PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Freddie Storm (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas Ponting (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Storm comes to the cage accompanied by Open Hapiness. Storm is coming into this fight with a significant injury, which will no doubt have an effect on his cardio. Freddie Storm has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Storm
vs
Ponting

174 cm
22
270 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

190 cm
20
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Freddie Storm!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Thomas Ponting!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Steven Brown and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Storm keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Storm is breathing heavily.
A punch combination from Ponting misses.
Ponting throws a nice looking combination but Storm bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Ponting throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Ponting lands with a nice body kick.
Ponting looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Storm is fending him off so far but Ponting persists. Nope, Storm circles away and we're back to standing.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Ponting!
Ponting fails with a takedown attempt.
Freddie Storm has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thomas Ponting.

Ponting pushes Storm up against the cage in a clinch.
A short body shot lands from Ponting as the two fighters clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ponting tries to break the clinch but Storm is controlling the position.
Ponting stalling.
Ponting wants to break the clinch but can't.
Ponting gets through Storm's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ponting lands with a right to the head.
Storm working aggressively here.
Ponting has Storm pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Storm manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Ponting breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ponting looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ponting has taken the fight to the clinch.

Ponting turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!

Ponting decides to stand back up.
Storm could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Left hook, right uppercut from Ponting.
Ponting lands with a nice combination. Storm backs away looking to recover.
Ponting is looking to clinch but Storm is avoiding it.
Ponting throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Thomas Ponting seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ponting shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Ponting fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Ponting lands a nice shot to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Storm is squirming around, avoiding Ponting's attempts to control the action.
Ponting landing strikes from the mount.
Storm tries to hold on but Ponting postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Storm really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Ponting with good strikes from the mount here!
Storm can't escape the position.

Storm defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Ponting.
Storm working to try and regain half guard.
Ponting really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Storm. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ponting lands a big elbow.
A nice elbow there by Ponting.
Storm tries to hold on but Ponting postures up.
Storm is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Storm is working hard here to advance position.
Ponting lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Storm hang on?
Storm might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ponting lands a big shot there that rocks Storm but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Ponting lands a big shot there that rocks Storm but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Storm tries to hold on but Ponting postures up.

Ponting working for a submission but Storm is keeping him at bay.
Storm is looking to get to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee warns Storm that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Ponting dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Freddie Storm's cut.
That's time! Storm's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ponting moves into the clinch.
Ponting is trying to break the clinch but Storm has him pressed against the cage.

Ponting lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Ponting trying to control from half guard but Storm is working away.
Ponting lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ponting drops an elbow to the side of Storm's head.
Ponting tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Storm.
Storm moves into full guard.
Ponting must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Storm working a defensive guard here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ponting works over Storm with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Storm kicks Ponting off and gets to his feet.

Storm shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Storm showed some decent athleticism there.
Ponting is trying to stand.

Storm decides to stand up.
Storm throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Ponting looks to land a combination but Storm avoids it well.

Storm drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Storm slips nicely into half guard.

Storm is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Ponting defends it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Storm is trying to work for a kimura but Ponting is defending well.
Storm working over Ponting with some ground and pound. Ponting looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Storm blocks the strikes from Ponting.
Storm tries to pass the half guard into mount. Ponting knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Ponting wants to get back to his feet.
Storm working the head and body with strikes.
Ponting avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Storm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ponting pushes Storm off and gets back to his feet.

Storm takes the fight into the clinch.
Storm trying to stall but Ponting improves his position.
Ponting throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Ponting throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Ponting lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Storm or not.
Ponting scores with a shoulder strike.
Ponting tries a knee to the head but Storm blocks it.
Storm is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Storm ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Storm no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Storm bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Ponting's guard.
Storm trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Storm is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Storm passes Ponting's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Ponting tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Storm works his way into side control.
Storm trying to control the position but Ponting is working away.

Storm decides to stand back up.

Storm shoots in and bounces Ponting off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Ponting wants to stand up but Storm is controlling him.
Storm won't allow Ponting to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Storm dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Freddie Storm's cut.
That's time! Storm's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Nice sprawl there from Storm as Ponting shoots in.
A right-left combo lands from Ponting.
Ponting goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Storm checks a low kick from Ponting.
Freddie Storm is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ponting closes the distance and clinches up with Storm, looking for a takedown. Ponting pushes Storm against the cage but Storm circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Storm tries to close the distance and clinch but Ponting swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ponting scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Ponting misses with a double jab
and Storm counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Ponting shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Storm but Storm pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Freddie Storm has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thomas Ponting.
Storm lands a head kick!
Ponting goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Storm blocks a head kick by Ponting.
Ponting throws a series of punches but Storm avoids them all with ease.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Storm wants to clinch up but Ponting keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Storm. No joy for Ponting on that attempt.

Ponting gets caught flat footed, as Storm shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Ponting wants to get back to his feet but Storm is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Ponting is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Storm drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Storm jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Storm pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ponting is keeping the position for now.
Storm is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Storm decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Ponting, up you get!
Ponting throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Ponting throws a low kick but it's checked well by Storm.
Ponting shoots in but Storm avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Storm showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ponting.

Storm rushes Ponting and presses him up against the cage.
Ponting looking for a takedown.
Storm wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Storm is trying to break free.

Storm turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Storm manages to end up in side control.

Storm decides to stand back up.
Ponting fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Storm tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ponting tries for a takedown but Storm circles away easily
and Storm counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Storm closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Storm decides to stand and escape the position.
Ponting throws a series of punches but Storm avoids them all with ease.
Good shot there by Storm.
Storm misses with a body shot.
Storm shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Ponting pinned against the cage. Ponting gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Ponting throws a combination. Storm tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Storm misses with the combination.
Storm swats away the attempt to clinch by Ponting.
Ponting throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Storm's waist but Storm gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ponting off to one side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ponting tries to close the distance and clinch but Storm swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ponting throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Storm.
Storm wants to clinch.

Storm has taken the fight to the clinch.
Ponting throws a punch but it's blocked by Storm.
Ponting tries to break the clinch but Storm is controlling the position.
Ponting scores with a hook to the body.
Ponting is looking to break free of the clinch but Storm has double underhooks.

Storm escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ponting misses with a two punch combination.
The fight stays on the outside here - Storm looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Storm shoots in for a takedown but Ponting shows good takedown defense.

And that's the end of the fight!
Freddie Storm showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Storm has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 William Gold scores the fight 28:28
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 29:28
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Freddie Storm!