PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Leopold Scotch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zander Murie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Scotch
vs
Murie

175 cm
43
157 lbs
24 - 10 - 0

178 cm
29
155 lbs
8 - 12 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Olympic wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Leopold Scotch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Zander Murie!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Colin Fray and Paul Gruel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Scotch slaps away a takedown attempt from Murie, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Scotch slips a jab and a cross from Murie.
Jab, jab by Murie - just one landing.
Scotch blocks the body kick.
Scotch ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Scotch half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Zander Murie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Murie misses with a shot to the body
and Murie takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Murie has closed the distance and engaged Scotch in a clinch.
Murie looking to throw knees to the head but Scotch is blocking nicely.
Murie throws a knee to the head but misses.
Murie with a knee to the head.
Murie tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Scotch avoids it.
Murie tries to land a knee to the head but Scotch blocks with his arms.
Murie tries a knee to the head but Scotch blocks it.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Murie.
Murie connects with a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murie throws a knee to the head but misses.

Scotch jumps guard and drags Murie to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Scotch avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Murie with a nice head shot there.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Murie accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Murie postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Murie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Murie postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Murie's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Scotch wants to stand up but Murie is controlling him.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Murie throws a strike but Scotch rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Murie manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
I was talking to Scotch's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Murie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Scotch blocks it with crossed arms.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murie prevents Scotch from breaking the clinch.
Murie throws a knee to the head but misses.
Murie tries a knee to the head but Scotch blocks it.
Scotch has had enough of the clinch but Murie keeps him there for the moment.
Murie with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Murie tries to land knees in the clinch but Scotch avoids the damage to the body.
Murie tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Murie with an attempt at a knee that misses.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Murie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Scotch blocks it with crossed arms.
Murie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Scotch blocks it with crossed arms.
Scotch has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Murie is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Murie tries to land a knee to the head but Scotch blocks with his arms.
Murie with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Murie keeps control of Scotch as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Scotch blocks it with crossed arms.
Murie looking to throw knees to the head but Scotch is blocking nicely.
Murie with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Scotch blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Murie with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Scotch can't get the takedown.
Murie tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Scotch avoids it.
A short right from Murie on the inside.
Murie with a knee to the head.
Scotch blocks an uppercut.
Scotch is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Murie pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leopold Scotch. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Murie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Scotch blocks it with crossed arms.
Scotch on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murie tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Scotch avoids it.
Murie throws a knee to the head but misses.
Murie with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Murie tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Murie with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Murie tries to land knees in the clinch but Scotch avoids the damage to the body.
Murie tries to land a knee to the head but Scotch blocks with his arms.
Murie looks winded!
Scotch is trying to force a seperation but Murie has the dominant position.
Murie tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Scotch avoids it.
Murie with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Murie throws a knee to the head but misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Scotch has Murie pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Scotch pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Murie tumbling to the mat - Scotch dives into Murie's guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Scotch with a nice head shot there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zander Murie dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Murie looks to throw the jab but Scotch is out of range.
Scotch feinted with a counter takedown.
Murie scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Murie throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Scotch swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Murie takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.

Murie pushes Scotch up against the cage in a clinch.
Murie landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Murie tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Scotch turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Scotch manages to end up in side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Scotch prevents Murie from escaping the position.
Scotch sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Murie is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Scotch has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Murie is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Scotch has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murie parries the strikes from Scotch easily there. Scotch is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Murie to escape.
Sloppy strikes there by Scotch.
Murie is trying to buck Scotch off.

Scotch tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Murie is trying to buck Scotch off.
Scotch misses with the ground and pound.
Murie is trying to buck Scotch off.

