PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Herschel Whitehead (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafal Pierdzibak (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Herschel Whitehead has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Whitehead
vs
Pierdzibak

192 cm
23
193 lbs
0 - 6 - 0

171 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very confident

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 0 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Herschel Whitehead!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Rafal Pierdzibak!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Elvis Blanc and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Pierdzibak instigates a clinch.

Whitehead manages to break the clinch.
Whitehead fails with the takedown

and Pierdzibak counters by clinching up.
Pierdzibak stalling the fight.

Pierdzibak has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Whitehead uses from the top position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Pierdzibak is pulling down on Whitehead's head. It's preventing any offense from Whitehead, at least for the moment.
Pierdzibak lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitehead is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Pierdzibak is controlling him.
Pierdzibak is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Pierdzibak lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Whitehead will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Whitehead is wriggling around but Pierdzibak manages to pass to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitehead trying to control but Pierdzibak postures up.
Pierdzibak is controlling the pace.

Pierdzibak stands up out of the half guard.
Whitehead gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pierdzibak counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Pierdzibak.
Pierdzibak wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Pierdzibak lands a takedown into guard.
Pierdzibak's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Pierdzibak has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Whitehead is proving hard to escape from.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pierdzibak is standing up over Whitehead. Whitehead looks to escape but Pierdzibak dives into side control.

Pierdzibak stands up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pierdzibak tries to close the distance and clinch up but Whitehead swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Pierdzibak looking to score a takedown here. Whitehead is defending well but Pierdzibak drives through and ends up in Whitehead's guard.
Whitehead is looking to stand up but Pierdzibak isn't so interested in that idea.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pierdzibak slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Pierdzibak tries to free his leg and advance position but Whitehead is retaining full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead working a defensive guard here.
Pierdzibak slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Rafal Pierdzibak was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Horrible takedown attempt by Pierdzibak or perhaps it was just good defense by Whitehead, which made it look bad.
Pierdzibak looks winded!
Whitehead keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Whitehead avoids the body shot from Pierdzibak.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierdzibak throws a combination that misses
and Whitehead connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Whitehead shoots for a takedown but Pierdzibak saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Herschel Whitehead. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pierdzibak stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Pierdzibak wants it to stay on the feet.
Whitehead with a lazy takedown attempt

and Pierdzibak moves into the clinch.
Whitehead is stalling here.

Whitehead breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Whitehead shoots and misses

and Pierdzibak counters by clinching up.
Whitehead lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Pierdzibak as Whitehead tries to tie him up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafal Pierdzibak dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Pierdzibak misses with an uppercut
and Whitehead counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Rafal Pierdzibak seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pierdzibak shoots in but no luck this time.
Herschel Whitehead is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Whitehead has his takedown stuffed

and Pierdzibak counters with a shoot takedown. Whitehead fights it but they end up in guard.
Whitehead trying to keep a closed guard but Pierdzibak is proving a slippery customer.
Pierdzibak slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Pierdzibak is breathing heavily.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Whitehead trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
No luck for Pierdzibak with that takedown attempt.

Pierdzibak rushes Whitehead and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Pierdzibak tries to pull guard but Whitehead holds him up against the cage and eventually Pierdzibak drops back down to his feet.
Herschel Whitehead has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rafal Pierdzibak.
Whitehead tries to circle away but Pierdzibak has him pinned against the cage.
Pierdzibak is trying to break the clinch but Whitehead is controlling him.
Whitehead has had enough of the clinch but Pierdzibak keeps him there for the moment.
Pierdzibak is trying to push Whitehead away but Whitehead has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
Maybe Whitehead would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.
The referee is keeping an eye on Whitehead - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Herschel Whitehead.
Pierdzibak closes the distance and clinches up with Whitehead, looking for a takedown. Pierdzibak pushes Whitehead against the cage but Whitehead circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Pierdzibak tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Whitehead manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Whitehead shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Pierdzibak defends it nicely.

Whitehead looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierdzibak avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pierdzibak working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Whitehead.
Whitehead trying to stand up but can't free himself from Pierdzibak's guard.
Pierdzibak trying to keep a closed guard but Whitehead is proving a slippery customer.

Pierdzibak is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Whitehead is aware though and is defending well.
Pierdzibak throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Pierdzibak avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead wants to stand but Pierdzibak is controlling his posture from full guard.
Whitehead throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Pierdzibak works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Whitehead scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rafal Pierdzibak has got the better of the ground game so far.
Whitehead throws a big right hand that misses.
Pierdzibak is trying to control the position but Whitehead postures up.

Pierdzibak escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Whitehead gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Whitehead is looking to work some ground and pound but Pierdzibak has wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Herschel Whitehead will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Whitehead shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pierdzibak as he jumps to the side.
Whitehead has a takedown stuffed.
Pierdzibak fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Whitehead shoots and misses

and Pierdzibak holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Herschel Whitehead. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Whitehead tries a body shot but Pierdzibak blocks it.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Whitehead misses with a punch on the inside.

Pierdzibak jumps guard.
Pierdzibak 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.
Pierdzibak takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitehead throws a strike but Pierdzibak rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Pierdzibak looking to pass the guard.
Pierdzibak seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Whitehead will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Pierdzibak is working Whitehead over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Whitehead has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Pierdzibak has passed into side control.
Pierdzibak trying to control the position but Whitehead is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead is trying to strike from the bottom but Pierdzibak has passed into full mount.
Pierdzibak looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Whitehead is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Whitehead tries to control the position but Pierdzibak now has his back.
Whitehead is trying to break free.
Whitehead trying to control the hands but Pierdzibak breaks the grip.

Whitehead defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pierdzibak has good solid back control here.
Whitehead knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pierdzibak on the ground.
Whitehead trying to control the hands but Pierdzibak won't let him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead is in bad spot here.
Pierdzibak lands punches and elbows.
Whitehead is really stuck here.
Good control from Pierdzibak.
Whitehead trying to control the hands but Pierdzibak won't let him.
Pierdzibak has the hooks in. Whitehead is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Pierdzibak is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Whitehead has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafal Pierdzibak comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Pierdzibak 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:30
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafal Pierdzibak!