PBP Commentary

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

Howell
vs
Gracie

210 cm
25
223 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

178 cm
30
224 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

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 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Josh Howell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Robert Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Skip Squint and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Howell slaps away a takedown attempt from Gracie, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Howell moves out of range of the body kick from Gracie.
Howell avoids a kick to the body.
Howell throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Gracie stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Howell looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Howell lunges at Gracie with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Gracie's hand.
Howell lands a slapping body shot.
Gracie closes the distance looking to clinch
and Howell counters with a right hand to the body.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt
and Howell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Howell with a nice cross.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Howell counters with a series of strikes. Gracie will be more careful next time no doubt.
Josh Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robert Gracie.
Howell lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

Gracie manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Howell on his heels. He'll look to pass Howell's guard now, I'm sure.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Howell keeping full guard, as Gracie tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howell keeping moving, preventing Gracie from controlling successfully.
Howell knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gracie on the ground.
Gracie postures up in Howell's guard and throws a big left but Howell blocks it.
Howell really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Howell controlling Gracie's posture.
Gracie passes Howell's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

Gracie is working for a submission of some sort.
Howell blocking the ground and pound attempt from Gracie.
Gracie has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie tries to pass to full mount but Howell defends it.
Gracie stops Howell from getting back to his feet.
Howell is refusing to be controlled, as Gracie sits in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gracie is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Howell keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Gracie missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gracie is working for a kimura but Howell is defending it quite comfortably.
Gracie is looking to take a break and control but Howell is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gracie sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Howell defending well though.
Howell is refusing to be controlled, as Gracie sits in half guard.
Gracie prevents Howell from improving his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie thows a huge punch but Howell dodges it nicely.
Gracie wants to lay and pray for a moment but Howell keeps working.
Howell blocking the ground and pound attempt from Gracie.
Gracie is looking to stall here but Howell recovers full guard.
Howell preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Howell is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie is looking for a sweep. Howell is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
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 Josh Howell will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Gracie takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Howell checks a leg kick.
Gracie takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Howell looks to land a right hand but Gracie moved out of range.
Howell throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Gracie misses with a head kick.
Howell stuffs the takedown.
Howell fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Howell cracks Gracie with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie looks to land a body kick but Howell moved away.
Howell stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Howell lands a nice looking body shot.
A leg kick checked by Howell.
Gracie throws a jab when Howell was well out of range.
Gracie shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howell stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Howell wants it to stay on the feet.
Howell blocks the body kick.
Gracie throws a looping overhand right but Howell ducks down to avoid it.
Nice shot lands for Howell.
Howell thuds a left hand into Gracie's body.
Gracie is breathing heavily.
Gracie with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Howell to score with a decent uppercut.
Gracie takes one to the chin there.
Howell darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Gracie is rocked!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Howell scores with a nice right hand.
Gracie is still on wobbly legs! Can Howell finish him?
Gracie circles to his right, straight into a beautiful hook by Howell. Gracie falls face first into the canvas - great knockout victory for Howell!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:41 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Josh Howell!
A very excited looking Josh Howell made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.