PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between JT Briggs (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Butch Larson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Briggs comes to the cage accompanied by Suffa by Hed Pe. Butch Larson has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Briggs
vs
Larson

192 cm
25
255 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

187 cm
25
234 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, JT Briggs!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Butch Larson!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Ian Loll and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Briggs shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Larson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Larson is looking for a sweep.
Briggs has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Larson!
Briggs avoids the attempt from Larson to control.
Briggs moves to take his opponent's back.
Larson wants to escape the position.
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.

Briggs working for the choke.

Larson showing good submission defense here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Briggs working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Larson trying to control the hands but Briggs won't let him.

Briggs looking to break Larson's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Larson remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Briggs will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
I really don't envy Larson right now.
Larson trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Larson rolls, trying to escape but Briggs keeps control of the position.
Larson is keeping busy.
Briggs gets his hands free as Larson looks to control.

Briggs is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Larson defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

Larson fending off the submission attempt from Briggs.
Briggs is breathing heavily.
Larson avoids the strikes from Briggs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Larson tries to break free.

Briggs is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
I really don't envy Larson right now.
Larson trying to control the action but Briggs just sinks the hooks in.

Larson showing good submission defense here.

Briggs is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Larson knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Larson for a finish.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Larson tries to roll but Briggs sticks to his back.
Larson rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Briggs trying to control the action but Larson is working from the bottom.
Briggs is thwarting Larson's attempts to control the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Briggs wants to take a breather but Larson is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

JT Briggs dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Larson is defended easily by Briggs.

Larson rushes Briggs and presses him up against the cage.

Larson jumps guard and drags Briggs to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Larson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Briggs is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Briggs could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Briggs looking to sit in guard and control but Larson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Briggs pulls Larson in close to his closed guard and prevents Larson from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larson passes into half guard.
Briggs is trying to stand up here but Larson is controlling him well.
Larson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Briggs keeps working.
The fighters are battling for position here. Briggs manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Briggs trying to keep a closed guard but Larson is proving a slippery customer.
Briggs wants to stand but Larson is controlling the position.

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.
Larson postures up in Briggs's guard and throws a big left but Briggs blocks it.
JT Briggs overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Larson trying to control the position from guard on top but Briggs is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Larson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Briggs swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Briggs is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Larson can do to turn this around?
Larson forces his way into half guard.
Briggs wants to control but Larson passes into side.

Larson goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Briggs rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Larson's guard! Nice work there by Briggs!
We've been informed that Larson has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Larson keeping moving, preventing Briggs from controlling successfully.

Larson looking for subs off his back but Briggs has passed one foot through into half guard.
Briggs trying to control from half guard but Larson is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Larson is looking to control Briggs's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Larson avoid being mounted?
Larson tries to get to full guard but Briggs has control of the leg.
Briggs takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Briggs throwing shots but Larson is blocking nicely.
Larson moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Larson pulls Briggs in close to prevent any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Butch Larson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Larson shoots and misses
and Briggs counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Larson with a poor takedown

and Briggs counters with a single leg into guard. Larson didn't expect that.
Briggs trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Larson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Briggs tries to free his leg and advance position but Larson is retaining full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Larson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Larson wants to sweep but no luck.

Briggs drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Larson manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Briggs has Larson in his guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Briggs swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Larson passes Briggs's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Briggs moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Briggs has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Larson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Briggs controls Larson momentarily but Larson frees himself.

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.
Larson trying to control the position from guard on top but Briggs is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Larson passes Briggs's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Briggs is trying to maintain the position but Larson is very close to passing his half guard.
Larson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Briggs's head.
Larson is trying to control the action in half guard but Briggs is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Larson looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Larson is thwarting Briggs's attempts to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Larson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Briggs defending well though.
Briggs gets full guard.
Briggs keeping full guard, as Larson tries to pass.
Larson slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's four 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.
Briggs tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Larson easily slips into full mount!
Larson lands with some strikes.
Larson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Briggs is squirming around, avoiding Larson's attempts to control the action.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Briggs wants to control but Larson is having none of it.
Briggs bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

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 JT Briggs.
I think Briggs 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 29:28
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... JT Briggs!
A victorious JT Briggs thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.