PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lugh Blackburn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bryan Habana (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Blackburn comes to the cage accompanied by When the Man Comes Down. Both fighters really staring each other down here, as Bryan Habana enters the cage!

Blackburn
vs
Habana

187 cm
27
200 lbs
14 - 8 - 0

191 cm
33
203 lbs
18 - 12 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 14 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Lugh Blackburn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Bryan Habana!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Nard Betker and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Habana keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Blackburn digs a good body shot into Habana's ribs.
Blackburn tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Habana swivels and escapes.
Habana lands a nice leg kick that just misses Blackburn's sensitive parts.
Habana uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Blackburn.
Blackburn lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

Habana moves into the clinch successfully.
A nice right hand lands inside from Habana.
Blackburn managing to block the knees to the body from Habana.
Blackburn misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Habana prevents a body shot from Blackburn.
Blackburn working Habana over with knees to the body.
Blackburn tries a body shot but Habana blocks it.
Blackburn pushes Habana back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Blackburn swings wildly with an uppercut but Habana uses good head movement to avoid it.
Blackburn putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Habana in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Habana looks winded!
Blackburn prevents Habana from breaking the clinch.
Blackburn tries to pull guard but Habana forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Habana lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Our sources have told us that Blackburn has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Habana pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Blackburn misses with a punch to the body.
Habana tries to work over Blackburn's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Blackburn misses with a hook to the ribs.
Habana creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Blackburn's defenses.
Blackburn throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Habana blocks it with crossed arms.
Habana lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Blackburn lands a hook that snaps the head of Habana backwards.
Habana tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Habana lands a body shot.
Habana is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lugh Blackburn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Blackburn tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Habana will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Blackburn up against the cage.
A knee to the head by Habana.
Habana content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Blackburn scores with a nice hook to the head.
Habana stops a takedown attempt from Blackburn.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Habana goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Blackburn avoids a wild elbow strike from Habana.
Habana blocks an uppercut.
Habana scores with a knee to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Habana blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Blackburn avoids a wild elbow strike from Habana.
Blackburn misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Habana.
Blackburn has a couple of punches blocked by Habana.
Nice elbow from Habana.
Habana blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Habana looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Blackburn can't find room to land a body shot as Habana controls the action.
Habana creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Blackburn's defenses.
Blackburn has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Habana avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Habana creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Blackburn's defenses.
Habana tries a knee to the head but Blackburn blocks it.
Habana blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Blackburn using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Habana has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Blackburn tries to throw a body punch but Habana avoids it by throwing Blackburn back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blackburn lands a nice knee to the body.
Blackburn tries a knee to the head but Habana blocks it.
Blackburn goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Blackburn misses with a knee strike.
Blackburn missing with knees to the body.

Habana pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
No joy there for Blackburn, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Blackburn has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Habana.
Blackburn swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Blackburn tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Habana defends well and Blackburn ends up having to push Habana into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Habana has Blackburn up against the cage in a clinch.
A short right from Habana.
Habana throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Blackburn can't find room to land a body shot as Habana controls the action.
Blackburn misses with a body punch.
Blackburn works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Habana missing with knees to the body.
A nice left hand lands by Blackburn.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Blackburn takes a knee to the side of the body.
Habana lands a hook to the side of the head.
Habana tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Blackburn using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Habana has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Blackburn trying to land knees to the body.
Habana lands a damaging elbow.

Habana breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Some wild striking there from Blackburn.
Habana showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Blackburn.
Habana slips a jab and a cross from Blackburn.
Habana connects with an inside leg kick.
Lugh Blackburn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Blackburn tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Habana manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Habana scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Blackburn takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
A shot to the body from Blackburn misses
enabling Habana to counter with a crisp jab.
Habana goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Habana dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Blackburn jabs Habana to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Habana feints and then cracks Blackburn's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Blackburn down.
Blackburn takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Blackburn takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Blackburn scores with a one two! Habana had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Blackburn lands a nice shot to the body.
Blackburn cracks Habana with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Blackburn takes a head kick and keeps coming.

Blackburn closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nice body punch from Blackburn.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Habana.
Habana unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Habana stalling against the cage.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Blackburn lands a body shot.
Blackburn misses with a body punch.
Habana tries a knee to the head but Blackburn blocks it.
Blackburn tries to land knees in the clinch but Habana avoids the damage to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Habana prevents a body shot from Blackburn.
Blackburn lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Habana.
Blackburn tries to land knees in the clinch but Habana avoids the damage to the body.
Blackburn misses with a punch to the body.
Blackburn blocks an elbow strike from Habana.

