PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Elmer Powell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brutus Bleskie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brutus Bleskie has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Powell
vs
Bleskie

221 cm
18
140 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

160 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Elmer Powell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Brutus Bleskie!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Trevor Gratis and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bleskie gets a takedown into half guard.
Bleskie is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Powell tries to roll over but Bleskie keeps him under control.
Still in half guard, Bleskie seems content to control.
Powell is trying to maintain the position but Bleskie is very close to passing his half guard.

Powell has one foot on Bleskie's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

Powell decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Powell is looking to stand up but he'll have to free his leg first. Instead, Bleskie manages to get to full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Powell throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bleskie works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Powell won't allow Bleskie to get back to his feet.
Bleskie utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bleskie trying to control the position.

Powell is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Bleskie is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Bleskie has escaped and now he's on top!

Bleskie won't allow Powell to sweep him here.
Bleskie seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Bleskie trying to stand up but can't free himself from Powell's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Bleskie wants to control from the top but Powell keeps moving.
Bleskie with a nice head shot there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bleskie tries to stand but Powell is controlling from the bottom.
Bleskie won't allow Powell to sweep him here.
Powell striking off his back but it's not causing Bleskie any problems.
Bleskie wants to control from the top but Powell keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Bleskie throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Powell tries to counter by clinching up but Bleskie breaks away and moves out of range.
Bleskie pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Powell attempts a counter takedown but Bleskie avoids it well and moves away.

Bleskie moves into the clinch.
Powell really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Powell prevents a body shot from Bleskie.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bleskie tries to circle away but Powell has him pinned against the cage.
Bleskie tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Powell avoids it.
Powell misses with some punches.

Bleskie ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Bleskie no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Powell connects with a couple of short punches.
Powell trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Bleskie looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Bleskie trying to control the position.
Powell knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Bleskie on the ground.
Powell lands a couple of elbows.
Powell scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Powell prevents Bleskie from getting back to his feet.

Powell gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Good work by Powell as he checks the leg kick.
Bleskie looks winded!
Bleskie misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Powell closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Bleskie did well to prevent Powell getting side control.

Powell seems to be looking for submissions.
Bleskie wants to get back to his feet.
Bleskie avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Powell.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Powell is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Bleskie sees it coming and defends easily.
Powell trying to control from half guard but Bleskie is working away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Elmer Powell will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Powell tries to sprawl but Bleskie drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Powell pushes Bleskie off looking to stand but Bleskie dives back in and keeps control.
Bleskie wants to control but Powell is keeping him busy.
Bleskie passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Powell!
Powell takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

Bleskie has control of Powell's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Powell regains control of the situation pretty easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bleskie looking to control but Powell is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Powell is wriggling around trying to escape.
Bleskie has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Bleskie trying to control but Powell is having none of it.
Powell working to try and regain half guard.
Powell is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Powell is squirming around, avoiding Bleskie's attempts to control the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Powell is looking to improve his position but Bleskie isn't that keen on the idea.
Powell regains half guard.
Bleskie works his way into full mount!
Bleskie throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Powell blocking the ground and pound.
Powell squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Powell is trying to escape the mount.
Bleskie trying to control but Powell is having none of it.
Bleskie might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Powell haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Powell looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Bleskie gets his hands free as Powell looks to control.
Brutus Bleskie has got the better of the ground game so far.
Powell is trying to break free.

Bleskie working for the choke.
Bleskie tries to keep control of the position but Powell is staying busy.
Bleskie is breathing heavily.
Powell tries to break free.

Powell is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Bleskie gets his way!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Powell tries to escape but Bleskie has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brutus Bleskie showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Bleskie moves into the clinch.

Bleskie gets control of Powell's arms and successfully pulls guard. Bleskie will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Bleskie is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Powell with a flurry of punches that miss.

Bleskie working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Powell doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Powell manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Bleskie looking for a guillotine here but Powell defends easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bleskie is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Powell with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Bleskie takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Powell makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Powell drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Powell jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Powell working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Bleskie is trying to control the position but Powell postures up.
Powell is in close to Bleskie's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Powell wants to stand but Bleskie has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Powell's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Powell postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Powell has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

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.
Powell is in close to Bleskie's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Powell has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Bleskie is proving hard to escape from.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Powell shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Powell was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Powell is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Bleskie has escaped the position, nice work there.
Bleskie is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Bleskie seems a little lost for a moment, as Powell dominates the positioning.
Bleskie is holding Powell down, trying to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Powell content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Bleskie is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

Powell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Powell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Bleskie is looking for a sweep.
Bleskie manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Powell is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Bleskie jumps into side control!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Powell is trying to improve his position.
Powell looking for a sweep but Bleskie has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Bleskie can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Powell is looking to escape.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bleskie content just to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Elmer Powell.
I think Powell has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Elmer Powell!