PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Josh Laston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Patrick Cote (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Laston kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Ice Cube - Today was a Good Day. 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.

Laston
vs
Cote

185 cm
23
198 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

183 cm
29
196 lbs
8 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Josh Laston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Patrick Cote!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cote has his takedown stuffed

and Laston counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Laston.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Cote wants to stand but Laston is controlling the position.
Laston content to stall in guard here.
Cote is controlling Laston's posture.
Laston looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Laston'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.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Josh Laston has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Cote is looking to clinch but Laston is avoiding it.
Cote has his takedown stuffed

and Laston counters with a takedown into side control.
Cote is trying to improve his position.
Cote manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Laston not doing much here.
Laston working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cote is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Cote manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Laston controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Cote looking to hit a scissor sweep but Laston is one step ahead there.
Laston showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Laston prevents Cote from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cote is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Laston controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

We're going to have a standup here because Josh Laston wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Laston keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Josh Laston has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Patrick Cote.
Cote throws a leg kick but Laston sees it coming and moves out of range.
Cote ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Laston moves away.
Horrible takedown attempt by Cote or perhaps it was just good defense by Laston, which made it look bad.
Cote tries to clinch but Laston moves out of range.
Laston misses with a kick to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cote doesn't manage to clinch there - Laston circles away.
Cote fails with the takedown

and Laston counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Still in half guard, Laston seems content to control.
Laston working Cote over with strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Cote is defending against the submission attempts here by Laston.
Cote wants to sweep but Laston has passed to side control!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Cote has closed the distance and engaged Laston in a clinch.
Laston is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Cote gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Cote can't get the takedown.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Laston has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Cote is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Cote tries to circle away but Laston has him pinned against the cage.
Cote is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Laston to keep the fight standing.
Laston is working for takedown but Cote is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Laston. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Cote takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Laston can't get the takedown.

Laston escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Cote is trying hard to land a takedown here. Laston sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cote throws a push kick but Laston slaps the foot to one side.
Cote gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Laston counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Cote's guard now.
Cote is trying to keep Laston in close.
Laston content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Laston stays in close to Cote's body and controls the position.
Cote not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Laston is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Josh Laston.
Cote tries to clinch

and Laston counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Laston sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Cote is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Laston defends well.

Cote looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Laston has picked Cote up and slammed him! Cote can't keep hold of the triangle and Laston manages to pass to side control!
Laston controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cote is trying to control Laston's posture but Laston avoids it.
Josh Laston overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Laston taking a breather here.

Laston is trying to get an arm triangle but Cote is defending well.

Laston looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
You can see the frustration on Cote's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cote tries to buck Laston off but Laston is having none of it.
Laston taking a breather here.
Laston has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Laston has knee on belly and moves into mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Laston tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Laston dominated that second 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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Cote gets a clinch.
Cote is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Laston is defending well.

Cote successfully pulls guard.
Laston working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Cote being controlled here, momentarily.

Laston drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Laston jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Cote looking for a sweep. Not yet Cote, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laston engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

We're going to have a standup here because Josh Laston wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Jab from Cote.
Cote with a poor takedown

and Laston counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Laston.
Cote seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cote working a defensive guard but Laston manages to pass into side control anyway.
Laston tries to move to mount but Cote blocks the move with his legs.
Laston working the head and body with strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Laston taking a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laston working the body and head with strikes.
Josh Laston is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Cote struggling a bit here.
Cote being controlled for a moment.
Cote tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Laston wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

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

Laston tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Laston has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Laston remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Laston showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Laston, 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27

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