PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bornas Lopette (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Begbie Franco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lopette comes to the cage accompanied by Back from the dead. Franco has chosen Born Slippy as his entrance music. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Lopette
vs
Franco

190 cm
28
191 lbs
25 - 5 - 1

185 cm
37
190 lbs
31 - 17 - 1

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Spartan Nutrition
Sun-Tzu

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 25 - 5 - 1, fighting out of New York, Bornas Lopette!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 31 - 17 - 1, fighting out of London, Begbie Franco!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lopette throws a head kick that looked like it stung.

Franco has taken the fight to the clinch.

Franco manages to break the clinch.
A nice leg kick lands there from Lopette.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Lopette checks a leg kick.
A jab from Franco misses.
Franco missing with a left hand there. Lopette was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Lopette blocks a leg kick.
Franco lands a high kick!
Lopette throws a leg kick but Franco moved away.
A little jabbing left from Franco on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Franco checks a leg kick.
Franco throws a push kick but Lopette slaps the foot to one side.
Lopette appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Franco on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Lopette tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Franco wants to clinch up but Lopette keeps it at a distance.
Franco just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromLopette.
Lopette is looking to score with low kicks.
Lopette ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Franco moves away.
Lopette avoids the head kick by Franco.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopette throws a leg kick but Franco sees it coming and moves out of range.
An inside leg kick from Lopette misses.
Lopette moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromFranco.
Lopette misses with a leg kick
and Franco counters with a good low kick that Lopette was not able to check.
Franco misses with a wild body shot.
As Franco backs away, Lopette returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Lopette's corner calls for a 1-2. Lopette obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Lopette throws a low kick but Franco moves out of range easily.
Franco lands with a cross.
Lopette shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Lopette throws a leg kick
and Franco counters with a leg kick.
Lopette lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Lopette misses with a wild body shot.
Franco swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Franco tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lopette was well out of range. Poor timing from Franco.
Franco throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Lopette counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Lopette with a hook.
Lopette scoring well with a low kick there.
A bone on bone clash there as Franco blocks the leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Franco throws a looping overhand right but Lopette ducks down to avoid it.
Franco checks the leg kick nicely there.
Franco throws a big counter head kick but Lopette avoids it with no problem.
Some bone on bone action there as Franco checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Lopette lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Lopette fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Franco.
Lopette throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Franco throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Lopette half committed to a counter leg kick.
Franco looks to score with a jab to the body but Lopette is just out of range.
Lopette ducks under a wild hook from Franco.

Franco moves into the clinch.
Lopette swings wildly with an uppercut but Franco uses good head movement to avoid it.
Lopette keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Franco's efforts to push away.
Franco blocks an elbow strike.
Lopette blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Franco manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopette connects with a solid leg kick.
Jab from Lopette.
Franco goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
A head kick by Franco misses
and Lopette counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Lopette lands a nice leg kick that just misses Franco's sensitive parts.

Lopette takes the fight into the clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Franco.
Lopette misses with a body punch.
Franco lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A short left from Franco.
Franco working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Franco blocks an uppercut.

Lopette breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Lopette checks a leg kick nicely.
Lopette thinks about countering with a body kick.
Franco displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Lopette.
Lopette wants to land a leg kick but Franco is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lopette lands with a thumping leg kick.
Lopette chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Franco can pounce on him.
Lopette throws a leg kick but Franco sees it coming and moves out of range.
Franco buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Lopette attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Lopette misses with a leg kick
and Franco counters with a slapping leg kick.
A jab from Lopette misses.
Franco misses with the combination.
Lopette tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Franco manages to circle out of the way.
Franco's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A head kick misses from Franco.
Franco moves out of range of the leg kick from Lopette.
Lopette works the jab nicely.
Franco cracks Lopette with a good jab.
A jab from Lopette does it's job there.
Lopette throws a solid leg kick but Franco takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Lopette.
Franco tries a quick counter leg kick but Lopette is wise to it.
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 Bornas Lopette will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Franco listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Lopette misses with a hook. Franco ducked under it nicely.
It seemed like Franco was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Lopette connects with a solid leg kick.
A slapping leg kick lands for Franco.
Lopette throws a nice inside leg kick.
Franco throws a jab but it's blocked by Lopette.
Lopette checks the leg kick nicely there.
Lopette tried to counter with a leg kick but Franco avoided it.
Lopette looks to land a body kick but Franco moved away.
Lopette swings for the body but Franco moves out of range.
Franco is trying to counter with his kicks.
Lopette throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Franco feints a counter leg kick.
Lopette throws an off balance right hand
and Franco counters with a nice body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jab from Lopette.
Lopette lands a nice leg kick that just misses Franco's sensitive parts.
Lopette lands with an overhand left.
Franco wants to clinch but Lopette slips to the side
and Franco takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lopette avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco cracks Lopette with an open hand slap.
Franco's corner calls for a 1-2. Franco obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Lopette moves out of range as Franco throws a body kick.
Lopette blocks a head kick by Franco.

