PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Damion Holman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eli Mathers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Holman
vs
Mathers

180 cm
24
178 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

180 cm
25
175 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Damion Holman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Eli Mathers!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Dean Styles and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holman goes for a double leg but Mathers avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Mathers continues to drive forward.
Eli Mathers seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Mathers throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Holman was covering up waiting for the punch and Mathers finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Holman wants to stand up but Mathers is controlling him.
Mathers is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Holman has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Mathers wants to pass the guard but Holman is keeping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mathers is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathers slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Mathers working away.
Mathers trying to control the action but Holman is working from the bottom.
Mathers working the ground and pound but Holman is defending the strikes.
Mathers trying to control the position but Holman is working away.

Mathers decides to stand up, so the ref orders Holman to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mathers fakes the leg kick and cracks Holman in the body.

Mathers rushes Holman and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Holman is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Holman seems a little flustered. He's come in with the intention of controlling the clinch but Mathers is preventing him from doing so, at least for the moment.
Nice body punch from Mathers.

Mathers escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Holman swats away the attempt to clinch by Mathers.

Mathers gets a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mathers has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Holman is trying to keep an underhook but Mathers manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Holman is trying to maintain the position but Mathers is very close to passing his half guard.
Holman wants to get back to full guard.
Mathers uses his free foot to push down on Holman's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Holman.
Holman can't escape the position.
Mathers throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Mathers unloads with some shots from mount but Holman bucks and avoids them well.
Mathers lands a big elbow.
Mathers has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Mathers thowing shots but they're missing.
Holman is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holman is looking to improve his position but Mathers isn't that keen on the idea.
Mathers looking to control but Holman is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

Mathers has control of Holman's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Holman regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Mathers throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mathers thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Holman's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eli Mathers dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Mathers gets a takedown into half guard.
Mathers has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Mathers decides to stand and escape the position.
Mathers throws a head kick that misses
and Holman counters with a series of strikes. Mathers will be more careful next time no doubt.

Mathers dives in and scores a takedown into Holman's guard.
Holman wants to sweep but no luck.
Mathers throws a big right hand that misses.
Mathers trying to control but Holman is working from the bottom.
Eli Mathers has got the better of the ground game so far.
Holman is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Mathers throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathers wants to stand but Holman has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Mathers content to stall in guard here.
Mathers postures up.
Mathers working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mathers trying to control the position from guard on top but Holman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mathers trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Mathers gets to his feet - Holman follows without any prompting.

Mathers gets a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

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

Mathers closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Mathers is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Holman is keeping busy.

Mathers breaks the clinch.
Mathers scores with a push kick.

Mathers shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Holman napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Mathers misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Mathers trying to control the action but Holman is working from the bottom.
Holman is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holman dodges the ground and pound from Mathers.

Mathers is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Holman has escaped the position, nice work there.
What's Holman going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Holman can't do much from the bottom here.
Mathers in side control, throwing shots but Holman defends.

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.
Mathers sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Holman is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Holman tries to improve position but can't.
Holman avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Mathers.
Mathers trying to control the action but Holman is working from the bottom.
Holman wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Mathers tries to advance to mount but Holman denies him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The ground and pound from Mathers seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eli Mathers showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Mathers throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Holman counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Mathers has managed to clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Mathers.
Holman wants to break the clinch but can't.
Mathers controlling the action here for a moment.

Mathers manages to break the clinch.
Mathers is looking to clinch.
Holman tries to counter by clinching up but Mathers breaks away and moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mathers lands a head kick!

Holman is rocked!

It looks like Damion Holman has been cut.
Damion Holman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mathers fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Holman.
Oh Holman is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Mathers lands a huge takedown. Holman is out but the ref is slow to react and Mathers lands 3 more undefended punches before the fight is stopped. Brutal finish. Holman lies on the canvas for a good minute before the doctors bring him round. Good to see he's OK.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Eli Mathers!
Eli Mathers bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.