PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Merle Hyde (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kyle Maclean (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Hyde
vs
Maclean

154 cm
22
193 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

177 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Merle Hyde!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kyle Maclean!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Yukihiro Shimada and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Maclean gets a clinch.
Maclean is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Hyde is keeping busy.
Maclean tries to break the clinch but Hyde is controlling the position.
Hyde tries for a takedown. No joy.
Maclean working hard to break the clinch.

Maclean breaks the clinch.

Hyde shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Maclean scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Hyde manages to mount him!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hyde scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Maclean?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maclean is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Maclean is wriggling around trying to escape.
Maclean is just holding on here. Hyde manages to take his back.
Maclean is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Maclean really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hyde. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Maclean breaks Hyde's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Hyde is pulling down on Maclean's head. It's preventing any offense from Maclean, at least for the moment.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Hyde manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maclean missing with knees to the body.
Hyde avoids the elbow strike from Maclean, against the cage.

Hyde pulls Maclean into guard.
Hyde is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Maclean stops Hyde from standing up.
Hyde pulls Maclean in to control the position.
Hyde bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Maclean's guard.

Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Hyde gets to his feet. Maclean looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maclean scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

Maclean pushes Hyde up against the cage in a clinch.
Maclean tries to break free but Hyde pushes him back against the cage.
Maclean is pressed up against the cage. Hyde has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Maclean down to the mat. Maclean avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Maclean.
Hyde is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Maclean has just dragged him back down to the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Maclean is looking to take a break and control but Hyde is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Maclean decides to stand back up. Maclean steps back and let's Hyde get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Maclean moves into the clinch.
Maclean tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hyde avoids it.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Maclean.
Maclean lands a damaging elbow.
Maclean lands a nice elbow.

Merle Hyde's cut is getting worse.
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!

Hyde pulls Maclean into guard.
Hyde wants to stand and escape but Maclean is having none of it.
Maclean wants to stand but Hyde is controlling his posture from full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hyde tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Kyle Maclean will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Merle Hyde's cut.
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.

Maclean clinches up with Hyde and pushes him back against the cage.
Hyde could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Hyde gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Maclean regains guard.
Maclean wants to get back to his feet but Hyde is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Hyde decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Hyde takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maclean lands with a nice combination. Hyde backs away looking to recover.

Maclean dives in and scores a takedown into Hyde's guard.

Hyde uses the cage to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maclean throws a right and a left that Hyde avoids nicely.
Hyde appears to be looking for a big counter.

Maclean closes the distance and clinches.
Hyde looking to throw knees to the head but Maclean is blocking nicely.
Maclean prevents Hyde from breaking the clinch.
Maclean tries to stall but Hyde uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Maclean breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Maclean moves into the clinch successfully.
Hyde avoiding damage as Maclean throws knees to the body.
Maclean throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hyde is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Maclean to keep the fight standing.
Maclean prevents the takedown attempt.
Hyde tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hyde tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Maclean just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Merle Hyde. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Maclean manages to break the clinch.

Maclean throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Hyde was covering up waiting for the punch and Maclean finishes the takedown easily into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Hyde looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hyde wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maclean wants to control from the top but Hyde keeps moving.
Maclean trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Maclean postures up in Hyde's guard and throws a big left but Hyde blocks it.

Hyde pushes Maclean off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Maclean trying to control the position but instead, Hyde has worked for underhooks and has pushed Maclean into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maclean pushes Hyde back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Hyde jumps guard and drags Maclean to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Maclean wants to control from the top but Hyde keeps moving.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hyde is on top in guard.

Maclean looking to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Kyle Maclean will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Merle Hyde's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Hyde darts in and clinches Maclean up against the cage.
Maclean effectively controlling the action here.
Maclean wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kyle Maclean seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Hyde tries to score a body lock takedown but Maclean shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Maclean lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

Maclean has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Hyde regains guard immediately.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Hyde manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hyde managing to block the knees to the body from Maclean.
Maclean is looking to control Hyde's arms but Hyde gets an underhook and turns him. Now Maclean has his back to the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hyde drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Maclean gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Maclean missing with knees to the body.

Hyde is trying to trip Maclean. He has hold of a leg but Maclean is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Hyde persists though and gets the takedown into guard.

Maclean scrambles and gets back to his feet.

Maclean shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Maclean showed some decent athleticism there.
Hyde is trying is best to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maclean wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hyde keeps working.

Hyde pushes Maclean off and gets back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hyde with a poor takedown
and Maclean counters with a two punch combo.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Merle Hyde. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Maclean moves into the clinch.
Maclean is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hyde is defending well for now.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Maclean scores a nice knee to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hyde is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Maclean pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Hyde wants to get back to striking at distance but Maclean won't allow it.
Maclean lands an elbow inside.

Maclean lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Hyde regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Maclean.
Hyde is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Maclean trying to control the position from guard on top but Hyde is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maclean must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hyde seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Maclean throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Maclean lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Hyde has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Maclean off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Kyle Maclean is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kyle Maclean.
I've got Maclean winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:28
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Kyle Maclean!