PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jon Richard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marco Wagnon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Richard
vs
Wagnon

163 cm
19
162 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

178 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good low kicks
Granite chin

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jon Richard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Marco Wagnon!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Donatello Bradman and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wagnon shoots in for a takedown but Richard shows good takedown defense.

Richard darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Wagnon trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Richard manages to pass to mount!
Richard could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Richard manages to capitalize on a mistake by Wagnon to take his back!
Wagnon is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Richard.

Wagnon preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Richard.

Richard looking for the choke but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagnon tries to escape the position.
Wagnon keeps trying to improve his position.
Wagnon is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richard throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Richard controls the action.
Wagnon trying to control the hands but Richard breaks the grip.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wagnon tries to escape the position.

Richard is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Wagnon knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Wagnon for a finish.

Richard is persistently looking for the submission but Wagnon is defending it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Wagnon wants to escape the position.
Richard keeps control of the position easily here as Wagnon tries to buck him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wagnon defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Richard's arms.
Richard has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Wagnon's body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Richard avoiding Wagnon 's attempts to control his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Richard dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Wagnon uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Richard.
Wagnon shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Richard defends it nicely.
Wagnon will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A head kick misses from Richard.

Richard has taken the fight to the clinch.

Richard jumps into guard, dragging Wagnon to the mat.
Richard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Richard working for a triangle but Wagnon defends it easily.
Wagnon scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagnon trying to control the position from guard on top but Richard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Richard manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Richard content just to control the position here.
Richard throws some wild stikes that Wagnon manages to avoid easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richard controlling from mount.
Wagnon is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Wagnon is desperately trying to improve his position but Richard has a good base and remains in mount.
Wagnon is breathing heavily.
Richard content just to control the position here.
Wagnon tries to improve his position but instead Richard has taken his back!
Wagnon is trying to break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Wagnon fending off the submission attempt from Richard.
Wagnon is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.

Richard has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Wagnon has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Richard trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Wagnon doesn't escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richard gets his hands free as Wagnon looks to control.

Wagnon defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Richard's arms.
Jon Richard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Wagnon is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

Richard is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Wagnon has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Richard dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Richard clinches up with Wagnon and pushes him back against the cage.
Wagnon tries to score a body lock takedown but Richard shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Wagnon jumps guard but Richard turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Wagnon is trying to break the clinch but Richard has him pressed against the cage.
Wagnon on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Richard manages to pull guard.
Richard 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.
Richard working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Wagnon.

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

Richard looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Wagnon passes into side control.

Wagnon goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Richard rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Wagnon's guard! Nice work there by Richard!
Wagnon takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Richard decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Wagnon slaps away a takedown attempt from Richard, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wagnon misses with a hook

and Richard counters by moving into the clinch.
Richard is pressed up against the cage. Wagnon has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Richard down to the mat. Richard avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Jon Richard has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marco Wagnon.
Wagnon looks to clinch

so Richard counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
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!
Richard is pushing down on Wagnon's leg trying to pass to half guard. Wagnon is fighting to maintain full guard but Richard has managed to sneak the leg through.
Richard seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Wagnon really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Richard. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Wagnon is trying to control but Richard manages to pass to mount!
Richard looking to ground and pound but Wagnon is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richard tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Richard'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.
Poor strikes thrown by Richard there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richard controlling from the full mount.
Wagnon is in all sorts of trouble here.
Richard misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

Richard with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Richard looking to finish with strikes here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Jon Richard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Richard 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jon Richard!