PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Phoenix Valentine (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nathan Speed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Valentine comes to the cage accompanied by Liquid Tension Experiment - Acid Rain. The crowd seem to be enjoying Speed's choice of entrance music: The Ramones / Blitzkrieg Bop. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Valentine
vs
Speed

170 cm
27
205 lbs
15 - 7 - 1

192 cm
27
216 lbs
19 - 8 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

KO Clothing

Perkele!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Phoenix Valentine!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nathan Speed!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Reed Andrews and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Speed instigates a clinch.
Speed misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Speed tries a body shot but Valentine blocks it.
Speed misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Valentine blocks a body shot from Speed.
Valentine blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Speed misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Speed misses with a short punch on the inside.
Speed misses with some punches.
Speed is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Speed misses with a hook to the ribs.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Valentine.
Speed throws a head punch that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Speed has a couple of punches blocked by Valentine.
Speed stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Valentine blocks an uppercut.
Valentine blocks a body shot from Speed.
Speed tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Speed swings wildly with an uppercut but Valentine uses good head movement to avoid it.
Speed's coach down at Putka was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Speed's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Speed working aggressively here.
Speed prevents the takedown attempt.
Speed lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Speed lands a hook that snaps the head of Valentine backwards.

It looks like Phoenix Valentine has been cut.
Valentine being controlled against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Speed misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Speed throws a punch but it's blocked by Valentine.
Speed digs a right hand underneath Valentine's ribcage. Valentine let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Speed lands a right hand.
Speed fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Speed goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
The referee calls for Speed to work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Valentine is working for takedown but Speed is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Phoenix Valentine. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A body shot lands from Speed.
Valentine blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short body shot lands from Speed as the two fighters clinch.
Valentine gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Speed.

Speed gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Valentine regains guard.
Valentine is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Speed trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Speed preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Valentine keeping moving, preventing Speed from controlling successfully.
Valentine is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Valentine blocks the body kick.
Valentine walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Valentine throws a series of punches but Speed moves out of range.
Speed misses with a leg kick.
Speed will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Valentine ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Valentine avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Speed.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Speed dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Phoenix Valentine's cut.
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.

Crunch! Speed slams his shin into Valentine's torso.
Speed throws a lazy uppercut

and Valentine counters with a single leg into guard. Speed didn't expect that.
Valentine throws an elbow that misses. Speed uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Valentine's guard. Nice move by Speed!
Valentine controlling Speed's posture.
Speed is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Valentine trying to control the position.
Valentine 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.
Speed trying to control but Valentine is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentine 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Nathan Speed was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Valentine shoots in for a takedown but Speed shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Speed connects with a leg kick. Valentine looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Speed moves in looking to clinch but Valentine pushes him off.
Valentine gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Valentine takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A big left from Speed misses.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sloppy strikes from Speed. Those never looked like landing.
Speed swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valentine takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Valentine showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Speed.
Speed throws the kick towards the body but Valentine avoids it.
Both fighters circling a little - Speed finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Speed throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Valentine checks a leg kick.
Speed swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
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!
Speed fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Speed throws a shot from downtown. Valentine moves away and avoids it.
Good work by Valentine as he checks the leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Speed ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Valentine takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Speed displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Valentine.
Nathan Speed seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Speed lands a nice hook to Valentine's body. Valentine takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Nathan Speed seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Speed connects with a looping right hand.
Valentine scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Speed tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Speed throws a half hearted mid kick.
Speed pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Horrible takedown by Valentine or perhaps it was just good defense by Speed which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Phoenix Valentine. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Speed throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Speed lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head kick misses from Valentine.
Speed jabs Valentine right on the nose. Valentine blinks but takes it well.
Speed is looking to land body kicks.
Valentine misses with a straight right.
Valentine avoids the head kick by Speed.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Speed wants to slow Valentine down by chopping away at his legs.
Speed connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Speed dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Valentine. That did some damage!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Speed showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Phoenix Valentine's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! 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.

Speed scores with a punch to the head.
Speed throws a wild body kick that Valentine sees coming a mile off.
Valentine misses with a head kick.
Valentine throws a sloppy head kick and Speed moves out of range easily.
Speed shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Valentine counters with a single leg into guard. Speed didn't expect that.
Valentine looking to sit in guard and control but Speed gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Speed is stalling in the full guard.
Speed preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentine is working hard here to advance position.
Speed must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Valentine keeping moving, preventing Speed from controlling successfully.
Valentine looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Nathan Speed wasn't active enough on the ground.
Valentine takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Speed tries to clinch there but Valentine circles away.
Speed swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A low kick from Speed misses

and Valentine counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Speed!
Speed is looking for a sweep.
Valentine trying to control the position but Speed is working away.
Phoenix Valentine has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Speed struggling a bit here.
Speed looking for a sweep but Valentine has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Speed wants to hold on but Valentine pushes him away.
Valentine scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Speed?
Speed taking shots to the head.
A nice elbow there by Valentine.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Valentine trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Valentine takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valentine with good strikes from the mount here!
Valentine avoids the attempt from Speed to control.
Valentine landing strikes from the mount.
Phoenix Valentine overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Valentine looking to control but Speed is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Speed tries to lock up and control but Valentine gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Valentine looking to control but Speed is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Valentine connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Valentine throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Valentine unloads with some shots from mount but Speed bucks and avoids them well.
Valentine takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Speed sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Speed is trying to maintain the position but Valentine is very close to passing his half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Valentine seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Valentine missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Phoenix Valentine showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Speed has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 28:29
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nathan Speed!
Our winner, Nathan Speed, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.