PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ben Jackson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Patrick Whales (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ben Jackson has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Jackson
vs
Whales

190 cm
26
220 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

181 cm
28
205 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ben Jackson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Patrick Whales!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Franklyn Lucas and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Whales is trying hard to land a takedown here. Jackson sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Jackson just misses with a punch to the body.
Whales fails with the takedown.
Whales attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Jackson just misses with a punch to the body.
Jackson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A big left from Whales misses.
Jackson throws a jab but it's blocked by Whales.
Jackson misses with a body punch

and Whales decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Jackson's guard.
Whales trying to control but Jackson is working from the bottom.
Whales missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whales pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Jackson is keeping the position for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Whales accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whales advances to half guard.
Whales tries to pass the half guard into mount. Jackson knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Jackson has his hands clasped together around Whales's back. He's all about the action.
Whales trying to mount his opponent but Jackson defends it.
Jackson is trying to get back to full guard.
Jackson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Whales.
Whales throwing shots but Jackson is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whales working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Jackson's thigh. Jackson counters though and makes it back to full guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Whales working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Whales tries to free his leg and advance position but Jackson is retaining full guard.
Whales slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Jackson is looking to reverse the position.
Jackson prevents Whales from moving into mount.
Jackson gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Jackson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Whales trying to control from half guard but Jackson is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whales takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Whales seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Jackson regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Whales.
Jackson is trying to control the position but Whales postures up.
Jackson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Whales postures up in Jackson's guard and throws a big left but Jackson blocks it.
Whales postures up in Jackson's guard and throws a big left but Jackson blocks it.
Whales controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Whales works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is trying to get back to full guard.
Jackson wants to control but Whales is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Whales keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Jackson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Whales is working away from the top position though.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Jackson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Whales swings and misses with a hook to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick Whales dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

A jab lands there for Whales.
Whales misses with a low kick.
Jackson swats away the attempt to clinch by Whales.
Patrick Whales seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jackson swings for the body but Whales moves out of range.
Whales lands a slapping body shot.
Whales bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Whales looks for a takedown but Jackson sprawls well.
Whales moves out of range as Jackson strikes.

Whales closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Jackson quickly recovers to half guard.
Well, if Whales is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Whales sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Jackson defending well though.
We've been hearing good reports from Jackson'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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Whales is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Jackson can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Whales controls the pace.
Whales trying to control the position from guard on top but Jackson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Whales is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Jackson looking for a sweep. Not yet Jackson, not yet.
Whales throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jackson keeping moving, preventing Whales from controlling successfully.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Patrick Whales wasn't active enough on the ground.
Whales throws a shot to the body.
Whales connects with a single shot there.
Jackson misses with a shot to the body

and Whales counters with a nice double leg into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whales looking to sit in guard and control but Jackson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Whales tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Patrick Whales has got the better of the ground game so far.
Whales is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whales is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Jackson wants to control from the top but Whales keeps moving.
Jackson would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Jackson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Whales - that will leave a mark!
Whales tries for a takedown but Jackson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Whales misses with a hook
and Jackson makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Whales chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whales on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Whales throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Jackson stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Whales is looking to land body kicks.
Whales tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Jackson swivels and escapes.
Ben Jackson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Patrick Whales.
Whales connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Whales jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Whales ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Jackson moves away.
Whales misses with a body kick.
Whales misses with a low kick.
Jackson misses with a two punch combination.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Jackson misses with a head kick.
Patrick Whales seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Jackson circles away from the clinch attempt.
Both fighters circling a little - Whales finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick Whales showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A slapping body kick lands there for Whales.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Whales.
Whales takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Whales fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Jackson, pushing him back against the cage.
Jackson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Jackson throws a head punch that misses.
Jackson gets through Whales's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Jackson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Whales working aggressively here.
Jackson swings wildly with an uppercut but Whales uses good head movement to avoid it.
Jackson misses with some punches.
Jackson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Whales.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jackson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Whales goes for a takedown in the clinch but Jackson prevents it.
A body shot lands from Jackson.
Jackson misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Whales tries to throw a body punch but Jackson avoids it by throwing Whales back against the cage.
Jackson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Jackson goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Whales gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Whales has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Whales trying to mount his opponent but Jackson defends it.
Whales missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Jackson moves into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whales wants to pass the guard but Jackson is keeping the position.
Whales slips nicely into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Jackson wants to get back to full guard.
Whales thows a huge punch but Jackson dodges it nicely.
Jackson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Whales.
Whales throwing shots but Jackson is blocking nicely.
Jackson preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Whales working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ben Jackson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Patrick Whales is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jackson is refusing to be controlled, as Whales sits in half guard.
Whales is taking a breather. Jackson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Jackson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Whales.
Whales trying to control the action but Jackson is working from the bottom.
Whales wants to pass the guard but Jackson is defending well.
Ground and pound from Whales.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whales stalling.
Whales is thwarting Jackson's attempts to control the position.
Whales thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Whales looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Jackson with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Whales thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Jackson's head.
Whales thows a huge punch but Jackson dodges it nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Whales lands strikes from half guard.
Jackson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Whales scores with a couple of nice shots.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Jackson is refusing to be controlled, as Whales sits in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Patrick Whales comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Whales winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight 27:30
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 27:30

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