PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nicholas De La Torre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas Clawnes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Clawnes has chosen My name is MUD as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

De La Torre
vs
Clawnes

187 cm
21
173 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

190 cm
21
209 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nicholas De La Torre!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Thomas Clawnes!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Frank Dennis and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Clawnes misses with a head kick.
De La Torre looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
De La Torre lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Clawnes wants to clinch.

Clawnes clinches with his opponent.
De La Torre is pressed up against the cage. Clawnes has hold of a leg and is looking to drag De La Torre down to the mat. De La Torre avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
De La Torre is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
De La Torre digs a good body shot into Clawnes's ribs.
De La Torre thows a body shot but no joy.
De La Torre throws a right hand that Clawnes ducks under and follows up with a left that Clawnes also avoids with ease.
De La Torre showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Clawnes.
Clawnes takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Clawnes closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clawnes drops to a knee looking for a takedown but De La Torre gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Clawnes tries to score a body lock takedown but De La Torre shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Nicholas De La Torre has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thomas Clawnes.
De La Torre tries to throw a body punch but Clawnes avoids it by throwing De La Torre back against the cage.
De La Torre lands a nice knee to the body.
De La Torre tries a knee to the head but Clawnes blocks it.
A knee to the head by De La Torre.

It looks like Thomas Clawnes has been cut.
Clawnes fails to pull guard.
Clawnes tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. De La Torre smiles and moves away.
De La Torre throws a leg kick but Clawnes checks it.
Clawnes fails in his attempt to clinch.
De La Torre is looking to chop away at Clawnes's legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clawnes throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
De La Torre lands a jab to the head.
De La Torre bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Clawnes's head backwards.
Nicholas De La Torre seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Clawnes avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Clawnes on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by De La Torre. De La Torre obviously looking to wear him down.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De La Torre tried to score with a low kick but Clawnes checks it.
Clawnes moves to clinch but De La Torre breaks away
and De La Torre counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
De La Torre throws a push kick but Clawnes slaps the foot to one side.
Both fighters circling a little - De La Torre finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Clawnes takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Clawnes throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Clawnes moves into range and connects with a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Clawnes.

De La Torre rushes Clawnes and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Clawnes pushes off an throws an elbow but De La Torre leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Clawnes pushes off an throws an elbow but De La Torre leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
De La Torre tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Clawnes looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Clawnes is looking for a takedown.
Nice elbow from Clawnes.

It looks like Nicholas De La Torre has been cut.
De La Torre gets underhooks to prevent Clawnes's takedown attempt.

De La Torre breaks the clinch.
De La Torre throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Clawnes.
Clawnes tries to clinch there but De La Torre circles away.
De La Torre misses with a right hand

and Clawnes counters with a shoot takedown. De La Torre fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Clawnes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. De La Torre is keeping the position for now.
Clawnes postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clawnes wants to pass the guard but De La Torre is keeping the position.
De La Torre wants to get back to his feet but Clawnes is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Clawnes passes easily into side control. Nice work.
De La Torre defending against the ground and pound.
Clawnes has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
De La Torre tries to bench press Clawnes off him but Clawnes keeps the position.
Clawnes wants to control but De La Torre is keeping him busy.
De La Torre is looking for a sweep.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Clawnes tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
De La Torre is trying to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Nicholas De La Torre will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

De La Torre misses with a straight left.
Clawnes darts in trying to clinch
and De La Torre counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
De La Torre tests Clawnes's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Clawnes tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. De La Torre manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
De La Torre misses the jab.
De La Torre is looking to chop away at Clawnes's legs.
A jab from De La Torre does it's job there.
Clawnes is looking to chop away at De La Torre's legs.
De La Torre throws the kick towards the body but Clawnes avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clawnes tries to clinch up but De La Torre circles away and keeps his distance.
De La Torre throws a jab when Clawnes was well out of range.
Clawnes moves out of range of the body kick from De La Torre.
Clawnes throws a half hearted mid kick.
A big left from De La Torre misses.
De La Torre throws a lazy right hand but Clawnes sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Nicholas De La Torre is winning the standup battle so far.
De La Torre misses with a head kick.
Clawnes misses with a combination
and De La Torre counters with a low kick, right behind Clawnes 's knee.
De La Torre keeps the fight on the outside.

