PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dallas Strickland (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Big Bolo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Big Bolo has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Strickland
vs
Bolo

163 cm
18
346 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

198 cm
25
286 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Dallas Strickland!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Big Bolo!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Skip Squint and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bolo fails with a takedown attempt.
Strickland stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Strickland wants it to stay on the feet.
Bolo looks winded!
Bolo tries to close the distance and clinch but Strickland swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Bolo tries to clinch up

and Strickland counters by moving into the clinch.
Strickland lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Bolo backwards.
Strickland jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bolo walks away with a smile on his face. Strickland gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Strickland tries to keep at a distance but Bolo has taken the fight into the clinch.
Bolo told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.
Strickland tries to break the clinch but Bolo is controlling the position.
Bolo has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Strickland avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Dallas Strickland has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Big Bolo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bolo wants to break the clinch but can't.

Strickland decides to pull guard.
Strickland will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Strickland manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Strickland tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Strickland wants to stand but Bolo is holding on to him, trying to stop him posturing up.
Bolo tries to lock up and control but Strickland gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Strickland sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Strickland working the ground and pound effectively.
Strickland controlling the position easily from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Strickland with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Strickland really is a fat lump.
Strickland pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Strickland looking to control but Bolo is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Strickland controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bolo is squirming around, avoiding Strickland's attempts to control the action.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bolo sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dallas Strickland dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Bolo moves into the clinch successfully.

Strickland is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Bolo can't fight it off and eventually Strickland manages to take the fight to the floor. Bolo looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Bolo has control of Strickland's left arm, preventing Strickland from doing any damage.

Strickland drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Bolo manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Strickland has Bolo in his guard.
Bolo trying to move into half guard but instead Strickland has managed to sweep!
Bolo is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Strickland wants to stand but Bolo has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Strickland postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bolo is trying to control the position but Strickland postures up.
Strickland might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Bolo has a closed guard, preventing Strickland from standing up.
Strickland is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Strickland has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Dallas Strickland has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Bolo shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Strickland defends it nicely.

Strickland looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Strickland stopping the sweep attempt from Bolo.

Bolo has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Strickland is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Bolo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Strickland is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Bolo knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Strickland wants to stand but Bolo is controlling his arm.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
You can see the frustration on Bolo's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Strickland is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Bolo is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Strickland sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Bolo is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Bolo wants to control but Strickland postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dallas Strickland dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Strickland closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Bolo to the mat! Bolo manages to get full guard.
Strickland trying to stand up but can't free himself from Bolo's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bolo bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Strickland's guard.
Bolo wants to stand and escape but instead Strickland has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Strickland controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Strickland thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bolo being controlled here, momentarily.
Strickland looking to sit in guard and control but Bolo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Strickland wants to sweep but no luck.
Dallas Strickland overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Strickland is working hard here to advance position.
Strickland trying to keep a closed guard but Bolo is proving a slippery customer.

Strickland looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Strickland is trying to keep Bolo in close.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Bolo distracts Strickland with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bolo wants to control from the top but Strickland keeps moving.
Strickland not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bolo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bolo trying to control the position from guard on top but Strickland is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Bolo drops back, looking for a kneebar! Strickland looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Strickland looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Strickland!
Bolo tries to buck Strickland off but Strickland is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Strickland crashes against the mat.
Bolo looking for a sweep but Strickland has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Strickland can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Bolo is looking to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dallas Strickland showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Strickland, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dallas Strickland!