Habana escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Habana lands with a thumping leg kick.
A combination from Blackburn does no damage.
Habana lands a nice looking kick to the body. Blackburn takes a step back to recover.
Blackburn jabs Habana to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Blackburn throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Habana.
Blackburn misses the shot to the body.
Habana with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Blackburn misses with a wild body shot.
Habana scores with a crisp jab that stopped Blackburn in his tracks.
Habana keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Habana showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Blackburn.
Habana thumps Blackburn with a low kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Habana moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Lugh Blackburn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Habana thuds a left hand into Blackburn's body.
Blackburn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Habana circles away quickly and effectively.
Blackburn tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Habana was well out of range. Poor timing from Blackburn.
Habana does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Blackburn tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Habana was well out of range. Poor timing from Blackburn.
Habana lunges at Blackburn with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Blackburn's hand.
Bryan Habana seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Blackburn swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Bryan Habana is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Habana dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Blackburn. That did some damage!
Habana lands with a nice body kick.
Habana misses with a head kick.
A quick step to the side and Blackburn tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Habana throws a quick inside leg kick.

Habana pushes Blackburn up against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blackburn gets through Habana's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Still in the clinch, Habana scores with a nice short uppercut.

Habana escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Habana connects with a leg kick. Blackburn looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Blackburn misses with a body shot
and Habana cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Habana takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Habana lands a nice shot that snaps Blackburn's head back.
A nice leg kick lands there from Habana.
Habana lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
The fight stays on the outside here - Habana looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Habana pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Blackburn is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Blackburn throws a right and a left that Habana avoids nicely.
Habana walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Blackburn checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Blackburn appears to be looking for a big counter.
Habana on the wrong end of a nice hook.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Blackburn checks a leg kick.
Blackburn throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blackburn scores with a shot to the body.
A combination from Blackburn does no damage.
Habana scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Blackburn tries to clinch up.
Blackburn is looking to wear down Habana with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
An inside leg kick lands from Habana.
Blackburn misses with a hook to the body
and Habana counters with a three punch combo that has Blackburn backing up. Blackburn nods at Habana to acknowledge the strikes.
Blackburn scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Habana connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Habana connects with a single shot there.
Blackburn stuns Habana with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Blackburn takes a swing at Habana's ribcage but misses.
Blackburn just misses with a punch to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Blackburn blocks a head kick by Habana.
Blackburn drops his hands momentarily and Habana takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Habana has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Habana gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Habana lands an elbow inside that Blackburn shrugs off.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Habana showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Habana connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Habana turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Habana wants to clinch.
Blackburn moves out of range of the body kick.
Habana lands a front kick.
Habana scores with a head kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Blackburn. Habana does a little dance to reset his feet.
Blackburn tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Habana was well out of range. Poor timing from Blackburn.
Habana wants to clinch up but Blackburn keeps it at a distance.
Blackburn throws a left and a right that both miss
and Habana counters with a lovely straight right hand!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Habana clinches up with Blackburn and pushes him back against the cage.

Habana's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Habana rushes Blackburn and presses him up against the cage.
Habana using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Blackburn has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Habana misses with a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Habana misses with a knee to the head.

Habana breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Donk. Blackburn catches Habana right on the button with a cross.
Habana is looking to clinch.
Blackburn displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Habana throws out the jab.
Blackburn takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Blackburn displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Blackburn dodges the punch combination from Habana.
Habana scores with a leg kick.
Habana keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Habana.
Blackburn misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Habana connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Blackburn throws a right and a left that both miss.

Habana has managed to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Blackburn lands a knee to the head.

Habana breaks from the clinch.
Habana tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Blackburn tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Habana paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Habana tried to score with a low kick but Blackburn checks it.
Habana takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Habana throws a leg kick which misses Blackburn's front leg but catches the back leg as Blackburn tries to avoid it.

Habana has managed to clinch.
Habana taking a breather.
Blackburn is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Bryan Habana seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Habana with an attempt at a knee that misses.
A hook to the body from Habana.
A short body shot lands from Blackburn as the two fighters clinch.
Blackburn on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Habana misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Blackburn.
A knee to the head by Blackburn.

Habana's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blackburn thuds a left hand into Habana's body.
Blackburn looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Blackburn misses with a double jab.
Habana throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Habana looks to land a body kick but Blackburn moved away.
A shot to the liver by Blackburn. Beautiful body shot.
Blackburn throws a right hand that Habana ducks under and follows up with a left that Habana also avoids with ease.

Habana rushes Blackburn and presses him up against the cage.
Habana tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Habana lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Habana escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Habana misses with a hook.

Habana closes the distance and clinches.
Habana blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Habana is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Blackburn is keeping busy.
Habana lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Habana lands with a right to the head.
Habana lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Blackburn tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lugh Blackburn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bryan Habana is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Blackburn misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Habana is stalling here.
Blackburn misses with a hook to the ribs.
Blackburn misses with a hook to the ribs.
Blackburn goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A head punch on the inside from Blackburn fails to land.
A nice left hand lands by Habana.
A right hand to the body from Blackburn.
Blackburn digs a right hand underneath Habana's ribcage. Habana let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Habana is trying to maintain a safe position but Blackburn gets an underhook and turns Habana into the cage.
Habana doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bryan Habana comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Habana 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 Daniel Blasius scores the fight 27:30
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 27:30
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bryan Habana!
Bryan Habana decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.
In defeat, Lugh Blackburn stepped up to the mic, saying 'Well fought, sure we'll be seeing each other again soon. '.