Clawnes has De La Torre up against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre is trying to break the clinch but Clawnes has him pressed against the cage.
De La Torre lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting De La Torre here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
De La Torre is trying to break free.
De La Torre looking to throw knees to the head but Clawnes is blocking nicely.
Clawnes is trying to drag De La Torre to the mat but De La Torre just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Clawnes has De La Torre pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Clawnes pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending De La Torre tumbling to the mat - Clawnes dives into De La Torre's guard.
Clawnes throwing strikes but missing.
Clawnes stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De La Torre swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De La Torre is looking to stand up but Clawnes isn't so interested in that idea.
Clawnes trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
De La Torre keeping full guard, as Clawnes tries to pass.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Clawnes passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Clawnes is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but De La Torre is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
De La Torre is not content to let Clawnes control the position.

Clawnes thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Clawnes tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Thomas Clawnes has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre struggling a bit here.

Clawnes is trying to get an arm triangle but De La Torre is defending well.
Clawnes is looking to take a break and control but De La Torre is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Clawnes working away.
De La Torre is not content to let Clawnes control the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De La Torre tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Clawnes trying to control the action but De La Torre is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Clawnes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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.

The fighters circling - De La Torre throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
De La Torre tries to clinch but Clawnes is having none of it.
De La Torre misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Clawnes.
Nicholas De La Torre is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
De La Torre moves out of range of the body kick.

Clawnes clinches up with De La Torre and pushes him back against the cage.
De La Torre looking to throw knees to the head but Clawnes is blocking nicely.

De La Torre breaks from the clinch.
Clawnes uses good head movement to avoid the hook from De La Torre.
Clawnes closes the distance but De La Torre moves to the side
and De La Torre counters with a series of strikes. Clawnes will be more careful next time no doubt.
The fighters circling - De La Torre throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Torre connects with a single shot there.
De La Torre throws a body kick that misses.
De La Torre misses with a hook.
Clawnes wants to clinch.
De La Torre cracks the inside of Clawnes's front leg.
De La Torre keeps the fight on the outside.
De La Torre misses with a looping right.
That kick from De La Torre tenderised Clawnes's leg. Clawnes is trying to keep his angry face on.

Clawnes gets a double leg takedown into De La Torre's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clawnes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. De La Torre is keeping the position for now.
Clawnes passes into half guard.
De La Torre trying to control from the bottom.
De La Torre wants to improve his position but Clawnes is controlling well.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Clawnes works his way into side control.
De La Torre regains half guard.
Clawnes wants to pass to mount but De La Torre is defending the position.

Clawnes is working for a submission of some sort.

De La Torre kicks off Clawnes and gets to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
De La Torre throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Clawnes tries to clinch up but De La Torre circles away and keeps his distance.
De La Torre has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Clawnes finds it's way round the side to connect with De La Torre's head.
Good leg kick by De La Torre there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Clawnes checks a leg kick.
De La Torre throws a hook but Clawnes blocks it.
Clawnes blocks the body kick.
Clawnes tries to bum rush De La Torre with a series of wild strikes but De La Torre uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nicholas De La Torre is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Clawnes has closed the distance and engaged De La Torre in a clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre tries a knee to the head but Clawnes blocks it.
De La Torre prevents a takedown attempt there.
Clawnes tries to pull guard but De La Torre forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Clawnes keeps control of De La Torre as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Clawnes is looking for a takedown.
Nicholas De La Torre has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thomas Clawnes.
Clawnes is looking for a takedown.
De La Torre tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Clawnes is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables De La Torre to keep the fight standing.

