PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Melekh David (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Titus Garner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Garner has chosen Main Event as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. 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.

David
vs
Garner

170 cm
30
149 lbs
18 - 10 - 0

160 cm
38
143 lbs
30 - 15 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Heisenberg
The Big Kabosh

Sex Panther! (160q recovery $149)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Melekh David!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 30 - 15 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Titus Garner!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Jack Bonds and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Garner staying out of range there.
David shoots in for a takedown but Garner shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Nice sprawl there from David as Garner shoots in.
David turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from David, right into the meat.
Garner swings for the body but David moves out of range.
Some bone on bone action there as David checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
David throws a wild body kick that Garner sees coming a mile off.
The crowd cheers as Garner lands an impressive looking overhand right. David doesn't seem phased though.
David throws a right hand that Garner ducks under and follows up with a left that Garner also avoids with ease.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Garner!
Garner throws a jab when David was well out of range.
Garner cracks David with a good jab.

David is rocked!
Garner throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent David stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Oh David is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
David waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Garner.
David seems to have got his legs back now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
David tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Garner was well out of range. Poor timing from David.
David throws a hook but Garner avoids it easily.
Garner closes the distance and clinches up with David, looking for a takedown. Garner pushes David against the cage but David circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Garner misses with a double jab.
David connects with a solid leg kick.
Garner misses with a wild body shot.

David drives through with a takedown into Garner's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
David throwing strikes but missing.
Garner keeping full guard, as David tries to pass.
Garner 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garner pulls David in close to his closed guard and prevents David from doing any damage or advancing position.
David is looking to advance position but Garner has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Garner scores with a couple of good head shots there.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Garner fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
David tries to hold on but Garner postures up.
Garner lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garner can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as David is looking to escape.
David keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
David slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Garner is trying to control. David wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Garner throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Garner thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed David's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Garner not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
David trying to control but Garner postures up.
Garner wants to lay and pray for a moment but David keeps working.
David wants to improve his position but Garner is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garner wants to control but David is keeping him busy.
David is looking to control Garner's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can David avoid being mounted?
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Garner working his ground and pound in the gym.
David gets full guard.
David is trying to control the position but Garner postures up.
David is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
David avoids the body shot from Garner.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
David lands a lovely overhand right.
David misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Garner.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Titus Garner will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Garner lands with a right hand.
David throws a right and a left that both miss.
Garner tries to clinch but fails miserably

and David counters with a takedown into side control.
David with the ground and pound but Garner regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Garner keeping control of the position.
David is pressing down on Garner's thigh, looking to free his foot. Garner is holding on for now.

David looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's one minute gone in the round.
David passes to side control.
David misses with the ground and pound.
Garner manages to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garner trying to control here.
David throws a strike but Garner avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Garner can't keep his opponent in guard - David advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
David is keen to just control but Garner is a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garner avoiding damage under a succession of punches from David.
Garner is not content to let David control the position.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

We're going to have a standup here because Melekh David wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Garner looks to land a body kick but David moved away.
Garner tests David's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Garner throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent David stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Garner fails with an attempt to clinch.
Garner fakes the leg kick and cracks David in the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garner thows a body shot but no joy.
A nice leg kick lands there from Garner.
David throws a lazy right hand but Garner sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Garner throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Garner throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Garner takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
A good leg kick by Garner.
Titus Garner seems to be getting the better of the standup.
David lands with a straight right. Garner didn't see that one coming.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Garner blocks a low kick nicely.
Garner smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Garner throws a jab but it's blocked by David.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Melekh David will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

David throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
David goes for a double leg but Garner avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Garner continues to drive forward.
David fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Garner working aggressively here.
David is trying to pull guard but Garner has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Melekh David. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Garner softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Garner is trying to stall.
David letting Garner take a breather here.
David is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Garner to keep the fight standing.
David jumps guard but Garner stands there with David around his waist. David gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Garner gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Garner is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as David holds on and takes a little breather.
Garner connects with a couple of short punches.
David is pulling down on Garner's head. It's preventing any offense from Garner, at least for the moment.

Melekh David has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Garner takes a jab right on the kisser.
Garner misses the shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garner throws a right hand that misses

so David counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
David throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
David wants to control from the top but Garner keeps moving.

David postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Garner is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of David, into his guard.
Garner trying to control but David is working from the bottom.
Garner in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
David looking for a sweep. Not yet David, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
David bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Garner's guard.
Garner keeping full guard, as David tries to pass.
David throws a big elbow that misses.
Garner looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
David throws a big elbow that misses.
David keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Garner's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garner looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Garner 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.
David trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
David loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Garner wants to sweep here but David controlling him for the moment.
David wants to pass the guard but Garner is keeping the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Melekh David showed his dominance in that final round.
I think David 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Melekh David!
Melekh David 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.