with some ground and pound from guard.
Lawless throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Lawler works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lawless is working Lawler over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Lawler is on top in guard.
Lawless is controlling Lawler's posture.
Lawler wants to control from the top but Lawless keeps moving.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lawless wants to stand but Lawler is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Lawless dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Lawler scores with a sloppy right hand. Lawless should have avoided that one.

Lawless feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Lawler keeping full guard, as Lawless tries to pass.
Lawler preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lawler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Lawless stands up over Lawler, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

Lawless gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Lawless dives in and scores a takedown into Lawler's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lawless works over Lawler with some ground and pound from guard.
Lawless postures up in Lawler's guard and throws a big left but Lawler blocks it.
Lawless is working Lawler over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Lawless trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lawler trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawless is working Lawler over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lawless accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lawless missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Lawless passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Lawless is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Lawler has escaped the position, nice work there.

Lawless working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Lawless is breathing heavily.
Lawler can't do much from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lawless tries for a kimura but Lawler is defending well.
Lawless fails to land a wild elbow strike.

Lawless wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Lawler, who protects the arm well.
Lawless throws a strike aimed at the side of Lawler's head but Lawler avoids it well.

Lawless wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Lawler, who protects the arm well.
Lawler can't do much from the bottom here.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lawler is working to avoid the ground and pound but Lawless connects with a decent elbow.
Lawler wants to control but Lawless postures up.
The strikes coming from Lawless are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Nick Lawless has got the better of the ground game so far.
The ground and pound from Lawless seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Lawler is looking for a sweep.
Lawless tries to score with some ground and pound. Lawler controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Lawless is putting a hurting on Lawler here, landing some big shots from side control.
Lawless is working Lawler over with some ground and pound from side control.
Lawler wants to control but Lawless postures up.
Lawless working the head and body with strikes.
Lawless sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Lawler is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Lawless throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Lawler works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lawless lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lawless throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Lawless looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Lawler with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Lawless wants to pass to mount but Lawler is defending the position.
Lawler slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lawler controls Lawless momentarily but Lawless frees himself.
Lawler preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Lawless showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Lawler connects with a looping right hand.
Lawler is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Lawless ducks under a wild hook from Lawler.
Lawler rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lawless moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Lawless closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Lawler's guard.

Lawless got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lawler has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lawless has managed to get both his arms back between Lawler's legs - danger averted.
Lawless throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lawless lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Lawless with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Lawler avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Lawless trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lawler tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawless throwing strikes but missing.
Lawler keeping full guard, as Lawless tries to pass.
Lawless is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Lawless working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lawler's head.
Lawless chips away with some ground and pound.
Lawless chips away with some ground and pound.

Lawless drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Lawless jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Lawless cracks Lawler with a solid left hand.
Lawless throwing strikes but missing.
Lawless throws an elbow that misses. Lawler uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Lawless's guard. Nice move by Lawler!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lawless keeping moving, preventing Lawler from controlling successfully.

Lawless has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Lawler is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lawler tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Lawless smiles and moves away.
Lawless has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Lawler lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Lawless circles away quickly and effectively.
Lawless takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Melvin Lawler is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lawler moves in looking to clinch but Lawless pushes him off.
Nice defenses there by Lawless.

Lawless changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Lawler looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Lawler takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.

Lawless tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Lawless takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Lawless looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Nick Lawless is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
An elbow from Lawless crashes against the mat.

Lawless goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Lawler has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Lawless but great work by Lawler.
Lawler is looking to take a break and control but Lawless is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lawler prevents Lawless from escaping the position.
Lawler wants to control but Lawless is keeping him busy.
Melvin Lawler has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Lawler is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Lawless is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Lawless comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Lawless winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Lawless!
Nick Lawless tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.