PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Josh Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andre Bishop (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Andre Bishop has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Josh Thomas's chin.

Thomas
vs
Bishop

200 cm
25
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

180 cm
18
205 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Josh Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Andre Bishop!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Dean Styles and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas avoids a punch combination nicely.

Thomas forces Bishop back against the cage and clinches.
Bishop goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Bishop is trying to push Thomas away but Thomas has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Bishop pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Bishop tries to clinch but Thomas is having none of it.

Thomas moves into the clinch successfully.

Thomas breaks from the clinch.
Thomas shoots in for a double leg but Bishop sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Bishop tries to sprawl but Thomas drives through with a takedown into half guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Bishop is trying to stand.

Thomas postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Bishop to stand up.

Thomas looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thomas showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bishop wants to stand but Thomas is controlling the position.
Thomas pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bishop is keeping the position for now.
Thomas will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Thomas controlling from the top position.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Thomas 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're going to have a standup here because Josh Thomas wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Thomas scores with a leg kick.
Andre Bishop is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bishop falls off balance throwing a combination
and Thomas counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Thomas tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Bishop defends well and Thomas ends up having to push Bishop into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Thomas dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Bishop is trying to break the clinch but Thomas is controlling him.
Bishop scores with a shot to the side of Thomas's head.

Thomas has picked Bishop up - he's going for a ride! Thomas dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Bishop really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Thomas. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Bishop is defending against the submission attempts here by Thomas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas controlling the pace.
Thomas'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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bishop is looking to escape.
Thomas lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Thomas in particular looking to stall.
Bishop wants to get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Thomas dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Thomas fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Bishop fails in his attempt to clinch.
Thomas blocks a jab.
A telegraphed right hand from Bishop misses the target.
Thomas looks for a takedown but Bishop sprawls well.
Bishop connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Bishop wants to clinch but Thomas slips to the side

and Thomas counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Thomas.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bishop has momentary wrist control but Thomas slips an elbow through the middle.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thomas connects with a couple of short punches.
Thomas trying to control the position from guard on top but Bishop is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bishop wants to stand up but Thomas is controlling him.
Thomas scoring with punches to the head and body.
Bishop wants to stand up but Thomas is controlling him.
Bishop is breathing heavily.
Thomas stands up over Bishop, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Thomas showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Thomas lands a couple of elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Thomas slips nicely into half guard.

Thomas stands up out of the half guard.
Bishop misses with a jab, cross combination.
Thomas throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thomas throws a right and a left that both miss.
Josh Thomas is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bishop pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Thomas shoots in for a takedown but Bishop shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Thomas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bishop tries to clinch up but Thomas circles away and keeps his distance.

Thomas moves into the clinch.
Bishop misses with a knee to the head.

Thomas breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Thomas dives in for a single leg takedown but Bishop sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Bishop misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Thomas.
Bishop is trying to force a seperation but Thomas has the dominant position.
Bishop missing with knees to the body.
Thomas looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Thomas tries to pull guard but Bishop holds him up against the cage and eventually Thomas drops back down to his feet.
Bishop is trying to force a seperation but Thomas has the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bishop wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Thomas has him pressed against the cage.

Thomas's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bishop throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Thomas feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Bishop's calf.

Thomas closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Thomas has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bishop tries to kick Thomas off but Thomas keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Thomas decides to return to a standing position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Thomas throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Bishop was covering up waiting for the punch and Thomas finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Bishop is looking to stand up but Thomas isn't so interested in that idea.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Thomas dominated that second 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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Bishop steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Thomas. That one must have hurt.
Thomas tries to clinch up.
Bishop misses with a combination
and Thomas counters with a low kick, right behind Bishop 's knee.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Thomas breaks from the clinch.
Bishop misses with a double jab.
Thomas showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bishop.

Thomas pushes Bishop up against the cage in a clinch.
Thomas content to slow the pace in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thomas is trying to trip Bishop. He has hold of a leg but Bishop is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Thomas persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Bishop wants to get back to his feet but Thomas passes into half guard.
Bishop takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thomas uses his free foot to push down on Bishop's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Bishop.
Thomas sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Thomas seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Bishop for as long as he can get away with.
Thomas landing strikes from the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas wants to control the pace but Bishop is squirming around nicely.

Thomas is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Thomas swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Josh Thomas is winning the standup battle so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thomas thuds his right hand into Bishop's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Thomas gets the takedown into side control.
Bishop is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thomas has hold of Bishop's arm. He's looking for a kimura. Bishop seems comfortable defending it but Thomas has shifted his position slighty and is cranking on the arm! Bishop is real pain and he's forced to tap out! Bishop is disgusted with himself for not defending it better but Thomas couldn't care less - he's delighted!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:10 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Josh Thomas!