PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Wily Swagger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Huey Manley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Swagger comes to the cage accompanied by Waylon Jennings - Good Ol' Boys. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Swagger
vs
Manley

177 cm
40
200 lbs
25 - 7 - 0

186 cm
27
188 lbs
10 - 2 - 0

Great wrestler
Basic striking
KO power

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Wily Swagger!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Huey Manley!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Ren Mimura and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Manley plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

It looks like Wily Swagger has been cut.
We've been informed that Manley has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Swagger takes a swing at Manley's ribcage but misses.
Manley scoring well with a low kick there.

Manley gets caught flat footed, as Swagger shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Manley keeping full guard, as Swagger tries to pass.
Manley trying to control the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Swagger accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Swagger advances to half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Swagger slows the pace down in half guard.
Manley keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Manley is trying to maintain the position but Swagger is very close to passing his half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manley is trying to get back to full guard.
Manley controlling the position for now.
Swagger not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Manley is looking to improve his position.
Well, if Swagger is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Swagger's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Swagger working over Manley with some ground and pound. Manley looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Swagger has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Manley is looking for a sweep. Swagger is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Swagger looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Manley with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Swagger working over Manley with some ground and pound. Manley looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Swagger is working for a submission of some sort.
Manley trying to control from the bottom.
Swagger thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Manley's head.
Manley has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Swagger is working away from the top position though.
Manley is trying to get back to full guard.
Swagger trying to control from half guard but Manley is working away.
Manley has hold of Swagger's hands but Swagger slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manley slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Swagger won't allow Manley to sweep him here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Swagger accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Swagger missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Swagger controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Manley trying to control the position here.
Swagger is in close to Manley's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Swagger 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.
Swagger wants to control from the top but Manley keeps moving.
Swagger sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Swagger missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Manley controls Swagger momentarily but Swagger frees himself.
Swagger advances position into side control!
Manley is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Swagger has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Manley is pushing Swagger's head away, looking to escape. Swagger manages to hold on to the position though.
Swagger is looking to take a break and control but Manley is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wily Swagger dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Wily Swagger'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.

No luck for Swagger with that takedown attempt.

Swagger closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Manley to the mat! Manley manages to get full guard.
Manley is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Swagger dives into side control.

Manley manages to get back to half guard.
Swagger is keen to just control but Manley is a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manley wants to control but Swagger is keeping busy.
Swagger missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Manley wants to improve his position but Swagger is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Swagger missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Well, if Swagger is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Manley is holding on to half guard well.
Manley keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Swagger throwing shots but Manley is blocking nicely.
Swagger is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Manley can do to turn this around?
Swagger controlling the action here.
Manley wants to improve his position but Swagger is controlling well.
Swagger is trying to control. Manley wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Swagger trying to pass the guard but Manley defending well.

That's two 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.
Manley has hold of Swagger's hands but Swagger slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Swagger looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Manley has hold of Swagger's hands but Swagger slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Manley desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Swagger sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Manley defending well though.
Manley is looking to improve his position.
Manley is trying to control but can't.
Manley is looking to improve his position.
Manley keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swagger lands strikes from half guard.
Swagger wants to pass the guard but Manley is defending well.
Swagger lands with a punch from half guard.
Manley is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Swagger scores with a couple of nice shots.
Swagger is trying to control. Manley wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Swagger working the head and body with strikes.

Swagger is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Manley is trying to control but can't.
Manley wants to get back to his feet.
Manley wants to improve his position but Swagger is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manley is positioning himself well to prevent Swagger advancing to mount.
Swagger is thwarting Manley's attempts to control the position.
Swagger is nestled in close to Manley, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Swagger sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Manley defending well though.

Swagger is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Manley sees it coming and defends easily.
Swagger trying to control from half guard but Manley is working away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The fighters are battling for position here. Manley manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Swagger accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Manley controls Swagger momentarily but Swagger frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wily Swagger dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Wily Swagger's cut.
That's time! Swagger's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Swagger looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
A jab from Swagger misses.
Wily Swagger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Swagger changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Manley tries to avoid it but Swagger manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Manley to the ground. Manley escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
And Manley tries to counter it with a takedown but Swagger pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Swagger throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Manley misses with a takedown attempt - Swagger sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Manley moves out of range of the strikes.
And Manley tries to counter it with a takedown but Swagger pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Swagger shoots for a double leg takedown but Manley sprawls well. He's pushed Swagger'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 Wily Swagger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manley lands a front kick.
Manley displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Swagger.
Swagger shoots for a double leg takedown but Manley sprawls well. He's pushed Swagger's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Swagger takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Manley throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Good leg kick by Manley there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Swagger looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Manley is fending him off so far but Swagger persists. Nope, Manley circles away and we're back to standing.
Manley keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Swagger tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Manley defends well and Swagger ends up having to push Manley into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Swagger takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Swagger changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Manley tries to avoid it but Swagger manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Manley to the ground. Manley escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Manley looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Manley lets loose with a powerful body kick. Swagger will feel that in the morning.
Swagger will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Swagger shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Manley but Manley pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manley lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Swagger misses with a wild body shot.
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!
Swagger looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Swagger throws a lazy body kick

and Manley counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Manley seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Manley throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Nice strikes from Manley there.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Swagger is refusing to be controlled, as Manley sits in half guard.
Swagger is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Manley throws a strike but Swagger avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swagger looking for a sweep. Not yet Swagger, not yet.
Manley trying to control but Swagger is working from the bottom.

