PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mike Harding (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Empty Tankard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tankard has chosen David Bowie - China Girl as his entrance music. Empty Tankard has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Mike Harding's chin.

Harding
vs
Tankard

203 cm
18
278 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
18
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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, Mike Harding!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Empty Tankard!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Dillan Fox and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harding shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Tankard as he jumps to the side.
Harding shoots in looking for a takedown but Tankard manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Harding's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Tankard with the counter takedown but Harding avoids it easily.
Good shot there by Tankard.

Tankard dives in and scores a takedown into Harding's guard.

Harding has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Tankard has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Harding is trying to break the clinch but Tankard has him pressed against the cage.

Harding pulls guard.

Tankard decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Harding, up you get!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Tankard closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Harding to the mat! Harding manages to get full guard.
Tankard tries to free his leg and advance position but Harding is retaining full guard.
Tankard seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Let's hope that Tankard has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Tankard passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Tankard in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Tankard stands up and we're back to a striking position.
No luck for Harding with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mike Harding. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Harding gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Harding wants to get back to his feet but Tankard passes into half guard.

Tankard takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tankard passes to side control.
Harding is trying to escape the position but Tankard is controlling the position.
Tankard passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Harding!
Harding is squirming around, avoiding Tankard's attempts to control the action.
Tankard unloads with some shots from mount but Harding bucks and avoids them well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harding holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Tankard tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Poor strikes thrown by Tankard there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Tankard content just to control the position here.
Harding is working to get back to half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tankard throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Empty Tankard dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Tankard drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Tankard staying calm.
Tankard is looking to take a break and control but Harding is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tankard throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tankard trying to control the action but Harding is working from the bottom.

Tankard is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Harding knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
A lull in the action here.
Tankard misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Harding dodges the ground and pound from Tankard.
Harding is trying to buck Tankard off.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Tankard. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.

Tankard tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Tankard has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Tankard happy to just control the position for now.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Tankard has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harding blocks a head kick by Tankard.
Empty Tankard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Tankard shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Tankard showed some decent athleticism there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tankard wants to control but Harding is keeping him busy.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Tankard in particular looking to stall.
Tankard wants to lay and pray for a moment but Harding keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tankard seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Harding trying to control here.
Harding is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Tankard is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Harding is just riding it out for now. Tankard eventually gives up the hold.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Empty Tankard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Tankard shoots in and bounces Harding off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

Tankard decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Harding, up you get!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tankard slips a jab and a cross from Harding.

Tankard looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Harding wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Tankard manages to pass to side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Tankard wants to control but Harding is keeping him busy.
Tankard looks to land a strike but Harding avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Harding wants to stand but Tankard is controlling the position.
Tankard controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Tankard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Tankard pushes down on Harding's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tankard takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Harding tries to kick Tankard off but Tankard keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Harding keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Tankard sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Tankard passes to full mount!

That's four 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.
Tankard looking to control but Harding is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Harding tries to buck Tankard off but Tankard takes his back!

Tankard tightening his grip on Harding, looking for the choke.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Harding showing good submission defense here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Empty Tankard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Tankard has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 27:30
Judge William Peck scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Empty Tankard!
Empty Tankard spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.