PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Wolfgang Becker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Langford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Becker
vs
Langford

186 cm
24
200 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

171 cm
30
175 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Wolfgang Becker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Sam Langford !
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Skip Squint and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Becker lands a nice hook to Langford 's body. Langford takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Langford throws a hook but Becker blocks it.
Becker misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Langford .
Nice uppercut lands for Langford . That snapped Becker's head back.
Langford looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Becker is fending him off so far but Langford persists. Nope, Becker circles away and we're back to standing.

Becker looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Becker keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Becker trying to control from Langford 's half guard. Langford has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Becker throwing strikes from guard but Langford blocks nicely.
Langford is controlling Becker's posture.
Becker looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Becker with a flurry of punches that miss.
Becker won't allow Langford to sweep him here.
Becker has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Becker wants to control from the top but Langford keeps moving.
Langford wants to sweep but no luck.
Becker will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Becker scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Becker won't allow Langford to sweep him here.
Langford avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Becker has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Becker trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Langford working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Becker.
Langford keeping moving, preventing Becker from controlling successfully.
Becker trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Becker stands and throws Langford 's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Becker laying and praying for a moment but Langford takes advantage and regains half guard.
Becker is trying to control the action in half guard but Langford is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Becker has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Becker punching from mount but Langford doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Becker connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Becker thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Becker misses with a head shot.
A nice elbow there by Becker.
Becker content just to control the position here.
Becker tries to control but Langford wriggling away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Becker throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Langford because Becker loaded up on that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Langford avoids a series of strikes thrown by Becker.
Becker pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Becker thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Becker trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Becker throwing strikes but Langford recovers to half guard. A much better position.
Becker is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Langford reverses the position - he's now on top in Becker's guard.
Becker on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Becker tries to get out of the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Langford in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wolfgang Becker 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.

Langford blocks a head kick by Becker.
Langford shoots and misses
and Becker counters with a one-two to the body.
A head kick misses from Becker.
Langford misses with a takedown attempt
and Becker counters with a one-two to the body.
Langford shoots in for a takedown but Becker shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Wolfgang Becker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Langford .

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Becker is trying to pull guard but Langford turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Langford manages to break the clinch.
Langford with a poor takedown

and Becker counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Langford 's guard now.
Becker throws a strike but Langford rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Becker is looking to stand up but Langford isn't so interested in that idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Langford throws a big right hand that misses.
Langford throws a big elbow that misses.
Becker wants to get back to his feet but Langford is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Becker preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Langford stops Becker from standing up.
Becker working a defensive guard here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Langford accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Langford won't allow Becker to sweep him here.
Langford missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Becker is trying to control the position but Langford postures up.
Becker knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Langford on the ground.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Becker tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Langford is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Langford landing some decent shots from guard.
Langford scoring with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Becker is pulling down on Langford 's head. It's preventing any offense from Langford , at least for the moment.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Langford working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Langford postures up.
Becker utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Langford distracts Becker with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Langford makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Langford is looking to work some ground and pound but Becker has wrist control.
Langford throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Becker works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Langford is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Langford 's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Langford lands a couple of elbows.
Langford stopping the sweep attempt from Becker.
Langford postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Langford working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Langford throwing strikes from guard but Becker blocks nicely.
Becker utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Langford throwing strikes but missing.
Becker trying to strike off his back.
Wolfgang Becker overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Langford throws an elbow that misses. Becker uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Langford 's guard. Nice move by Becker!
Langford is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Langford has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Langford takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Becker keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Becker is trying to maintain the position but Langford is very close to passing his half guard.
Langford sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Becker defending well though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Becker has hold of Langford 's hands but Langford slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Becker tries to get to full guard but Langford has control of the leg.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Langford working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Becker tries to roll over but Langford keeps him under control.
Langford thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Langford thows a huge punch but Becker dodges it nicely.
Becker is trying to get back to full guard.
Langford misses with a head shot. Becker uses the momentum to regain guard.
Langford landing with the ground and pound.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Langford trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Langford postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Langford showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Langford shoots in and drives through. Becker sprawls well.
Becker shoots in for a double leg but Langford sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Becker slaps away a takedown attempt from Langford , before circling back to the center of the mat.
Langford fails with the takedown

and Becker counters with a shoot takedown. Langford fights it but they end up in guard.
Wolfgang Becker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Langford .
Langford utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Becker wants to control from the top but Langford keeps moving.
Becker working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Langford 's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Becker is looking to work some ground and pound but Langford has wrist control.
Becker wants to control from the top but Langford keeps moving.
Becker throws a big elbow that misses.
Becker is looking to pass into half guard but Langford pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Langford is in guard.
Langford is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Langford accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Langford postures up and lands a big shot to Becker's brow.
Langford distracts Becker with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Becker has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Langford has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Becker breaks from the clinch.
Becker looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Langford is fending him off so far but Becker persists. Nope, Langford circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Langford shoots in for a takedown but Becker shows good takedown defense.

Langford fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Becker to the ground. Langford is now in Becker's guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Langford throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Langford accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Langford missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Becker throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Becker doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Becker looking to hit a scissor sweep but Langford is one step ahead there.
Becker has momentary wrist control but Langford slips an elbow through the middle.
Becker wants to sweep here but Langford controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Langford is in close to Becker's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Langford loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Langford lands a couple of elbows.
Becker lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Langford !
Langford blocking the ground and pound.
Langford regains half guard.
Becker is keen to just control but Langford is a slippery customer.
Becker with the ground and pound but Langford uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Becker postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Langford keeping moving, preventing Becker from controlling successfully.
Becker looking to sit in guard and control but Langford gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Langford scoring with punches to the head and body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Becker throwing rabbit punches from the bottom - showing the judges that he's keeping busy.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Langford accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Langford won't allow Becker to get back to his feet.
Langford throws a big elbow that misses.
Langford throwing strikes from guard but Becker blocks nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Wolfgang Becker.
Well Becker 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 29:28
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 29:29
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Wolfgang Becker!