PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Leland Martinez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jon Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Leland Martinez has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Martinez
vs
Howard

211 cm
21
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
22
140 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Leland Martinez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jon Howard!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Aleksandr Martynov and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some wild striking there from Martinez.
Howard with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Martinez shoots in looking for a takedown but Howard manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Martinez's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Howard has Martinez up against the cage in a clinch.
Martinez looking to stall.
Martinez tries to break the clinch but Howard is controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Howard manages to break the clinch.
Martinez moves out of range of the leg kick from Howard.
Howard just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromMartinez.

Howard closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Howard lands in his opponent's guard.
Howard won't allow Martinez to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Howard drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Howard jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Howard must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Martinez looking to hit a scissor sweep but Howard is one step ahead there.
Howard looking to pass the guard.

Howard stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Howard fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Martinez to the ground. Howard is now in Martinez's guard.
Martinez is trying to control the position but Howard postures up.
Martinez being controlled here, momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Howard drops back looking for a leg! Martinez is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Martinez manages to kick Howard off! Howard jumps back into Martinez's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Martinez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Martinez wants to control the position but Howard says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Martinez has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Howard is working away from the top position though.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Howard in particular looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Martinez is defending against the submission attempts here by Howard.
Howard is trying to control the action in half guard but Martinez is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Martinez is defending against the submission attempts here by Howard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Martinez wants to improve his position but Howard is controlling well.
Howard wants to take a breather but Martinez is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Howard trying to control the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Martinez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Howard throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Howard looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Howard is stalling in the full guard.
Martinez managing to control the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Martinez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Howard dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Howard throws a low kick, looking for Martinez's leg but Martinez calmly moves out of range.
Howard moves in looking to clinch but Martinez pushes him off.
Howard moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

Martinez is rocked!

Howard instigates a clinch.
Oh Martinez is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Howard has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Howard jumps guard and drags Martinez to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Howard is on top in guard.

Howard preventing the sweep.
Jon Howard has got the better of the ground game so far.

Howard stands and steps away. Martinez gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Howard dives in and gets a big takedown. He lands in full mount and immediately unloads a series of heavy strikes! Martinez has had enough and taps out.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:32 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Jon Howard!
Jon Howard thanked the fans post fight for their support.