Manley got a little sloppy there for a moment and Swagger has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Manley has managed to get both his arms back between Swagger's legs - danger averted.

Swagger working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Manley doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Manley manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Manley is working Swagger over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Manley lands a couple of elbows.
Swagger lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Manley is controlling Swagger's posture.
Swagger postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Swagger wants to control from the top but Manley keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manley is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Manley scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Manley looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Swagger with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Manley working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Manley not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Swagger tries to get to full guard but Manley has control of the leg.
Manley is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Swagger tries to roll over but Manley keeps him under control.
Manley controlling the pace.
Manley lands strikes from half guard.
Manley not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Manley seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Swagger does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Swagger gets full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Huey Manley really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Wily Swagger's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Swagger stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Manley.
Swagger misses with a head kick.
Swagger shoots in looking for a takedown but Manley manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Swagger's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Manley drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Swagger defends it well.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Manley - that will leave a mark!
A nice inside leg kick there by Manley. That's going to slow Swagger down.
Swagger shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Manley as he avoids it easily.
Manley connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

Manley shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Swagger is trying to defend but Manley finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Swagger wants to get back to full guard.
Manley is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Manley scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Swagger trying to control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manley working the head and body with strikes.
Manley prevents Swagger from improving his position.
Manley throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Swagger is trying to control but can't.
Swagger is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Manley is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Manley is trying to control. Swagger wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Swagger taking some punishment here, with Manley in his half guard.
Swagger trying to control here.
Manley thows a huge punch but Swagger dodges it nicely.
Manley prevents Swagger from improving his position.
Manley not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Swagger gets full guard.
Manley trying to control but Swagger is working from the bottom.
Swagger wants to sweep here but Manley controlling him for the moment.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Swagger is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Manley trying to control but Swagger is working from the bottom.
Swagger working a defensive guard here.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Swagger is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Manley is aware though and is defending well.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Manley's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Manley must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Swagger 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.
Manley trying to control the position from guard on top but Swagger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Swagger trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manley is working Swagger over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Manley is working Swagger over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Swagger looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Manley trying to control the position from guard on top but Swagger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Manley might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Swagger haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Manley postures up and lands a big shot to Swagger's brow.
Swagger looking for a sweep. Not yet Swagger, not yet.
Manley works over Swagger with some ground and pound from guard.
Swagger looking for a sweep. Not yet Swagger, not yet.
Manley scoring with punches to the head and body.
Wily Swagger overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Swagger looking for a guillotine here but Manley defends easily.
Manley scoring with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Swagger looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Manley's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Swagger looking for a sweep. Not yet Swagger, not yet.
Swagger not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Swagger is pulling down on Manley's head to control his posture.
Swagger utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Manley landing some decent shots from guard.
Manley pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Swagger is keeping the position for now.
Manley is looking to work some ground and pound but Swagger has wrist control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Swagger bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Manley's guard.

Swagger controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Manley wants to sweep here but Swagger controlling him for the moment.
Swagger looking to sit in guard and control but Manley gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

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

Huey Manley dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Wily Swagger's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Swagger connects with a single shot there.
Swagger throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Manley shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Swagger throws a sloppy head kick and Manley moves out of range easily.
Swagger throws a lazy uppercut

and Manley counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Manley is looking to advance position but Swagger won't allow it.
Swagger is staying active underneath Manley, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Swagger tries to get to full guard but Manley has control of the leg.
Manley scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Swagger is looking for a sweep. Manley is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Manley lands with a punch from half guard.
Manley throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manley not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Manley thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Swagger's head.
The fighters are battling for position here. Swagger manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Swagger working for a triangle but Manley defends it easily.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Manley is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Manley preventing the sweep.
Swagger keeping moving, preventing Manley from controlling successfully.
Swagger manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Manley manages to get himself to full guard.

Swagger throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Manley wants to sweep here but Swagger controlling him for the moment.
Swagger is fighting to break Manley's control of his arms but Manley is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manley preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Swagger trying to control the position from guard on top but Manley is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Manley not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Swagger looking to pass the guard.
Swagger trying to control but Manley is working from the bottom.
Manley not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Manley is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Swagger trying to control here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swagger regains full guard. Nicely done.

Manley avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Manley tries to stand but Swagger is controlling from the bottom.
Manley postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Manley pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Swagger is keeping the position for now.
Manley keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Swagger's head.
Manley makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Manley in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Manley wants to control from the top but Swagger keeps moving.
Manley connects with a couple of short punches.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Swagger is on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Swagger throwing strikes from guard but Manley blocks nicely.
Swagger throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Manley works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Swagger missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Manley keeping moving, preventing Swagger from controlling successfully.
Manley is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Manley is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Manley keeping moving, preventing Swagger from controlling successfully.
Swagger throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Huey Manley.
I think Manley 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 48:47
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 48:48
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 48:48

The fight is ruled a majority draw!
Oh dear, what a disastrous situation! The belt remains unclaimed and both fighters go home unhappy!