PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Andrew Tran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sammy Clarke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tran comes to the cage accompanied by Blockbuster Night Part 1. Andrew Tran has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Tran
vs
Clarke

205 cm
23
198 lbs
0 - 13 - 0

176 cm
20
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Andrew Tran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Sammy Clarke!
The judges for this bout are Topper Green, Darius Henderson and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Tran gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Tran really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Jeez, both these guys look absolutely knackered already, that's not a good sign!
Tran lands a body punch.

Tran has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Clarke uses from the top position.
Clarke looking to sit in guard and control but Tran gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Clarke had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Tran defends it easily.
Tran is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tran throwing strikes from guard but Clarke blocks nicely.
Clarke should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tran throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Clarke works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Tran is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Tran decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Clarke, up you get!
Tran shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Clarke as he avoids it easily.
Clarke wants to counter the offense by Tran and move into the clinch position.
Tran looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Tran goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Tran clinches.

Tran decides to pull guard.

Tran has his foot on Clarke's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Clarke works his way back into a safe position though.
Tran tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Tran has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Clarke has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Tran breaks from the clinch.

Tran moves into range and clinches up with Clarke.

Tran breaks from the clinch.
Andrew Tran seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Horrible takedown attempt by Tran or perhaps it was just good defense by Clarke, which made it look bad.
Clarke wants to counter with a clinch but Tran pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tran fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Clarke manages to avoid it.
Tran dodges the punch combination from Clarke.
Clarke fails to land with a series of punches.
Clarke takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

Tran darts in and clinches Clarke up against the cage.

Clarke lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Tran kicks Clarke off and gets back to his feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Clarke breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tran shoots for a double leg takedown but Clarke sprawls well. He's pushed Tran's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andrew Tran. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Clarke feints and as Tran raises his hands in defense, Clarke changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Clarke won't allow Tran to sweep him here.

Tran is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Tran has his foot on Clarke's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Clarke works his way back into a safe position though.
Clarke stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Tran swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrew Tran dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Tran changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Clarke tries to avoid it but Tran manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Clarke to the ground. Clarke escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Tran has taken the fight to the clinch.
Tran landing knees to the body.

Clarke manages to break the clinch.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Clarke.

Tran explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tran is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Clarke can do to turn this around?
Tran is looking to clinch.

Tran clinches.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Tran is trying to pull guard but Clarke has him pressed against the cage.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke wants to get back to his feet but Tran is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Clarke trying to control the position.
Tran controls from within his opponent's guard.
Clarke trying to strike off his back.
Clarke being controlled here, momentarily.
Tran with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two 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.
Tran won't allow Clarke to sweep him here.
Clarke keeping moving, preventing Tran from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Clarke feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Tran pushes Clarke off and gets back to his feet.

Clarke pushes Tran up against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke gets underhooks to prevent Tran's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andrew Tran. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Clarke is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Tran throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Tran jumps guard but Clarke turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Tran is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Clarke to keep the fight standing.
Tran missing with knees to the body.

Clarke breaks the clinch.

Tran gets tackled into the cage by Clarke. Clarke maintains the clinch.

Tran successfully pulls guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Clarke drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Tran manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Clarke has Tran in his guard.
Clarke keeping moving, preventing Tran from controlling successfully.

Tran avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Tran wants to control from the top but Clarke keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Sammy Clarke will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Tran drives through and clinches with Clarke against the cage.
Clarke is trying to stall.

Clarke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Tran doesn't manage to clinch there - Clarke circles away.
Clarke unleashes a big counter combination but Tran bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Tran throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Clarke's waist but Clarke gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Tran off to one side.

Clarke looking to score a takedown here. Tran is defending well but Clarke drives through and ends up in Tran's guard.

Tran pushes Clarke off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tran misses with a takedown attempt
and Clarke counters with a left and a right that stings Tran.

Clarke fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Tran, pushing him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Clarke drags the fight down to the ground.
Tran wants to control from the top but Clarke keeps moving.
Tran postures up.

Tran drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Tran jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Tran stays in close to Clarke's body and controls the position.
Tran stops Clarke from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Tran showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
The fight stays on the outside here - Tran looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Tran forces Clarke back against the cage and clinches.

Clarke pulls guard effortlessly.
Tran wants to control from the top but Clarke keeps moving.
Clarke trying to keep a closed guard but Tran is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke being controlled here, momentarily.
Clarke looking to control.
Tran preventing the sweep.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Tran stands up from Clarke's guard - Tran perhaps looking for a knockout.

Tran closes the distance and clinches.

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.

Clarke jumps guard.
Tran looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Tran throws a big elbow that misses.
Tran throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Clarke works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tran trying to control the position from guard on top but Clarke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Our spies down at at Beast Bar inform us that Clarke has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?

Clarke working for a triangle but Tran defends it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sammy Clarke comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Clarke has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Topper Green scores the fight 28:29
Judge Darius Henderson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Sammy Clarke!
The defeated Andrew Tran had this to say: 'Well It Wasn't My Best Fight, But I Will Train Hard To Get Back In The Game And Win My Next Fight.'.