Scotch tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Scotch has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Murie is trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Murie throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Murie connects with the punch.
Murie tries to clinch up.
Scotch takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Nice sprawl there from Scotch as Murie shoots in.
Scotch was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Murie throws a combination that misses
and Murie takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Scotch throws out a loose jab but Murie uses good head movement to avoid it.
Scotch tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Murie was well out of range. Poor timing from Scotch.
Murie throws a combination that misses
and Scotch counters with a stiff right hand.
Murie thows a left - swing and a miss!
Murie throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Murie doesn't manage to clinch there - Scotch circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murie fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Scotch avoids it really well and circles away.
Scotch ducks under a wild hook from Murie.
Murie misses with the combination.
Murie lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Murie slips under a jab from Scotch.
Scotch dives in and grabs Murie's left leg, looking for a takedown. Murie pushes down on Scotch's head and hops out.
Murie shoots for a double leg takedown but Scotch sprawls well. He's pushed Murie's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Leopold Scotch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zander Murie.
Murie throws a series of punches but Scotch moves out of range.
Scotch throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Murie doesn't manage to clinch there - Scotch circles away.
Murie scores with a decent looking hook.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murie tries for a takedown but Scotch circles away easily
and Scotch counters with a straight right hand.
Scotch works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Murie has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Murie throws a shot from downtown. Scotch moves away and avoids it.
Scotch tries to counter with a takedown but Murie is quick to defend against it.

Murie gets a clinch.
Murie tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Scotch is looking for a takedown.
Murie with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Murie throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Scotch blocks it with crossed arms.
Murie looking to throw knees to the head but Scotch is blocking nicely.
Murie tries a knee to the head but Scotch blocks it.
Scotch drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Murie tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Zander Murie will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Murie darts in and clinches Scotch up against the cage.

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

Murie throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Murie misses with a two punch combination.
Scotch gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Murie.
Murie swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

so Scotch counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Scotch won't allow Murie to get back to his feet.

Scotch drops back looking for a leg! Murie is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Murie manages to kick Scotch off! Scotch jumps back into Murie's guard.
Scotch prevents Murie from getting back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Scotch works over Murie with some ground and pound from guard.
Scotch with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Murie wants to stand and escape but Scotch is having none of it.
Murie avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Murie is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Scotch landing with the ground and pound.
Scotch with a flurry of punches that miss.
Scotch postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Scotch sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Murie's guard.
Murie is trying to stand back up but Scotch is controlling him
Scotch wants to pass the guard but Murie is defending well.
Murie tries to kick Scotch off but Scotch keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Decent striking displayed by Scotch there.
Scotch avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Murie avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Murie connects with a good right hand that stumbles Scotch. Scotch circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Scotch throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab from Scotch misses.
Murie tries to clinch up but Scotch circles away and keeps his distance.
Murie tries to clinch but Scotch is having none of it.
Murie swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Scotch appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Zander Murie is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Murie cracks Scotch with a good jab.
Zander Murie seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Murie connects with a looping right hand.
Scotch is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Murie lets loose with a powerful body kick. Scotch will feel that in the morning.
Scotch takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Scotch dodges the punch combination from Murie.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murie closes the distance and clinches up with Scotch, looking for a takedown. Murie pushes Scotch against the cage but Scotch circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Murie dips to his left and cracks Scotch with an uppercut!
Murie pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Murie tries to clinch there but Scotch circles away.
Murie tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Scotch paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nice uppercut lands for Murie. That snapped Scotch's head back.
Murie tries to clinch up.
Murie misses with a body punch
and Scotch counters with a nice body shot.
A slow jab from Murie misses its intended target.
Murie tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Scotch paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Leopold Scotch has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Scotch changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Murie misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
It looked like Scotch was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Murie.
Scotch pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Scotch moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Scotch takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Murie throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Scotch avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
It looked like Scotch was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Scotch needs to keep his hands up - Murie had a free shot at his head there.
Scotch stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Scotch wants it to stay on the feet.
Leopold Scotch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zander Murie.
Murie slips a straight right by Scotch.
Scotch ducks under a wild hook from Murie.
Murie scores with a crisp jab that stopped Scotch in his tracks.
Scotch tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Murie was well out of range. Poor timing from Scotch.
Scotch throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Scotch tries to clinch up but Murie circles away and keeps his distance.
Murie throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Scotch uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Murie.
Murie looks to land a combination but Scotch avoids it well.
It looked like Scotch was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Murie.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Zander Murie.
I've got Murie winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zander Murie!