PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Tory Stark (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Wayne Connor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Wayne Connor has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Stark
vs
Connor

197 cm
21
140 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

187 cm
25
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Tory Stark!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Wayne Connor!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Donald Grub and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Connor tries to land a front kick but Stark steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Stark leaves Connor with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Connor throws a right and a left that Stark avoids nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Stark. No joy for Connor on that attempt.
Stark throws a nice inside leg kick.
Connor shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Stark but Stark pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Tory Stark has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wayne Connor.
Connor misses with a takedown attempt - Stark sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Stark will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Connor steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Stark. That one must have hurt.
Stark swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Stark tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Connor swivels and escapes.
Connor shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Stark pinned against the cage. Stark gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Stark darts in looking for a takedown but Connor gets double underhooks and turns Stark into the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Stark breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Connor wants to clinch
and Stark counters with a two punch combo.
Stark fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Connor fails with an attempt to clinch.
Stark shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Connor pinned against the cage. Connor gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Connor shoots in looking for a takedown but Stark manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Connor's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Connor misses with a body shot.
No luck for Connor with that takedown attempt.
Stark tries to clinch but Connor moves out of range.
Stark throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Connor's waist but Connor gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Stark off to one side.

Connor gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Connor is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Connor stalling in the clinch but Stark improves position.
Connor is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Stark dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Connor is pressed up against the cage. Stark has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Connor down to the mat. Connor avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Connor shoots in looking for a takedown but Stark manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Connor's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Connor chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Stark can pounce on him.

Connor closes the distance and clinches.

Connor manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Stark wants to control from the top but Connor keeps moving.
Connor not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Stark preventing the sweep.
Connor wants to improve his position but instead Stark has moved into half guard.
Connor regains full guard. Nicely done.
Connor looks winded!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stark trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Connor is trying to keep Stark in close.
Stark throws a big right hand that misses.
Stark trying to control the position from guard on top but Connor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stark looking to pass the guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stark trying to control the position from guard on top but Connor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Tory Stark just wasn't active enough.
Connor throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Wayne Connor will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Connor scores with a three punch combo!
Stark shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Connor sprawls well. Connor wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Stark gets slowly back to his feet.
A punch combination from Connor misses.
Connor keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Stark throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Connor tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Stark swivels and escapes.
Connor fails with the takedown.
Horrible takedown by Stark or perhaps it was just good defense by Connor which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tory Stark. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stark throws a leg kick but Connor sees it coming and checks it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch combination from Connor misses.
Connor shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Stark defends it nicely.
Connor is breathing heavily.
Stark displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Connor.

Stark has taken the fight to the clinch.
Stark is trying to drag Connor to the mat but Connor just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Connor jumps guard but Stark turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Connor letting Stark take a breather here.

Stark breaks the clinch.
Connor stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Connor wants it to stay on the feet.
Stark is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Connor tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Stark swivels and escapes.
Connor tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stark paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Stark wants to clinch.
Stark lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Connor circles away quickly and effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Connor fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Stark avoids it really well and circles away.
Stark avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Connor shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Stark as he jumps to the side.

Connor clinches up against the cage.

Connor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Stark ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Connor tries to close the distance and clinch but Stark swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Stark thumps Connor with a low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stark tries to clinch but Connor is having none of it.
Connor dives in and grabs Stark's left leg, looking for a takedown. Stark pushes down on Connor's head and hops out.
Stark tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Connor defends well and Stark ends up having to push Connor into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Connor looking for a takedown.

Stark gets control of Connor's arms and successfully pulls guard. Stark will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Connor trying to control but Stark is working from the bottom.
Connor looking to sit in guard and control but Stark gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stark throws a big elbow that misses.
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 Tory Stark will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! 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.

Connor tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Connor tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Stark swivels and escapes.
Connor is trying hard to land a takedown here. Stark sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Connor is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Stark fakes the leg kick and cracks Connor in the body.
Stark tries to score a power double leg takedown but Connor sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Stark somewhat.
Tory Stark is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Stark closes the distance and clinches up with Connor, looking for a takedown. Stark pushes Connor against the cage but Connor circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Connor misses with an attempted mid kick.

Stark forces Connor back against the cage and clinches.
Stark tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Connor just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tory Stark. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Connor jumps into guard, dragging Stark to the mat.
Connor takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Stark trying to control the position from guard on top but Connor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Connor is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Stark trying to control but Connor is working from the bottom.
Connor tries to land a sweep but no joy.

We're going to have a standup here because Tory Stark wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Stark stuffs the takedown attempt from Connor. Connor gets slowly back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stark is looking to clinch but Connor is avoiding it.
Stark shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Connor tries for a takedown but Stark sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Stark. Connor does a little dance to reset his feet.
Connor shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Stark as he jumps to the side.
Stark fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Connor avoids it really well and circles away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Stark.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stark misses with a body shot.
Connor shoots in for a takedown but Stark shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Stark dives in for a single leg takedown but Connor sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Stark is trying to drag Connor to the mat but Connor just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Connor wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Connor decides to pull guard.
Connor keeping moving, preventing Stark from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Connor working a defensive guard here.
Stark throws an elbow that misses. Connor uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Stark's guard. Nice move by Connor!

Connor stands up from Stark's guard - Connor perhaps looking for a knockout.
Connor shoots in but no luck this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Wayne Connor.
I think Connor 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 William Gold scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Wayne Connor!