PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between George St Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hugh Grainger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hugh Grainger has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with George St Pierre's chin.

St Pierre
vs
Grainger

195 cm
26
175 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

200 cm
25
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, George St Pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hugh Grainger!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Hirohito Nitta and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
St Pierre lands with a nice body kick.
Grainger with a poor takedown
and St Pierre counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Grainger looks winded!
Grainger circles away from the clinch attempt.
Grainger tries to clinch up but St Pierre circles away and keeps his distance.

St Pierre gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

St Pierre pulls guard successfully.

Grainger drops back, looking for a kneebar! St Pierre looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. St Pierre looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from St Pierre!

St Pierre is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Grainger knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
St Pierre staying calm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre wants to control but Grainger is keeping him busy.
A lull in the action here as St Pierre stalls from top position.
Grainger prevents St Pierre from moving into mount.
St Pierre working away.
St Pierre tries to stand but Grainger is controlling his head.
St Pierre lands an elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grainger is looking to reverse the position.
St Pierre tries to advance position but instead Grainger slips a leg back in to half guard.
St Pierre tries to pass to full mount but Grainger defends it.
St Pierre slows the pace down in half guard.

Grainger looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre trying to mount his opponent but Grainger defends it.
St Pierre really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Grainger is trying to control but can't.
St Pierre with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

St Pierre seems to be looking for submissions.
Grainger is trying to control but can't.
St Pierre throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Grainger actively working from the bottom here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

St Pierre is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Grainger is just riding it out for now. St Pierre eventually gives up the hold.
St Pierre thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grainger won't allow St Pierre to pass to mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Grainger trying to control from the bottom.
St Pierre performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

St Pierre decides to return to a standing position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George St Pierre dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Grainger fails with an attempt to clinch.

St Pierre clinches.

St Pierre is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Grainger can't fight it off and eventually St Pierre manages to take the fight to the floor. Grainger looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
St Pierre looking to pass the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Grainger trying to keep a closed guard but St Pierre is proving a slippery customer.
Grainger is breathing heavily.
St Pierre seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grainger seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

St Pierre closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Grainger to the mat! Grainger manages to get full guard.
Grainger wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and St Pierre is now in half guard.
St Pierre slows the pace down in half guard.
Grainger has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. St Pierre is working away from the top position though.
St Pierre is keen to just control but Grainger is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grainger won't allow St Pierre to pass to mount.
St Pierre missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
St Pierre trying to pass the guard but Grainger defending well.
St Pierre is controlling the pace.
St Pierre throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

St Pierre is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Grainger defends it well.
St Pierre drops an elbow to the side of Grainger's head.
St Pierre trying to control the pace.
St Pierre has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Grainger is doing well to control the position and prevent St Pierre from advancing to side control.

The ref stands the fighters back up because George St Pierre just wasn't active enough.

St Pierre instigates a clinch.

Grainger manages to break the clinch.

St Pierre shoots in and gets a takedown into Grainger's guard.
George St Pierre overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Grainger trying to keep a closed guard but St Pierre is proving a slippery customer.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
St Pierre sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Grainger's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George St Pierre dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Excellent takedown into side control there by St Pierre.
Grainger is not content to let St Pierre control the position.
Grainger can't do much from the bottom here.
St Pierre lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Grainger takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Grainger takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
St Pierre in side control, just content to control the action for now.
St Pierre seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Grainger for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre wants to control but Grainger is keeping him busy.

St Pierre has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

St Pierre bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
You can see the frustration on Grainger's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

St Pierre decides to stand back up.

St Pierre drives through with a takedown into Grainger's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
St Pierre is stalling in the full guard.
St Pierre in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grainger being controlled here, momentarily.
Grainger trying to control the position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
St Pierre looking to pass the guard.
St Pierre has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

St Pierre drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Grainger dives on top into guard.
Grainger postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grainger stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. St Pierre swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. George St Pierre wasn't doing enough on the ground.
St Pierre moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

St Pierre gets the takedown into side control.
You can see the frustration on Grainger's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Grainger trying to control but St Pierre flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
Hugh Grainger has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
George St Pierre is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Grainger is defending well here and trying to improve his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
George St Pierre showed his dominance in that final round.
Well St Pierre has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... George St Pierre!