PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Paul Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Connor Trauger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Smith
vs
Trauger

170 cm
20
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

186 cm
23
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Paul Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Connor Trauger!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Don Winkell and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Trauger closes this distance looking for a takedown but Smith circles away.
Smith closes this distance looking for a takedown but Trauger circles away.

Trauger closes the distance and clinches.
Trauger avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Trauger jumps guard but Smith stands there with Trauger around his waist. Trauger gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Trauger looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Trauger is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Trauger fails to pull guard.
Paul Smith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Connor Trauger.
Smith lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Trauger tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trauger is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Smith gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Smith misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Trauger.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Trauger obliges.
Trauger has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Trauger has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Smith is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Trauger keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Smith's efforts to push away.
Smith prevents the takedown attempt.
Smith tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Trauger jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Smith walks away with a smile on his face. Trauger gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Smith drives through with a takedown into guard.
Trauger is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Smith wants to get up but he can't break Trauger's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Trauger trying to keep a closed guard but Smith is proving a slippery customer.
Trauger might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Smith haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Smith might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Trauger 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.
Smith is looking to stand up but Trauger won't let him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Connor Trauger was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Trauger lands a jab to the head.
Smith swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Trauger tries to clinch there but Smith circles away.
Trauger misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Trauger has his takedown stuffed

and Smith counters by moving into the clinch.
Trauger wants a takedown but no success here.
Trauger looks winded!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith stops a takedown attempt from Trauger.
Trauger is trying to break free.
Trauger avoiding damage as Smith throws knees to the body.
Trauger fails to pull guard.
Trauger tries to pull guard but Smith forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Smith is trying to break the clinch but Trauger has him pressed against the cage.
Trauger stalling in the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Trauger is trying to push Smith away but Smith has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Smith is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Trauger misses with some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Connor Trauger will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Trauger blocks a jab.
Trauger scoring well with a low kick there.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Trauger, right into the meat.

Trauger closes the distance and pushes Smith back into the cage.
Smith avoiding damage as Trauger throws knees to the body.
Smith tries to circle away but Trauger has him pinned against the cage.
Trauger makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Trauger on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Trauger throws a knee to the head but misses.
Smith's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Trauger tries to circle away but Smith has him pinned against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trauger managing to block the knees to the body from Smith.
Smith gets underhooks to prevent Trauger's takedown attempt.
Trauger is trying to break the clinch but Smith has him pressed against the cage.

Smith breaks the clinch.
Trauger shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Smith but Smith pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Smith shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries to stand and escape but Trauger is controlling the position.
Smith trying to control the action but Trauger is working from the bottom.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Smith with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
It looks like Smith is going to stand back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Paul Smith wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Trauger circles away.
Paul Smith is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Trauger is looking to clinch.
Trauger shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Smith pinned against the cage. Smith gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Paul Smith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Connor Trauger.
Smith misses with a body kick.
Smith misses with a few strikes there.
Trauger throws a body punch but Smith moves out of range.

Smith clinches.
Trauger can't get the takedown.
Trauger jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Smith walks away with a smile on his face. Trauger gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Smith moves into the clinch.
Trauger's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Trauger is trying to push Smith away but Smith has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Trauger tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Trauger fails to pull guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Smith gets underhooks to prevent Trauger's takedown attempt.
Trauger is breathing heavily.
Trauger tries to stall but Smith uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Smith dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Trauger looks for a takedown but Smith sprawls well.
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Trauger circles away.
Trauger shoots in for a takedown but Smith shows good takedown defense.
Trauger throws a half hearted mid kick.
A head kick misses from Trauger.
Connor Trauger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The fight stays on the outside here - Trauger looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
No joy there for Smith, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Trauger throws a head kick but Smith moves out of range.
Trauger misses with a jab, cross combination.
Trauger takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trauger dodges the punch combination from Smith.
Smith tries to clinch but Trauger is having none of it.
Trauger throws a left and a right that both miss

and Smith counters with a nice double leg into side control. Trauger won't be happy with that.
Trauger is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Smith wants to control but Trauger is keeping him busy.
Trauger takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to stand but Trauger is controlling his arm.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Smith is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Trauger's shoulder. That is not cool.
Smith works to advance to full mount. Trauger defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Trauger really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Smith connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Trauger wants to hold on but Smith pushes him away.

Smith goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Trauger turns into him and now he's in Smith's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Smith's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Trauger fails to land the takedown.
Paul Smith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Connor Trauger.

Smith decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith passes to full mount!
Trauger wants to control but Smith is having none of it.
Smith looking to control and managing it successfully.
Smith trying to control but Trauger is having none of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Paul Smith showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Smith has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:28
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Smith!