PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Cletus Leblanc (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ray Leonard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cletus Leblanc has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Leblanc
vs
Leonard

208 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

185 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Cletus Leblanc!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ray Leonard!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Alyssa Summers and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Leblanc fails in his attempt to clinch.

Leblanc clinches.

Leonard pulls guard.
Leblanc throws an elbow that misses. Leonard uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Leblanc's guard. Nice move by Leonard!
Leonard postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Leblanc looking to hit a scissor sweep but Leonard is one step ahead there.
Leblanc avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leonard 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.

Leonard stands up from Leblanc's guard - Leonard perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Leblanc dives in and scores a takedown into Leonard's guard.

Leonard kicks Leblanc off and gets to his feet.
Leblanc connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Leonard momentarily.
Leblanc tries to close the distance and clinch but Leonard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Leonard tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jab by Leblanc.
Leonard shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Leblanc as he avoids it easily.
Leblanc tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Leonard swivels and escapes.
Leonard is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Leonard fails with a takedown attempt.
Leblanc falls off balance throwing a combination

and Leonard counters by moving into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leblanc goes for a takedown attempt but Leonard pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Leonard looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Cletus Leblanc has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ray Leonard.
Leonard showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Leblanc.
As Leblanc backs off Leonard throws a huge counter combo but Leblanc manages to avoid it all.

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.
Leblanc tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Leonard wants to counter with a clinch but Leblanc pushes him away.
Leonard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Leonard uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Leblanc.
Leonard with the counter takedown but Leblanc avoids it easily.
Horrible takedown attempt by Leblanc or perhaps it was just good defense by Leonard, which made it look bad.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Leblanc misses with a few strikes there.
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 Cletus Leblanc will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Leblanc has taken the fight to the clinch.

Leblanc manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Leonard stands up and waves to Leblanc to follow him.

Leonard gets tackled into the cage by Leblanc. Leblanc maintains the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leblanc tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Leblanc can't get the takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leblanc tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Leonard just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cletus Leblanc. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leblanc wants to break the clinch but can't.

Leonard manages to pull guard.
Leonard bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Leblanc's guard.

Leonard gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Leonard's coach down at The Factory was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Leonard's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Leblanc keeps Leonard at a distance using the push kick.
Leblanc scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Leblanc tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Leblanc shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Leonard but Leonard pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Leonard is looking for the big counter here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leblanc tries to close the distance and clinch but Leonard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Leblanc closes the distance and pushes Leonard back into the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Leblanc's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Leblanc working hard to break the clinch.

Leonard jumps guard and drags Leblanc to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Leonard pulls Leblanc in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Leonard has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Leblanc can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Leblanc postures up.
Leonard has control of Leblanc's left arm, preventing Leblanc from doing any damage.

Leblanc stands over his opponent and dives in with a flying punch! Leonard throws up his legs and catches Leblanc in a triangle! Oh this looks tight! Leblanc tries to escape but he's forced to tap! Wow, fantastic work there by Leonard! That came out of nowhere!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:50 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Ray Leonard!