PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between IP Freely (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jimmy Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Freely comes to the cage accompanied by The Trooper. Smith has chosen MGK - Wild Boy ft. Waka Flocka Flame as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Jimmy Smith told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Freely
vs
Smith

160 cm
31
140 lbs
19 - 16 - 1

168 cm
26
147 lbs
15 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

SP Ultimate Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, IP Freely!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jimmy Smith!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Freely shoots in for a takedown but Smith shows good takedown defense.

Smith closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Freely did well to prevent Smith getting side control.
Freely wants to control but Smith is keeping busy.
Smith trying to control from half guard but Freely is working away.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Smith working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Smith not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Smith working the head and body with strikes.
Freely works his way to full guard. Good work.
Freely is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Freely has momentary wrist control but Smith slips an elbow through the middle.
Freely controls Smith momentarily but Smith frees himself.
Freely being controlled here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Freely looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Freely controls Smith momentarily but Smith frees himself.
Smith passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Smith misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Freely takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Freely is looking to regain half guard here but Smith keeps moving and retains side control.
Freely is working hard here to advance position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith working the ground and pound.
Smith landing strikes.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Smith is trying to ground and pound but Freely uses the momentary lack of control by Smith to regain half guard.
Freely regains full guard. Nicely done.
Smith in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Smith postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Smith must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Smith wants to control from the top but Freely keeps moving.
Smith stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Freely swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to control from the top but Freely keeps moving.
Freely seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Smith is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Freely looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Freely blocks a head kick by Smith.
Freely appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Freely will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Freely darts in looking for a takedown but Smith gets double underhooks and turns Freely into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for IP Freely. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Freely shoots in looking for a takedown but Smith manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Freely's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Nice takedown defense from Smith. No joy for Freely on that attempt.

Smith shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Freely's guard.
Smith distracts Freely with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Smith trying to control but Freely is working from the bottom.
Freely looking to control.
Smith wants to control from the top but Freely keeps moving.
Smith postures up in Freely's guard and throws a big left but Freely blocks it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Smith lands a couple of digs.
Freely bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Smith's guard.

Smith keeping moving, preventing Freely from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Smith dominated that round.
That's time! Freely's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Freely avoids a punch combination nicely.
Freely connects with a crisp jab.
Freely has his takedown stuffed
and Smith counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Freely misses the shot to the body.
Smith has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Smith defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Freely.
Smith doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Smith leaves Freely with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for IP Freely. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Freely misses with a right hand

and Smith counters with a single leg into guard. Freely didn't expect that.
Smith loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Smith controlling from the top position.
Freely keeping moving, preventing Smith from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith is working Freely over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Freely working a defensive guard here.
Freely working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Smith.
Smith lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Smith looking to sit in guard and control but Freely gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Smith looking to hit a scissor sweep but Freely is one step ahead there.
Freely throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Smith works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freely trying to control the position from guard on top but Smith is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Freely sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Smith's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Smith is defending against the submission attempts here by Freely.
Smith moves into full guard.
Smith trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Freely preventing the sweep.
Smith pulls Freely in close to his closed guard and prevents Freely from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Freely looking to pass the guard.
Freely loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Freely preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Smith defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Freely.
Smith is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Freely takes a head kick and keeps coming.
No luck for Freely with that takedown attempt.
Smith throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Smith's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Smith duly obliges.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith misses with a double jab.
Smith scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Smith connects with a nice looking jab.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Freely fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Smith avoids it really well and circles away.
Nice sprawl there from Freely as Smith shoots in.
Jimmy Smith seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Freely is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Smith's half guard.
Freely stalling away here and it's allowed Smith to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Smith looking to hit a scissor sweep but Freely is one step ahead there.
Smith keeping moving, preventing Freely from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Smith showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Freely looks for a takedown but Smith sprawls well.
Smith scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Freely shoots in and drives through. Smith sprawls well.
Smith lands a nice looking body shot.
Freely fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Smith avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for IP Freely. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Smith looks for the body kick but Freely saw that one coming.
Freely shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Smith as he jumps to the side.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith is looking to clinch.
Smith throws a right hand that Freely ducks under and follows up with a left that Freely also avoids with ease.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Smith - that will leave a mark!
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up but Freely swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Freely shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Smith pinned against the cage. Smith gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
IP Freely seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith lands a nice leg kick that just misses Freely's sensitive parts.
Freely shoots for a takedown but Smith saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Freely misses with a straight right.
A jab from Smith finds it's way through Freely's defenses.
Smith slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Smith lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Freely shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Smith defends it nicely.
Nice jab there from Smith.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith thuds his right hand into Freely's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Smith throws a combination. Freely tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Freely is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smith scores with a jab to the head.
Oh Freely is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Freely circles away.
Smith connects with a jab and follows up with a big overhand right! Oh that's hurt Freely! He's out on his feet! Smith rushes in and drops Freely with another big right hand, forcing the referee to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:25 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Jimmy Smith!
Jimmy Smith thanked the fans post fight for their support.