PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Andy Bernard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abel McAllister (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Abel McAllister has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Andy Bernard's chin.

Bernard
vs
McAllister

196 cm
24
230 lbs
4 - 4 - 1

194 cm
24
255 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 4 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Andy Bernard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Abel McAllister!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Trevor Gratis and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bernard closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. McAllister did well to prevent Bernard getting side control.
McAllister pushes Bernard off looking to stand but Bernard dives back in and keeps control.
Bernard controlling the action here.
Bernard trying to control the action but McAllister is working from the bottom.
Bernard stops McAllister from getting back to his feet.

Andy Bernard has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Bernard wants to clinch.
Bernard tries to clinch there but McAllister circles away.
Bernard darts in trying to clinch

and McAllister counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McAllister throws a strike but Bernard avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Bernard bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in McAllister's guard.
Bernard wants to control from the top but McAllister keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bernard stops McAllister from standing up.
Bernard looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
McAllister keeping moving, preventing Bernard from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bernard stands and steps away. McAllister gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that McAllister has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.

McAllister gets tackled into the cage by Bernard. Bernard maintains the clinch.
McAllister working hard to break the clinch.
Bernard lands an uppercut.
Bernard keeps the fight in the clinch, despite McAllister's efforts to push away.
Bernard landing knees to the body.
A left hand lands to the body for Bernard.
McAllister looks winded!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bernard stalling against the cage.
Knees to the body from Bernard.
Bernard putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has McAllister in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Bernard.
McAllister tries to break the clinch but Bernard is controlling the position.
Bernard is struggling to control the position.
Bernard lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
McAllister tries to break free but Bernard pushes him back against the cage.
McAllister is trying to break the clinch but Bernard is controlling him.
Bernard unloads a knee to the mid-section.
McAllister takes a knee to the side of the body.

Bernard jumps guard.
Bernard controlling McAllister's posture.
Bernard looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bernard manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. McAllister manages to get himself to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bernard forces his way into half guard.
Bernard is looking to take a break and control but McAllister is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McAllister is trying to stand up here but Bernard is controlling him well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andy Bernard 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.

Bernard tries to clinch but McAllister moves out of range.
McAllister slaps away a takedown attempt from Bernard, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Bernard fails in his attempt to clinch.

Bernard clinches up against the cage.
Bernard dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bernard creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Bernard gets through McAllister's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Bernard scores with a knee to the head.
McAllister has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Bernard after a bit of a struggle.
McAllister takes a knee to the side of the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Bernard.
Bernard prevents a takedown attempt there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bernard lands a right hand that snaps the head of McAllister backwards.
McAllister is breathing heavily.
A body shot lands from Bernard.
Stalling in the clinch from Bernard.

Bernard jumps into guard, dragging McAllister to the mat.

Bernard manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Bernard gets control of McAllister's arms and successfully pulls guard. Bernard will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Bernard is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bernard pulls McAllister in close to prevent any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bernard'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.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Bernard is trying to control the position but McAllister postures up.

We're going to have a standup here because Andy Bernard wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Bernard tries to clinch up but McAllister circles away and keeps his distance.

Bernard drives through with a takedown into McAllister's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bernard sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed McAllister's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bernard winds up and cracks McAllister with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Bernard is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Still in half guard, Bernard seems content to control.
McAllister is not content to let Bernard control the position.
Bernard controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Bernard fails with an attempt to clinch.
Abel McAllister is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bernard looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bernard tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

McAllister closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Bernard gets back to half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bernard makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Bernard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andy Bernard dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Bernard tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Andy Bernard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
McAllister shoots in for a takedown but Bernard shows good takedown defense.
Bernard lands a head kick!
Bernard wants to clinch.
Bernard is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that McAllister can do to turn this around?
The fight stays on the outside here - Bernard looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
McAllister throws a series of punches but Bernard avoids them all with ease.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bernard looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bernard is looking to clinch but McAllister is avoiding it.
McAllister takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
McAllister tries for a takedown but Bernard circles away easily

and Bernard counters by moving into the clinch.
I was talking to Bernard's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Bernard obliges.
Bernard landing some nice looking knees to the body.

Bernard pulls guard effortlessly.
Bernard trying to keep a closed guard but McAllister is proving a slippery customer.
Bernard lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.
Bernard's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Bernard trying to control the position from guard on top but McAllister is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Andy Bernard has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Bernard fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with McAllister, pushing him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A hook to the body from Bernard.
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!
Bernard lands with a right to the head.
McAllister wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Bernard landing some nice looking knees to the body.
A right handed body shot lands from Bernard.
Bernard lands with a right to the head.
Bernard goes for a takedown in the clinch but McAllister prevents it.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Bernard scores a nice knee to the body.
McAllister takes a shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bernard stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Bernard lands a knee to the body.
Bernard working McAllister over with knees to the body.
A body shot lands from Bernard.
McAllister takes a knee to the side of the body.
Bernard crunches a lovely knee into McAllister's ribcage.

Bernard has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics McAllister uses from the top position.
Bernard is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
McAllister prevents Bernard from getting back to his feet.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Bernard shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. McAllister manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
McAllister is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bernard is controlling him.
Bernard not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bernard works a leg free and moves into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andy Bernard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bernard 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:26
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:26
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andy Bernard!
A very excited looking Andy Bernard 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.