PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tommy Hold (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tommy Hold has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Hold
vs
Smith

177 cm
26
162 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

166 cm
26
161 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Devotion Energy Inc (Laundry 15% Fee)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Tommy Hold!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ricardo Smith!
The judges for this bout are Darius Henderson, Damien Edna and Chris Dean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Smith has Hold up against the cage in a clinch.
Smith wants to take the fight to the mat but Hold manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Hold lands an elbow inside.
Smith on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hold will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Smith up against the cage.
Smith avoids the elbow strike from Hold, against the cage.
Smith dodges an elbow strike from Hold.
Smith misses with an elbow strike.
Smith tries a body shot but Hold blocks it.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Smith on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hold tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hold using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Smith has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hold looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Hold is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Hold taking a breather.
Hold creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Smith's defenses.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Smith as Hold tries to tie him up.
Hold throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Smith working aggressively here.
Smith blocks the elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hold has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Smith regains guard immediately.
Smith is controlling Hold's posture.
Hold trying to stand up but can't free himself from Smith's guard.
Smith pulls Hold in close to his closed guard and prevents Hold from doing any damage or advancing position.
Smith's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Smith wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three 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.
Smith swats away the attempt to clinch by Hold.
Hold tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Smith tries to keep at a distance but Hold has taken the fight into the clinch.
Hold throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Smith blocks it with crossed arms.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Hold.
Smith presses Hold against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Smith managing to block the knees to the body from Hold.
Smith working hard to break the clinch.
Hold misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Smith.
Hold is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Smith is defending well for now.
Hold unloads a knee to the mid-section. Smith lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith is looking for a takedown.
Hold pressing his opponent against the cage.
Hold lands an elbow inside that Smith shrugs off.
Smith takes an elbow to the temple.

Hold tightens his grip and picks Smith up, before dumping him to the ground. Smith manages to land in guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hold would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hold is in a tricky position. We've heard reports from his gym mates at Finch Farm that he's been drilling escapes, so let's see if he can get back to his feet.
Hold has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hold trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tommy Hold dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Smith keeps the fight on the outside.

Smith clinches.
Smith tries to break the clinch but Hold is controlling the position.
Smith tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hold is trying to stall.
Hold comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Hold missing with knees to the body.
Hold tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Smith tries a body shot but Hold blocks it.
Smith on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Smith lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Smith is taking a breather. Hold 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.
Hold tries to kick Smith off but Smith keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith is looking to advance position but Hold won't allow it.
Smith lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Hold wants to get back to his feet.
Smith not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Smith connects with a nice short shot to Hold's temple.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hold is trying to stand back up but Smith is controlling him
Smith trying to control the pace.
Hold tries to roll over but Smith keeps him under control.
Smith slows the pace down in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Hold is looking to improve his position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ricardo Smith was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Smith rushes Hold and presses him up against the cage.
Hold throws a punch but it's blocked by Smith.

Hold has clasped his hands together around Smith's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith wants to control but Hold postures up.
Smith tries to buck Hold off but Hold is having none of it.
Hold wants to stand but Smith has his arm trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith is trying to improve his position.
Hold tries to get to his feet but Smith is in the middle of advancing position himself and ends up with Hold in his guard.
Smith wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Hold preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith is adopting a defensive guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Hold tries to close the distance and clinch but Smith swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hold wants to clinch.
Hold tries to clinch up.
Smith shoots in but no luck this time.

Smith has managed to clinch.
Hold lands with a short head shot on the inside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Smith avoiding damage as Hold throws knees to the body.
Hold landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Smith with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Hold trying to control the position but instead, Smith has worked for underhooks and has pushed Hold into the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Smith showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Smith keeps the fight on the outside.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hold looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hold tries to clinch but Smith moves out of range.
Hold wants to clinch.
Hold doesn't manage to clinch there - Smith circles away.
Hold ducks under a wild hook from Smith.
Hold tries to clinch there but Smith circles away.
Smith keeps the fight on the outside.
Tommy Hold seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hold fails with an attempt to clinch.

Smith shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Smith showed some decent athleticism there.
Smith performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hold tries to kick Smith off but Smith keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Smith not doing much here.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Smith working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Smith thows a huge punch but Hold dodges it nicely.
Hold wants to get back to his feet.

Smith is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Smith seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Smith trying to control from half guard but Hold is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ricardo Smith was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Hold tries to clinch up but Smith circles away and keeps his distance.
Smith comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Hold is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Smith swats away the attempt to clinch by Hold.

Smith closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Hold to the mat! Hold manages to get full guard.
Smith not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hold is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hold is really struggling to control Smith but he's trying to hold on to the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Tommy Hold just wasn't active enough.

Smith moves into the clinch successfully.
Smith drops down looking for an ankle pick but Hold pulls his leg out and moves away.

Hold rushes Smith and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hold lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Hold connects with a nasty looking knee right to Smith's face.
Hold slows down the pace here.
Hold lands a damaging elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hold pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Smith closes the distance and clinches.

Smith wants the takedown. Hold is fighting it off but Smith persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Hold's guard against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Smith trying to control the position from guard on top but Hold is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hold wants to stand and escape but Smith is having none of it.
Smith is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hold wants to stand but Smith is controlling the position.
Hold keeping moving, preventing Smith from controlling successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Smith comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Smith has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Darius Henderson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Dean scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo Smith!
Ricardo Smith opened up his post fight interview with a scream to camera that he wants a title shot! Whether he deserves the shot will be up to the management of the organization, so I guess he'll have to wait and see.