PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rudolf Leblanc (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Connor Jones (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rudolf Leblanc has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Leblanc
vs
Jones

176 cm
24
279 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

210 cm
25
275 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rudolf Leblanc!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Connor Jones!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Vladimir Khabensky and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jones shoots for a double leg takedown but Leblanc sprawls well. He's pushed Jones's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Jones looks to land a combination but Leblanc avoids it well.
Jones fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Jones keeps Leblanc at a distance using the push kick.
A head kick misses from Jones.
No luck for Leblanc with that takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones misses with a head kick.
Jones pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Leblanc needs to keep his hands up - Jones had a free shot at his head there.

It looks like Rudolf Leblanc has been cut.
No luck for Jones with that takedown attempt.
Leblanc was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Rudolf Leblanc has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Connor Jones.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Leblanc fires out a quick counter leg kick but Jones just manages to avoid it.
Leblanc could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Jones misses with the body kick
enabling Leblanc to counter with a crisp jab.
Jones is trying hard to land a takedown here. Leblanc sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Leblanc shoots in for a takedown but Jones shows good takedown defense.

Jones moves into the clinch successfully.
Jones keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Leblanc's efforts to push away.
Jones is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Leblanc pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Jones tries to stall but Leblanc uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Leblanc looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Leblanc manages to break the clinch.

Jones rushes Leblanc and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Jones tries to pull guard but Leblanc forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Jones looks winded!
Leblanc wants to break free but Jones has control.
Jones looking to stall.
Leblanc is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Jones pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Jones tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Leblanc throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Jones's waist but Jones gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Leblanc off to one side.
Jones swats away the attempt to clinch by Leblanc.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Jones clinches up against the cage.
Jones holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Jones goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Jones is trying to break free.
Leblanc misses with an elbow over the top.
Leblanc is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Jones pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Leblanc has Jones pressed against the cage, preventing Jones from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Jones has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Leblanc after a bit of a struggle.

Leblanc manages to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leblanc moves out of range of the body kick.
Leblanc blocks a head kick by Jones.
Leblanc shoots in looking for a takedown but Jones manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Leblanc's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Jones feints a counter leg kick.

Jones drives through and clinches with Leblanc against the cage.
Jones keeps control of Leblanc as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Leblanc is trying to break the clinch but Jones is controlling him.
Leblanc is trying to drag Jones to the mat but Jones just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Jones is trying to break the clinch but Leblanc is controlling him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jones gets through Leblanc's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Connor Jones dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rudolf Leblanc's cut.
That's time! Leblanc's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Jones closes the distance and pushes Leblanc back into the cage.
Leblanc can't break the clinch.
Leblanc blocks a body shot from Jones.
Jones is working for takedown but Leblanc is calmly controlling the position for now.
Leblanc wants to break free but Jones has control.
Jones tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Leblanc avoids it.
Jones lands a right hand.
Leblanc blocks an elbow strike from Jones.
Leblanc wants to break free but Jones has control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones wants to take the fight to the mat but Leblanc manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Jones wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Leblanc breaks the clinch.
Leblanc defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Jones.
Rudolf Leblanc has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Connor Jones.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Jones clinches up against the cage.
Jones is trying to break the clinch but Leblanc has him pressed against the cage.
Jones tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Leblanc smiles and moves away.
Jones is breathing heavily.

Leblanc throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Jones was covering up waiting for the punch and Leblanc finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Leblanc working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Leblanc showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Jones has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Jones working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Leblanc.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Jones preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Jones is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Leblanc is controlling him.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Leblanc is looking to work some ground and pound but Jones has wrist control.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Jab, jab by Leblanc - just one landing.
Connor Jones seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jones slips a jab and a cross from Leblanc.
Jones darts in looking for a takedown but Leblanc gets double underhooks and turns Jones into the cage.
Leblanc throws a big counter combination but Jones scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Jones throws a sloppy head kick and Leblanc moves out of range easily.
Rudolf Leblanc is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Leblanc gets a takedown into half guard.
Leblanc 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.
Leblanc sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Leblanc not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leblanc controlling the pace.
Leblanc missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Leblanc throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Leblanc controlling the action here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Jones feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Leblancs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

Jones clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rudolf Leblanc dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rudolf Leblanc's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Leblanc closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Leblanc lands in his opponent's guard.
Leblanc makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Leblanc might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Leblanc lands a couple of elbows.
Leblanc throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Jones works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Jones looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Jones had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Leblanc defends it easily.
Leblanc showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Jones takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leblanc has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Jones closes the distance and pushes Leblanc back into the cage.
Jones throws a knee to the head but misses.

Leblanc escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Jones fails with a takedown attempt.

Jones shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Jones showed some decent athleticism there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leblanc regains full guard. Nicely done.
Jones wants to get up but he can't break Leblanc's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Jones being controlled here momentarily.
Jones won't allow Leblanc to sweep him here.
Leblanc keeping busy, throwing shots from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leblanc is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Leblanc trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

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

Jones clinches with his opponent.
Leblanc keeps control of Jones as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Jones tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Leblanc's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Jones clinches with his opponent.

Leblanc escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Jones clinches up with Leblanc and pushes him back against the cage.

Leblanc breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jab by Leblanc.

Jones shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Leblanc is trying to defend but Jones finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Jones is looking for a kimura here.
Leblanc slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Leblanc looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

And that's the end of the fight!
Connor Jones comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Jones 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Connor Jones!