PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Bobbie Reynolds (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jimmy Backlund (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bobbie Reynolds has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Reynolds
vs
Backlund

182 cm
19
177 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

185 cm
22
170 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Hates pizza

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bobbie Reynolds!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jimmy Backlund!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, David Schapiro and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Reynolds scores with a nice head shot.
Backlund looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Backlund moves into the clinch successfully.
Reynolds is trying to break the clinch but Backlund is controlling him.
A frustrated look appears on Backlund's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Reynolds's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Reynolds looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Reynolds has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Reynolds trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Reynolds postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Reynolds is looking to stand up but Backlund won't let him.

Backlund looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Backlund working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Reynolds.
Reynolds is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Backlund is looking to stand back up but Reynolds counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Backlund.

Backlund with the active half guard here but Reynolds passes nicely into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Reynolds is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Backlund knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Reynolds tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Reynolds is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Backlund has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds working the ground and pound.
Backlund tries to bench press Reynolds off him but Reynolds keeps the position.
Reynolds wants to stand but Backlund has his arm trapped.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Reynolds wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Backlund, who protects the arm well.

Reynolds thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Reynolds is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Backlund is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Reynolds connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Backlund some visible discomfort.
Reynolds working away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Reynolds tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Reynolds is trying to get an arm triangle but Backlund is defending well.
Reynolds tries to stand but Backlund is controlling his head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Backlund sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
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. Reynolds connects with a nice short shot to Backlund's temple.
Reynolds thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Backlund is looking to control Reynolds's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Backlund avoid being mounted?

Reynolds is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Reynolds is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Reynolds shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Backlund manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Reynolds stands up over Backlund, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Reynolds throwing strikes from guard but Backlund blocks nicely.
Reynolds preventing the sweep.
Reynolds with a nice head shot there.
Reynolds tries to stand but Backlund is controlling from the bottom.
Backlund is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reynolds makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Reynolds is looking to stand up but Backlund won't let him.
Backlund is trying to keep Reynolds in close.
Reynolds landing with the ground and pound.
Reynolds throws a strike but Backlund rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Reynolds trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Reynolds lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Backlund is proving hard to escape from.
Reynolds postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Reynolds trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Reynolds working some strikes from top position.
Reynolds in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Reynolds accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Reynolds scoring with some ground and pound.

Reynolds got a little sloppy there for a moment and Backlund has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Reynolds has managed to get both his arms back between Backlund's legs - danger averted.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Reynolds tries to stand but Backlund is controlling from the bottom.
Bobbie Reynolds overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Backlund has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Reynolds is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Backlund.
Backlund throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
Reynolds working the head with strikes.
Backlund is looking to reverse the position.

Reynolds working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Reynolds thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Backlund is trying to get back to half guard.
Backlund is trying to control Reynolds's posture but Reynolds avoids it.
Reynolds is chipping away with strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Reynolds working the head with strikes.
Reynolds scoring with punches from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bobbie Reynolds dominated that second round.
That's time! Reynolds's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. 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.

Reynolds closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Backlund's guard.
Reynolds trying to stand up but can't free himself from Backlund's guard.
Reynolds scoring with some ground and pound.

Backlund working for a triangle but Reynolds defends it easily.
Reynolds working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Backlund's head.
Backlund takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Reynolds chips away with some ground and pound.
Reynolds chips away with some ground and pound.
Reynolds chips away with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reynolds tries to stand but Backlund is controlling from the bottom.
Reynolds postures up and lands a big shot to Backlund's brow.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Reynolds's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Reynolds works over Backlund with some ground and pound from guard.

Reynolds drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Reynolds jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Reynolds is looking to stand up but Backlund won't let him.
Reynolds postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Backlund wants to control the position but Reynolds says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Backlund is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Reynolds pulls his head out easily.
Reynolds looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Backlund with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Reynolds scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Reynolds seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Backlund wants to improve his position but Reynolds is controlling well.

Reynolds is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Backlund has managed to free his arm - good work.
Reynolds is thwarting Backlund's attempts to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Backlund wants to get back to his feet.
Reynolds knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Backlund on the ground.
Reynolds working Backlund over with strikes.
Backlund punching from the bottom.
Reynolds is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Reynolds slips a nice elbow through Backlund's hands, connecting with Backlund's forehead.

Reynolds is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Reynolds 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 four minutes gone in the round.
Backlund moves into full guard.

Backlund has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Reynolds can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Reynolds is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Backlund will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Backlund wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Reynolds with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Jimmy Backlund has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bobbie Reynolds is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Reynolds not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bobbie Reynolds showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Reynolds, 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bobbie Reynolds!