PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between James Noble (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Gallard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Noble
vs
Gallard

169 cm
21
177 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

188 cm
21
178 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, James Noble!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Steve Gallard!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Trevor Gratis and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gallard shoots in but no luck this time.
Gallard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Gallard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Noble keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Gallard shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Noble as he jumps to the side.
James Noble has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steve Gallard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Gallard blocks the elbow strike.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gallard throws a series of punches but Noble avoids them all with ease.
Noble appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.

Gallard instigates a clinch.
Noble has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Gallard is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Noble changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Gallard fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Gallard throws a lazy head kick

and Noble counters by moving into the clinch.
Noble working hard to break the clinch.
Gallard lands with a light punch inside.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Noble's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Gallard tries to pull guard but Noble won't allow it.
Noble stops a takedown attempt from Gallard.
Gallard trying to control the position but instead, Noble has worked for underhooks and has pushed Gallard into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Noble pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Noble could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Gallard drives through and clinches with Noble against the cage.
Noble misses with a knee to the head.
Noble manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Noble's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Decent striking displayed by Gallard there.
Noble stuffs the takedown.
Noble quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.

Noble is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Gallard's half guard.
Gallard tries to kick Noble off in order to stand up. Noble Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gallard seems a little lost for a moment, as Noble dominates the positioning.
Noble has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Noble wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Gallard, who protects the arm well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gallard parries the strikes from Noble easily there. Noble is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Gallard to escape.
Gallard pushes Noble away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Noble gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Gallard is being controlled here.
Noble lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Gallard down.
Noble creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Gallard sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Noble working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Noble slows the pace down.
Gallard is looking to reverse the position.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Gallard takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Noble lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Noble cracks Gallard with a big right hand but Gallard just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Noble controls the position from side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
You can see the frustration on Gallard's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Noble 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.

Gallard shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Noble defends it nicely.
Gallard leaves Noble with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Gallard instigates a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gallard manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Noble is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Gallard working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Noble slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Gallard controls Noble momentarily but Noble frees himself.
Noble not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Gallard wants to sweep here but Noble controlling him for the moment.
Noble working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Gallard's head.

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.
Gallard working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Noble.

Noble thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Gallard controls Noble momentarily but Noble frees himself.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Noble looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Gallard!
Gallard tries to bench press Noble off him but Noble keeps the position.
Noble lands a nice forearm strike.
Noble landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Noble working the ground and pound from side control.
Noble just content to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Noble seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Gallard for as long as he can get away with.
Gallard sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Noble thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gallard's head.
Noble 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.
Gallard is trying to stand back up but Noble is controlling him

That's four 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.
Noble lands strikes from half guard.
Noble content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Noble.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

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.

James Noble dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Gallard shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Noble counters by clinching up.
Gallard fails to pull guard.
Gallard prevents Noble from breaking the clinch.

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

Gallard pushes Noble up against the cage in a clinch.
Gallard lands a nice elbow.

It looks like James Noble has been cut.
Noble has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Gallard is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Noble wants to break free but Gallard has control.
Noble is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gallard can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gallard manages to break the clinch.
Gallard goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Noble seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
A combination from Gallard does no damage.
Noble feinted there with a counter leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gallard has his takedown stuffed
and Noble counters with a left to the body.
James Noble has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steve Gallard.
Gallard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gallard shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Noble defends it nicely.
Gallard fails to land the takedown.
Gallard keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Noble shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gallard sprawls well. Gallard wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Noble gets slowly back to his feet.
Gallard shoots in and drives through. Noble sprawls well.
Steve Gallard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gallard fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Noble appears to be looking for a big counter.

Noble shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Noble is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gallard defends it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Noble landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Noble content to control rather than advance.

Gallard looking for submissions off his back.
Noble is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Gallard gets back to full guard.

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.
Gallard being controlled here, momentarily.
Noble 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Noble landing with the ground and pound.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Noble not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Steve Gallard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
James Noble is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Noble showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Noble, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Noble!