PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jolly Leg Byrd (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nash Banks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Leg Byrd
vs
Banks

172 cm
24
140 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

169 cm
23
150 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Héritage!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jolly Leg Byrd!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nash Banks!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Chad Campbell and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Byrd drives through and clinches with Banks against the cage.
Nice body punch from Byrd.
Byrd tries to work over Banks's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Byrd lands with a light punch inside.
Byrd keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Banks's efforts to push away.

Byrd breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Banks throws a lazy uppercut
and Byrd counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Byrd closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Banks explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Banks misses with a wild body shot.
Banks throws a low kick but Byrd moves out of range easily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Banks lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Byrd jabs Banks right on the nose. Banks blinks but takes it well.
Byrd scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Banks looks to land a right hand but Byrd moved out of range.
Donk. Byrd catches Banks right on the button with a cross.
Banks throws a predictable looking body shot
and Byrd makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Banks really felt that one!
Banks throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banks uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Byrd.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Banks crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Byrd - the referee stops the clock and Banks gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Byrd. Banks manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Byrd scores with a spinning back kick!
Banks takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Banks gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Nash Banks is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Byrd lands a slapping body shot.
Banks moves out of range as Byrd strikes.
Byrd lands a lovely overhand right.
Byrd lands a right hook to the body.
Banks misses with a left hand
and Byrd counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Banks misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Byrd.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Byrd lands a nice leg kick that just misses Banks's sensitive parts.
Banks throws an off balance right hand
and Byrd counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Banks listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Byrd connects with a body shot that sends Banks's belly button to the back.
Banks misses with a body shot.
A counter left hand to the body from Byrd misses its target.
Banks misses with a left hand
and Byrd counters with a low kick, right behind Banks 's knee.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Byrd connects with a jab.
Banks swings for the body but Byrd moves out of range.
Byrd feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Banks walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Banks ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Byrd with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Byrd takes one to the chin there.
Byrd punishes Banks's body with a nice straight punch.
Banks dips to his left and cracks Byrd with an uppercut!
Byrd lands a head shot.
Banks throws a body punch but Byrd moves out of range.
Banks misses the shot to the body.
Byrd fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Banks manages to avoid it.
Byrd comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Banks throws a low kick but Byrd avoids it.
Byrd swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Byrd is looking to wear down Banks with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Byrd scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Byrd avoids a punch combination nicely.
An attempted straight right counter from Byrd misses the target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks missing with a left hand there. Byrd was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Byrd uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Banks.
Byrd walks into a straight right hand from Banks.
That kick from Byrd tenderised Banks's leg. Banks is trying to keep his angry face on.
A left lands for Byrd.
Byrd connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Nash Banks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Banks will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Banks throws a hook but Byrd avoids it easily.
Banks gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Byrd.
Byrd keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Byrd lands a nice hook to Banks's body. Banks takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Byrd closes this distance looking for a takedown but Banks circles away.
Byrd is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Banks stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Byrd on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Byrd forces Banks back against the cage and clinches.
Byrd can't find room to land a body shot as Banks controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Byrd lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Byrd.

Byrd has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Banks uses from the top position.
Byrd wants to control but Banks passes easily into half guard.
It looks like Banks is going to stand back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Byrd has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Banks is working away from the top position though.
Byrd tries to roll over but Banks keeps him under control.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Byrd holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Byrd wants to improve his position but Banks is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jolly Leg Byrd dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Banks scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Byrd doesn't seem bothered though.
Byrd ducks right into an uppercut from Banks.
Byrd slips a jab from Banks.
Byrd feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Bankss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Nice cross by Byrd.
Banks misses with a body shot

