PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dante Hicks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Simon Phoenix (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Simon Phoenix has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Hicks
vs
Phoenix

191 cm
32
280 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

192 cm
29
240 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Just Fight (Everything 7$)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dante Hicks!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Simon Phoenix!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Gwen Towbar and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Phoenix listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

It looks like Dante Hicks has been cut.
Phoenix lands a jab.
Nice sprawl there from Phoenix as Hicks shoots in.
Hicks misses with a double jab
and Phoenix counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Phoenix fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hicks manages to avoid it.
Hicks takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
A head kick by Hicks misses
and Phoenix makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hicks works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Hicks looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Hicks misses with a few strikes there.
Hicks throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hicks looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Phoenix thows a body shot but no joy.
Hicks misses with a body shot.
The crowd cheers as Hicks lands an impressive looking overhand right. Phoenix doesn't seem phased though.
Hicks throws a right hand that misses
and Hicks takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A head kick misses from Hicks.
Hicks slips under a jab.
Hicks tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Phoenix paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Phoenix tries a low kick but Hicks avoids it.
Phoenix lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Phoenix lands with a hook. Hicks tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

Dante Hicks's cut is getting worse.
Phoenix throws a lazy body kick
and Hicks counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Hicks.
Phoenix lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hicks circles away quickly and effectively.
Hicks swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Hicks goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Phoenix throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Hicks misses with a head kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hicks fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Hicks misses with a double jab.
Phoenix throws a shot to the body.
Phoenix throws a hook but Hicks blocks it.
Nice straight punches there by Phoenix. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Phoenix.
Hicks takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Phoenix avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hicks misses with a two punch combination.
Phoenix has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hicks keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Phoenix.
Hicks cracks Phoenix with a good jab.
Hicks fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dante Hicks. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hicks on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
A head kick by Phoenix misses
and Hicks counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Phoenix lands a jab to Hicks's midsection.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hicks avoids the body shot from Phoenix.
Phoenix with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Phoenix dodges the punch combination from Hicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Simon Phoenix dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Dante Hicks's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hicks on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Phoenix misses with a low kick.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Phoenix. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Hicks moves out of range of the body kick from Phoenix.
Phoenix's corner calls for a 1-2. Phoenix obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Phoenix throws a lazy head kick
and Hicks counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Hicks.
Phoenix connects with a nice looking jab.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phoenix takes an elbow to the forehead.

It looks like Simon Phoenix has been cut.

Hicks gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Phoenix regains guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Hicks loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hicks trying to control the position from guard on top but Phoenix is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hicks accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Phoenix pulls Hicks in to control the position.
Hicks postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Phoenix is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Phoenix utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Phoenix looking for a sweep. Not yet Phoenix, not yet.
Phoenix keeping moving, preventing Hicks from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Phoenix looking to control.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Hicks throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hicks lands an overhand right.
Simon Phoenix seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Hicks moves into the clinch.
Phoenix lands a body shot.
Phoenix misses with the head strike.
Hicks is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Phoenix pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Hicks can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dante Hicks. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hicks wants a takedown but no success here.
Hicks tries for a takedown but Phoenix manages to get underhooks.

Hicks works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hicks accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Phoenix looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Phoenix controlling Hicks's posture.
Hicks preventing the sweep.
Phoenix manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
You get the feeling that Hicks really doesn't like being in this position too much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Phoenix controlling the position easily from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hicks tries to buck Phoenix off but he can't manage it.
Hicks is squirming around, avoiding Phoenix's attempts to control the action.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
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.

That was a close second round but I would say that Dante Hicks will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Hicks uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Phoenix.
Phoenix ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Phoenix looks to land a right hand but Hicks moved out of range.
Phoenix lands a glancing blow to the side of Hicks's head.
Hicks shoots in for a takedown but Phoenix shows good takedown defense.
Hicks tries to clinch but Phoenix moves out of range.
Phoenix misses with a straight left.
Hicks steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Phoenix.
Phoenix connects with a single shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phoenix swings widly with a right hand
and Hicks connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Hicks looks to land a left hand but Phoenix moved out of range nicely.
Hicks is trying hard to land a takedown here. Phoenix sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Hicks fails with an attempt to clinch.
Hicks throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hicks takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Nice shot lands for Hicks.
Phoenix fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Hicks.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Phoenix misses with a looping right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Phoenix ducks under a wild hook from Hicks.
Hicks staying out of range there.
Phoenix lands a right hook to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Hicks shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Phoenix avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hicks.
Phoenix is looking to control Hicks's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Phoenix avoid being mounted?
Phoenix is trying is best to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hicks misses with a head shot. Phoenix uses the momentum to regain guard.
Phoenix keeping moving, preventing Hicks from controlling successfully.
Hicks throws a strike but Phoenix rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Hicks working for submissions but it's allowed Phoenix to get to half guard.

Phoenix moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Hicks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hicks tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Phoenix wants to control the pace but Hicks is squirming around nicely.
Hicks is trying to stand up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Phoenix controlling the position easily from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Simon Phoenix comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Phoenix 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Simon Phoenix!
After winning the bout, Simon Phoenix thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.