Franco clinches.
Franco tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Franco breaks the clinch.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Lopette, right into the meat.
Franco wants to clinch but Lopette slips to the side
and Lopette counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bornas Lopette is winning the standup battle so far.
Franco attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Franco ducks under a wild hook from Lopette.
Lopette pivots, looking for a leg kick but Franco is out of range and Lopette settles back down.
Nice jab there from Lopette.
Franco throws a body kick that misses
and Lopette cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Franco throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Lopette counters with a stiff right hand.
Franco misses with a straight right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lopette lands with a slapping head kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for Franco.
Lopette has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Franco slips under a jab.
A chopping leg kick lands by Lopette.
Franco fails to land with a series of punches.
Franco fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Franco checks a low kick from Lopette.
Decent striking displayed by Lopette there.
Lopette walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Franco checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Franco on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Lopette blocks the body kick.
Lopette looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Lopette scoring well with a low kick there.
A lazy left from Franco finds it's target.
Lopette avoids the head kick by Franco.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopette throws a nice outside leg kick.
Lopette dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Franco. That did some damage!
Lopette throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Lopette is looking to chop away at Franco's legs.
Franco misses with a body shot.
Lopette feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Lopette feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Franco's calf.
Lopette wants to slow Franco down by chopping away at his legs.
Franco takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Franco tries to land a leg kick but Lopette saw it coming and moves away.
Lopette with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Franco throws a sloppy head kick and Lopette moves out of range easily.
Lopette pivots, looking for a leg kick but Franco is out of range and Lopette settles back down.
Franco throws a sloppy head kick and Lopette moves out of range easily.
Lopette throws a head kick but Franco moves out of range.
Franco looks to land a body kick but Lopette moved away.
Lopette wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franco lands with a right hand.
Franco looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Franco lands a nice looking body shot.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Franco misses with a few strikes there.
Lopette lands with a kick to the ribs.
Franco throws a looping overhand right but Lopette ducks down to avoid it.
Franco throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Franco looks to land a body kick but Lopette moved away.
Lopette seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Good work by Franco as he checks the leg kick.
Lopette avoids the head kick by Franco.
Franco takes one to the chin there.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A clash of legs there as Franco blocks the low kick.
A big right from Lopette misses.
Lopette tries to land a body kick
and Franco counters with a good low kick that Lopette was not able to check.
Franco lands a really nice looking cross but Lopette seems unphased.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Bornas Lopette will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Lopette throws out a leg kick but Franco moves out of range and Lopette only half commits.
Franco throws out a counter right but Lopette avoids it with no problem.
Lopette misses with a head kick.
Franco throws a body punch but Lopette moves out of range.
An attempted straight right counter from Lopette misses the target.
Franco misses with a low kick.
Lopette swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Lopette paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Franco dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nice defenses there by Lopette.
It looked like Lopette wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
A leg kick checked by Franco.
Franco throws a leg kick
and Lopette counters with a straight right hand.
Franco throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Lopette on the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lopette checks the leg kick nicely there.
Lopette throws a lazy uppercut
and Franco counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Lopette takes a kick to the side of the head.
Lopette misses with a body kick.
Franco paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco connects with an inside leg kick.
Franco misses with a wild body shot.
Franco avoids the body shot from Lopette.
Lopette bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Franco's head.
Franco connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Lopette, right into the meat.
Nice cross by Franco.
Lopette throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Franco slips a jab from Lopette.
Franco throws a nice inside leg kick.
Franco slips a jab from Lopette.
A punch lands to the side of Lopette 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Lopette missing with a left hand there. Franco was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Franco uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Lopette.
Franco looks to land a left hand but Lopette moved out of range nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franco checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Franco takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lopette throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Franco stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Franco throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Lopette misses with a jab, cross combination.
Franco takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
A jab from Lopette misses.
Lopette misses with a leg kick
and Franco counters with a head kick. That will keep Lopette thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Jab from Lopette.
A head kick misses from Franco.
Lopette throws out a loose jab but Franco uses good head movement to avoid it.
Franco throws an off balance right hand
and Lopette counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Lopette dives in and grabs Franco's left leg, looking for a takedown. Franco pushes down on Lopette's head and hops out.
Franco has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Franco fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lopette manages to avoid it.
Lopette lands with an uppercut that bounces Franco off the cage and back into range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopette checks a leg kick.
Lopette walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Franco checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Lopette walks into a straight right hand from Franco.
Franco misses the jab.
Lopette swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
A solid leg kick lands there for Lopette.

Lopette takes the fight into the clinch.
Lopette is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Franco gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Begbie Franco has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Franco managing to block the knees to the body from Lopette.
Lopette lands with a short shot to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Franco.
Lopette misses with the head strike.
Lopette is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Franco is defending well for now.

Franco breaks the clinch.
The fighters circle momentarily. Franco darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Lopette checks the leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franco throws a front kick aimed at Lopette's knee but Lopette avoids it well.
Franco takes a swing at Lopette's ribcage but misses.
Lopette thinks about countering with a body kick.
Franco lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lopette tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Franco is able to avoid easily.
Lopette tries a head kick but it misses.
Franco appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Lopette lands with a kick to the temple. Franco shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Lopette with a lazy takedown attempt
and Franco counters with a huge head kick that drops Lopette! The ref dives in to stop the fight and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:34 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Begbie Franco!
A relieved looking Begbie Franco thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.