and Byrd holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Byrd pulls guard effortlessly.
Banks wants to stand and escape but instead Byrd has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Banks has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Byrd has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Byrd is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Banks can do to turn this around?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Byrd misses with a body punch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Byrd lands a nice elbow.
Byrd makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Banks wants to break free but Byrd has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Byrd misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Byrd lands an uppercut.
Byrd misses with some punches.
Byrd softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Byrd goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Banks's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Byrd jabs at Banks's body.
A combination from Banks does no damage.
It looked like Byrd wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Banks misses with a low kick.
Byrd looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Byrd checks a low kick from Banks.
Byrd uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Banks.
A counter left hand to the body from Byrd misses its target.
Byrd lands a nice hook to Banks's body. Banks takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
A slow jab from Banks misses its intended target.
Banks takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Banks throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Byrd stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Banks throws an overhand right that lands on Byrd's shoulder, as Byrd tries to avoid the shot.
It looked like Byrd was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Banks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Banks misses with an uppercut. Byrd saw that one coming.
An attempted straight right counter from Byrd misses the target.
Banks uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Byrd.
Banks misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Byrd definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Jolly Leg Byrd is winning the standup battle so far.
Byrd throws a body punch but Banks moves out of range.
Banks connects with a leg kick. Byrd looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
A slow jab from Banks misses its intended target.
Banks throws a body shot but no joy.
Banks takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Banks throws a body shot but no joy.
Byrd uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Banks.
Byrd dodges the punch combination from Banks.
Banks takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Banks waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Byrd.
Byrd seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Byrd scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

Byrd clinches up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrd stalling.
Byrd lands with a short shot to the head.
Jolly Leg Byrd has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Still in the clinch, Byrd scores with a nice short uppercut.
Byrd lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A right handed body shot lands from Byrd.
Byrd misses with a punch on the inside.
Byrd is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
A short right from Banks.
Byrd lands a hook to the side of the head.
Byrd misses with a hook to the ribs.
Byrd tries a body shot but Banks blocks it.
Banks tries to circle away but Byrd has him pinned against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Byrd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is keeping an eye on Byrd - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Banks can't break the clinch.
Byrd lands a right hand.
Byrd connects with a knee to the head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Byrd lands with a right to the head.
Byrd lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Banks backwards.
Byrd jumps guard but Banks stands there with Byrd around his waist. Byrd gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Byrd tries to throw a body punch but Banks avoids it by throwing Byrd back against the cage.
Banks tries to break free but Byrd pushes him back against the cage.
Byrd's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Byrd lands on the inside with an uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jolly Leg Byrd dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Banks waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Byrd.
Banks fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Banks misses with a series of wild punches.
Banks misses with a right hand
and Byrd counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Byrd checks a leg kick.
Banks misses with a straight right.
Byrd lands with a straight right. Banks didn't see that one coming.
Byrd connects with a single shot there.
Byrd bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

Byrd closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Jolly Leg Byrd overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Byrd trying to control the action but Banks is working from the bottom.
Banks pushes Byrd away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Byrd gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Byrd controls the position.
Banks is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banks wants to control but Byrd postures up.
Byrd is staying tight to Banks's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Banks tries to buck Byrd off but Byrd is having none of it.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Byrd tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Byrd is trying to get an arm triangle but Banks is defending well.
Banks tries to control but Byrd manages to take his back.
Byrd controlling well, preventing Banks from escaping the position.
Banks is trying to stand back up.

Byrd is looking for the choke from the back position but Banks is controlling his hands well.
Nash Banks has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jolly Leg Byrd is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Banks just trying to survive but Byrd is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Banks is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Byrd off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Banks is trying to get back to his feet but Byrd has full control of the position and if anything, Banks has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Byrd just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.

Banks fending off the submission attempt from Byrd.
Byrd biding his time, controlling Banks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks wants to control his opponent's hands but Byrd gets his hands free.
Banks is trying to stand back up.
Banks tries to escape but Byrd has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Banks is trying to stand back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Good control from Byrd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Banks can't escape the position.
Banks is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Byrd.
Banks trying to control the hands but Byrd won't let him.
Byrd really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Banks.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Jolly Leg Byrd showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Byrd has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jolly Leg Byrd!