PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Wai Man Li (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brandon Marsden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Marsden has chosen Shot to the Double Glock by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony as his entrance music. 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.

Man Li
vs
Marsden

176 cm
26
161 lbs
16 - 10 - 0

176 cm
27
170 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Meet the Future
Merciless Gladiators

BeastMode

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Wai Man Li!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Brandon Marsden!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Steven Brown and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marsden lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Li at a distance.
Marsden throws a series of strikes that have Li backpedaling.

Li gets tackled into the cage by Marsden. Marsden maintains the clinch.
Marsden lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Li is looking for a takedown.
Li drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A nice right hand lands inside from Marsden.
Marsden lands a left hand.
A nice left hand lands by Marsden.
Marsden lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Marsden lands a hook that snaps the head of Li backwards.
Marsden is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wai Man Li. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Marsden escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Li.
Marsden tries to clinch but Li is having none of it.
Li tries to score with a low kick but Marsden moves his leg out of the way.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Marsden throws a body punch but Li moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marsden tries to close the distance and clinch up but Li swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Marsden lands a glancing blow to the side of Li's head.
Marsden has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Marsden with a poor takedown
and Li counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Li fails with the takedown.
Marsden moves in looking to clinch but Li pushes him off.
Marsden throws a series of punches but Li moves out of range.
Li misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Marsden.
Marsden moves out of range of the body kick.
Brandon Marsden seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Li shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Li is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Li works his way into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marsden is trying to get back to half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Li scoring with punches from side control.
Li cracks Marsden with a big elbow.
Marsden sneaks back into half guard.
Li winds up and cracks Marsden with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marsden is looking for a sweep. Li is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Li is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Marsden tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Marsden gets back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li lands a couple of elbows.
Li forces his way into half guard.
Marsden tries to get to full guard but Li has control of the leg.
Li is trying to control. Marsden wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Li is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Marsden is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Marsden moves into full guard.

Marsden has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Li can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Marsden working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Li.
Li postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marsden wants to hit a switch here but Li passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Marsden there!
Li trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Marsden is trying desperately to improve position.
Marsden gets back to half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Li lands a nice short elbow.
Li is looking to take a break and control but Marsden is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Marsden is defending against the submission attempts here by Li.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Marsden is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
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 Wai Man Li will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Li misses with a right hand
and Marsden counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Li thinking.
Marsden throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Li.
Brandon Marsden is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Marsden takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Li changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Marsden tries to avoid it but Li manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Marsden to the ground. Marsden escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Nice uppercut there from Marsden.
Marsden thuds his shin into the meat of Li's side.
Marsden falls off balance throwing a combination
and Li makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Li waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Marsden.
Marsden needs to keep his hands up - Li had a free shot at his head there.
Li uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Marsden.
Li pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Marsden throws a head kick that misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Li uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Marsden.
Li thows a body shot but no joy.

Li gets the takedown into side control.
Marsden is not content to let Li control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marsden defending against the ground and pound.
Li looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Marsden is avoiding damage well.
Marsden tries to improve position but can't.
Marsden manages to get back to half guard.
Marsden gets full guard.

Marsden is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Li is aware though and is defending well.
Li stays in close to Marsden's body and controls the position.
Marsden tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Li avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Marsden has his foot on Li's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Li works his way back into a safe position though.
Li trying to control the position from guard on top but Marsden is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Li is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Li 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.
Li wants to control from the top but Marsden keeps moving.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
We've been hearing good reports from Li's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Li wants to pass the guard but Marsden is keeping the position.

We're going to have a standup here because Wai Man Li wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Marsden keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Li throws a hook but Marsden avoids it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li walks into a stiff left hand from Marsden.

Marsden forces Li back against the cage and clinches.
A short right from Marsden.

Marsden breaks from the clinch.
Marsden scores with a jab.
Li blocks a jab.
Li bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Marsden tries to close the distance and clinch but Li swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Marsden throws a series of punches but Li moves out of range.
Li misses with a hook. Marsden ducked under it nicely.
Li connects with a body shot.
Marsden blocks a jab.
Sloppy strikes from Marsden. Those never looked like landing.

Marsden forces Li back against the cage and clinches.
Li looking for a takedown.
Li can't find room to land a body shot as Marsden controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marsden blocks a body shot from Li.
Li misses with a body punch.

Marsden breaks from the clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Li throws a hook but Marsden blocks it.
Marsden looks to score with a jab to the body but Li is just out of range.
Marsden with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Li to score with a decent uppercut.
Li has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Li there as he acknowledges the shot.
Marsden misses with the combination.
Li misses with a body shot.

Marsden gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Marsden escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Marsden looks to land a right hand but Li moved out of range.
Marsden throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Li's head.
Li lunges at Marsden with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Marsden's hand.
Marsden is looking to clinch but Li is avoiding it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Brandon Marsden will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. This is the final round!

Marsden throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Li counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Li throws a jab but it's blocked by Marsden.
Li circles away from the clinch attempt.

Marsden shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Li is trying to defend but Marsden finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Marsden prevents Li from improving his position.
Marsden is thwarting Li's attempts to control the position.
Li is in trouble now - Marsden has advanced to mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li is trying desperately to improve position.
Li is in a horrible position here. Marsden smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Li sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Marsden throwing shots but Li is blocking nicely.
Li makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Li.
Marsden scoring with punches to the head and body.
Marsden passes Li's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Marsden slips a nice elbow through Li's hands, connecting with Li's forehead.
Li moves into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Marsden accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Wai Man Li overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Marsden drops back, looking for a kneebar! Li looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Li looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Li!
Marsden is letting Li control him for a moment.
Li working the ground and pound.
Li gets to mount! Marsden was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Li takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Li with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marsden is working to get back to half guard.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Li cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
The referee warns Marsden that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Li wants to control the pace but Marsden is squirming around nicely.
Marsden 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.
Li working Marsden over with strikes.

Li is working for a submission of some sort.
Li missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Li is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Marsden is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Li's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Li's back!
Marsden scores with punches from the back.
Marsden lands punches and elbows.
Li tries to break free.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marsden connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Li to escape the position.
Marsden struggling to land strikes to the head as Li covers up.
Li can't escape the position.

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 Wai Man Li.
I think Li 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 29:29
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 27:30
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!