PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Connor Freeman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Greer Leonardson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Freeman
vs
Leonardson

169 cm
22
140 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

188 cm
22
139 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Connor Freeman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Greer Leonardson!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Richard Clark and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leonardson misses the shot to the body.
Freeman looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Freeman misses with a wild body shot.

Freeman closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Leonardson quickly recovers to half guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Leonardson won't allow Freeman to pass to mount.
Freeman is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Freeman punching from mount but Leonardson doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Leonardson is squirming around, avoiding Freeman's attempts to control the action.
Leonardson avoids a series of strikes thrown by Freeman.
Freeman can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Leonardson is looking to escape.
Leonardson holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Freeman tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freeman throws some wild stikes that Leonardson manages to avoid easily.
Freeman looking to control but Leonardson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Freeman controlling his opponent.
Leonardson wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freeman wants to control the pace but Leonardson is squirming around nicely.
Freeman looking to control and managing it successfully.
Leonardson felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Freeman throwing strikes here but Leonardson is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Freeman sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonardson tries to buck Freeman off but he can't manage it.
Freeman content just to control the position here.
Leonardson wants to try and get back to his feet.
Freeman throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Freeman controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freeman throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Freeman controlling from mount.
Freeman punching from mount but Leonardson doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Leonardson trying desperately to get to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Freeman controlling the pace for now.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Connor Freeman dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Freeman.
Leonardson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Freeman.
Freeman bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Leonardson throws a body punch but Freeman moves out of range.
Leonardson slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Freeman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Leonardson throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Freeman counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Leonardson!
Freeman tries to score with some ground and pound. Leonardson controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Freeman tries to move into full mount but can't pass Leonardson's legs.
Freeman happy to just control the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leonardson is not content to let Freeman control the position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Connor Freeman wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Freeman keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Leonardson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freeman fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Leonardson avoids it really well and circles away.
Leonardson swings for the body but Freeman moves out of range.

Freeman throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Leonardson was covering up waiting for the punch and Freeman finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Freeman 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.
Freeman prevents Leonardson from getting back to his feet.
Freeman trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Freeman wants to control from the top but Leonardson keeps moving.
Freeman looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Connor Freeman wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Freeman fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Leonardson avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Connor Freeman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Freeman slips a straight right by Leonardson.
Leonardson throws a combination that misses

and Freeman counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Freeman is trying to control. Leonardson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freeman perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Leonardson is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Connor Freeman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Connor Freeman just wasn't active enough.
Freeman scores with a shot to the body.
Leonardson throws a sloppy head kick and Freeman moves out of range easily.
Leonardson misses the shot to the body.
The fighters circling - Leonardson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Freeman keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A punch combination from Leonardson misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Leonardson takes a swing at Freeman's ribcage but misses.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Freeman.
Freeman looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Leonardson!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Connor Freeman dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Freeman misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Leonardson.
Freeman ducks under a wild hook from Leonardson.
Leonardson scores with a body shot.
Leonardson misses with a series of wild punches.
Freeman uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Leonardson.
Freeman throws a right and a left that Leonardson avoids nicely.
Freeman doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Leonardson counters with a right hand to the body.
Freeman moves forwards but Leonardson connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Leonardson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Freeman.
Freeman dives in for a single leg takedown but Leonardson sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Leonardson breaks from the clinch.
Leonardson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Freeman moves away.
Leonardson misses with a straight right.
Leonardson misses with a body shot.
Freeman shoots in for a takedown but Leonardson shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Connor Freeman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leonardson throws a shot from downtown. Freeman moves away and avoids it.
Leonardson is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Freeman rather than just go for the knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Freeman shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Freeman showed some decent athleticism there.
Freeman is trying to control the action in half guard but Leonardson is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Freeman is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Leonardson is just riding it out for now. Freeman eventually gives up the hold.
Freeman missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freeman stalling.
Freeman trying to pass the guard but Leonardson defending well.
Well, if Freeman 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Connor Freeman has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Freeman shoots in looking for a takedown but Leonardson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Freeman's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Freeman lands with a cross.
Greer Leonardson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Leonardson misses the shot to the body.
Leonardson misses with a hook

and Freeman counters with a shoot takedown. Leonardson fights it but they end up in guard.
Freeman stops Leonardson from standing up.
Greer Leonardson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Leonardson keeping moving, preventing Freeman from controlling successfully.
Leonardson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Freeman not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Freeman passes into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Freeman looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Freeman's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Leonardson taking some punishment here, with Freeman in his half guard.
Connor Freeman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Freeman content to control rather than advance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Connor Freeman showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Freeman, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Connor Freeman!
A relieved looking Connor Freeman thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.