PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Buck Marley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Gannicus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Marcus Gannicus has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Marley
vs
Gannicus

195 cm
22
145 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

175 cm
27
138 lbs
6 - 9 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Buck Marley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Marcus Gannicus!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Daniel Bishop and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marley has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Gannicus.
Marley checks a leg kick.
Gannicus steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Marley.
Gannicus tries a head kick but it misses.
Nice uppercut lands for Marley. That snapped Gannicus's head back.
Marley connects with a nice looking jab.
Gannicus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Gannicus connects with a solid leg kick.
Marley looks to throw the jab but Gannicus is out of range.
Gannicus takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Marley throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Marley throws a shot to the body.

Marley shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Gannicus throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Gannicus trying to control here.
Marley keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gannicus is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Marley seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

We're going to have a standup here because Buck Marley wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Gannicus, right into the meat.

Marley changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Gannicus looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Marley has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Marley seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Gannicus for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gannicus can't do much from the bottom here.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Buck Marley just wasn't active enough.
Marley misses with a jab, cross combination.

Gannicus gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Marley to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Gannicus looking to control.
Marley trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marley looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Gannicus throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gannicus being controlled here, momentarily.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Buck Marley just wasn't active enough.
Marley tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Gannicus uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Marley.
The fighters circle momentarily. Marley darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Good leg kick by Gannicus there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Gannicus throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Marley.
Marley fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gannicus manages to avoid it.
Gannicus takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Marley throws a head kick that misses.

Marley closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Marley lands in his opponent's guard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Gannicus is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marley is looking to improve his position.

Gannicus seems to be looking for submissions.
Marley really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Marley slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Gannicus throwing strikes from guard but Marley blocks nicely.
Marley will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marley bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Gannicus's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Buck Marley dominated that 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.

Gannicus takes one to the side of the head.
Gannicus walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Marley misses with a double jab.
Gannicus takes one on the button.
Marley throws a sloppy head kick and Gannicus moves out of range easily.
Marley is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
A good leg kick by Marley.
Gannicus ducks right into an uppercut from Marley.
Gannicus looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Gannicus avoids the body shot from Marley.
Marley throws a right hand that Gannicus ducks under and follows up with a left that Gannicus also avoids with ease.
Marley looks to land a right hand but Gannicus moved out of range.
Buck Marley seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gannicus moves out of range as Marley strikes.
Gannicus scores with a kick to the body.
Marley swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gannicus bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marley throws a push kick but Gannicus slaps the foot to one side.
Gannicus throws a leg kick which misses Marley's front leg but catches the back leg as Marley tries to avoid it.
Marley takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Marley takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Gannicus gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Marley to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Gannicus throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Marley wants to get up but he can't break Gannicus's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Gannicus wants to sweep here but Marley controlling him for the moment.
Marley throwing strikes but missing.
Gannicus tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marley is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Gannicus throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Gannicus tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Marley controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Buck Marley has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Gannicus throws a push kick but Marley slaps the foot to one side.
Gannicus dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Marley. That did some damage!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Marley throws a head kick but Gannicus moves out of range.
Marley misses with a wild body shot.
Marley waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Gannicus.
Gannicus dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Marley. That did some damage!
A big right from Gannicus misses.
Nice defenses there by Gannicus.
Gannicus avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Marley throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Gannicus.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jab by Marley.
Gannicus chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Gannicus connects with a leg kick. Marley looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Marley's corner calls for a 1-2. Marley obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Gannicus feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Marley's calf.

Marley drives through with a takedown into guard.
Marley has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Gannicus striking off his back but it's not causing Marley any problems.
Buck Marley overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gannicus throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Marley pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gannicus is keeping the position for now.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gannicus is on top in guard.
Gannicus stopping the sweep attempt from Marley.
Marley is working hard here to advance position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gannicus trying to control but Marley is working from the bottom.
Gannicus looking to sit in guard and control but Marley gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marley is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Buck Marley dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Marley drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Gannicus is looking to regain half guard here but Marley keeps moving and retains side control.
Check out the look on Marley's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Gannicus parries the strikes from Marley easily there. Marley is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Gannicus to escape.
Marley controls the position.
Gannicus wants to control but Marley postures up.
You can see the frustration on Gannicus's face as Marley controls the position.
The strikes coming from Marley are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Marley just content to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gannicus tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Marley wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Marley takes a little break here. Gannicus wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Gannicus gets back to half guard.
Marley controlling the action here.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Buck Marley wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Nice body punch from Marley.
Marcus Gannicus is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gannicus buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Gannicus throws the left hand but Marley avoids the punch easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gannicus uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Marley.
Good shot there by Marley.

Marley looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Marley controlling the action here.
Marley not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
It looks like Marley is going to stand back up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gannicus is looking to improve his position.
Marley seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Gannicus does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Gannicus tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Marley thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gannicus won't allow Marley to pass to mount.
Marley controlling the action here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Buck Marley.
Gannicus blocks a jab.
Gannicus lands a nice leg kick that just misses Marley's sensitive parts.
Marley feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Gannicus's calf.
Gannicus blocks a head kick by Marley.
Gannicus chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Both fighters circling a little - Gannicus finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Gannicus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Marley throws the left hand but Gannicus avoids the punch easily.
Gannicus throws a front kick that sends Marley stumbling back into the cage.
Marcus Gannicus has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gannicus chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gannicus walks into a jab.
Marley misses with a looping right.
Gannicus lands with a thumping leg kick.
Marley scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Gannicus uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Marley.
Marley pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Marley feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gannicus wants to stand but Marley is controlling the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Gannicus has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Marley can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Gannicus has his foot on Marley's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Marley works his way back into a safe position though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Buck Marley showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Marley has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Buck Marley!
Buck Marley looked relieved post fight as he said the following; 'Im bout dat action'.