Clawnes lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Clawnes takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De La Torre is trying to stand.
De La Torre works his way to full guard. Good work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De La Torre is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Clawnes drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Clawnes jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Clawnes works a leg free and moves into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Nicholas De La Torre did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A head kick misses from De La Torre.
Clawnes tries to clinch up but De La Torre circles away and keeps his distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from De La Torre. Clawnes does a little dance to reset his feet.
De La Torre throws a leg kick but Clawnes moved away.
A punch combination from Clawnes misses.
De La Torre throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Clawnes.
Clawnes throws a right hand that De La Torre ducks under and follows up with a left that De La Torre also avoids with ease.
A decent looking cross lands there for De La Torre.
De La Torre lands a jab to the head.
The fight stays on the outside here - Clawnes looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Clawnes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but De La Torre paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch combination from De La Torre misses.
De La Torre tried to score with a low kick but Clawnes checks it.
Clawnes ducks under a wild hook from De La Torre.
Clawnes takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
De La Torre fails to land with a series of punches.
Clawnes moves out of range as De La Torre throws a body kick.
Clawnes swinging wildly here.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Clawnes crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from De La Torre - the referee stops the clock and Clawnes gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says De La Torre. Clawnes manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Clawnes moves out of range of the body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clawnes checks a low kick from De La Torre.
De La Torre lands a jab-cross combination.
Clawnes tries to clinch there but De La Torre circles away.
Clawnes misses with a jab, cross combination.
De La Torre scores with a body shot.
De La Torre thuds his right hand into Clawnes's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Clawnes looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Clawnes moves out of range of the strikes.
De La Torre throws the kick towards the body but Clawnes avoids it.

Clawnes moves into range and clinches up with De La Torre.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Clawnes manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Clawnes working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from De La Torre.

Clawnes is looking for a triangle here but De La Torre uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
De La Torre looks up at the clock and then as Clawnes takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, De La Torre smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De La Torre wants to control but Clawnes is keeping him busy.
Clawnes tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but De La Torre presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Clawnes wants to hold on but De La Torre pushes him away.
Clawnes is trying desperately to improve position.
De La Torre throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Clawnes is trying to escape the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre trying to control but Clawnes is having none of it.
Clawnes manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Clawnes is looking for a sweep. De La Torre is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Clawnes is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Clawnes is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute De La Torre jumps into side control!
Clawnes tries to bench press De La Torre off him but De La Torre keeps the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De La Torre trying to control the position but Clawnes is working away.
Clawnes manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
De La Torre lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicholas De La Torre had his way with Thomas Clawnes in that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Clawnes moves in looking to clinch but De La Torre pushes him off.
Clawnes on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
De La Torre throws a nice looking combination but Clawnes bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Clawnes tries to clinch up.
Nice body kick from De La Torre.
A combination from De La Torre does no damage.
Clawnes tries to clinch but De La Torre moves out of range.
De La Torre throws a nice inside leg kick.
De La Torre ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Clawnes moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Torre swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Clawnes uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De La Torre.
A telegraphed right hand from De La Torre misses the target.
Clawnes throws a right and a left that De La Torre avoids nicely.
De La Torre looks to land a combination but Clawnes avoids it well.
Clawnes's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
De La Torre misses the jab.
De La Torre looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
De La Torre swings for the body but Clawnes moves out of range.
De La Torre throws a hook but Clawnes blocks it.
De La Torre avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
De La Torre swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Thomas Clawnes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre throws a low kick but Clawnes avoids it.
Clawnes shoots in looking for a takedown. De La Torre tries to sprawl out of it but Clawnes keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. De La Torre manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
De La Torre pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Clawnes tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. De La Torre manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Clawnes takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
De La Torre swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Clawnes moves out of range as De La Torre strikes.
Clawnes is looking to clinch but De La Torre is avoiding it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Torre scores with a leg kick.
De La Torre misses with a leg kick.
Clawnes tries to close the distance and clinch but De La Torre swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Clawnes is looking to clinch.
Clawnes throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and De La Torre counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
De La Torre scoring well with a low kick there.
Clawnes moves in looking to clinch but De La Torre pushes him off.
De La Torre throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
A nice inside leg kick there by De La Torre. That's going to slow Clawnes down.
Clawnes checks a leg kick.
De La Torre keeps Clawnes at a distance using the push kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Clawnes rushes De La Torre and presses him up against the cage.
Clawnes creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through De La Torre's defenses.

Clawnes has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics De La Torre uses from the top position.

Clawnes working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. De La Torre doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. De La Torre manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Clawnes bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in De La Torre's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De La Torre not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Clawnes slips nicely into half guard.
Clawnes seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but De La Torre does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Clawnes wants to pass the guard but De La Torre is defending well.
Clawnes throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Nicholas De La Torre is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Clawnes looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

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 Nicholas De La Torre.
I think De La Torre has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 49:46
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 49:46
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nicholas De La Torre!
Nicholas De La Torre is the new light heavyweight champion!