PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between John Pinaglabanan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thaddeus Fitzgerald (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Pinaglabanan
vs
Fitzgerald

171 cm
32
144 lbs
16 - 7 - 0

176 cm
31
129 lbs
15 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Arcticus University: London

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, John Pinaglabanan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Thaddeus Fitzgerald!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, William Gold and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fitzgerald misses with a double jab.
Pinaglabanan throws a jab when Fitzgerald was well out of range.
Pinaglabanan throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Fitzgerald sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Fitzgerald is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Fitzgerald keeps the fight on the outside.
Pinaglabanan misses with a looping right.
Pinaglabanan pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Fitzgerald tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
A nice combination there by Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald stuns Pinaglabanan with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Fitzgerald circles away from the clinch attempt.
Fitzgerald drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Pinaglabanan defends it well.
Fitzgerald scores with a nice strike.
Fitzgerald slips under a jab.
Fitzgerald throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

Pinaglabanan scores with a takedown into Fitzgerald's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Fitzgerald has momentary wrist control but Pinaglabanan slips an elbow through the middle.
Fitzgerald preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Pinaglabanan 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.
Fitzgerald controls Pinaglabanan momentarily but Pinaglabanan frees himself.
Fitzgerald wants to stand but Pinaglabanan is controlling the position.
Pinaglabanan working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Fitzgerald working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Pinaglabanan.
Pinaglabanan throwing strikes from guard but Fitzgerald blocks nicely.
Pinaglabanan throwing strikes but missing.
Fitzgerald is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Fitzgerald avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pinaglabanan postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Pinaglabanan stops Fitzgerald from standing up.
Pinaglabanan controls from within his opponent's guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Fitzgerald holds on and takes a little breather.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald with a hook.
Pinaglabanan uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Fitzgerald.

Pinaglabanan gets a double leg takedown into Fitzgerald's guard.
Fitzgerald controls Pinaglabanan momentarily but Pinaglabanan frees himself.
Fitzgerald utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Pinaglabanan missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Pinaglabanan missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Fitzgerald looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Fitzgerald working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Pinaglabanan.
Pinaglabanan sitting in guard here, content to control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Pinaglabanan dodges the punch combination from Fitzgerald.
Nice defenses there by Pinaglabanan.
Pinaglabanan tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Fitzgerald manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Pinaglabanan shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Fitzgerald as he avoids it easily.
And Fitzgerald tries to counter it with a takedown but Pinaglabanan pushes his down on his head and steps out.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Pinaglabanan blocks a jab.
Pinaglabanan tries to clinch but Fitzgerald moves out of range.
Pinaglabanan shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Fitzgerald defends it nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Thaddeus Fitzgerald will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Pinaglabanan tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Pinaglabanan shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Fitzgerald is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pinaglabanan keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Fitzgerald's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pinaglabanan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Pinaglabanan loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Fitzgerald looking for a sweep. Not yet Fitzgerald, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pinaglabanan wants to control from the top but Fitzgerald keeps moving.
Pinaglabanan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan throws a big right hand that misses.
Pinaglabanan throws a big right hand that misses.
John Pinaglabanan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pinaglabanan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Pinaglabanan accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Fitzgerald has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Pinaglabanan has passed into side control.
Fitzgerald tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Pinaglabanan wants to lay and pray for a moment but Fitzgerald keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Pinaglabanan.
Fitzgerald regains half guard, as Pinaglabanan was trying to land strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pinaglabanan missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Pinaglabanan throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Pinaglabanan lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzgerald is trying to control but can't.
Pinaglabanan thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Pinaglabanan sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Fitzgerald defending well though.
Pinaglabanan is thwarting Fitzgerald's attempts to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Pinaglabanan will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Pinaglabanan misses the jab.

Pinaglabanan dives in and scores a takedown into Fitzgerald's guard.
Pinaglabanan missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Pinaglabanan looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Pinaglabanan landing some decent shots from guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan scoring with some ground and pound.
Pinaglabanan landing some decent shots from guard.
Fitzgerald seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pinaglabanan is looking to work some ground and pound but Fitzgerald has wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Pinaglabanan dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Fitzgerald drops his hands momentarily and Pinaglabanan takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

Pinaglabanan looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Fitzgerald!
Pinaglabanan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Fitzgerald can do to turn this around?
An elbow from Pinaglabanan crashes against the mat.
Pinaglabanan fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Pinaglabanan trying to control the position but Fitzgerald is working away.
Pinaglabanan sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Fitzgerald is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pinaglabanan in side control lands a decent elbow.
Pinaglabanan misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Fitzgerald tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Fitzgerald defending against the ground and pound.
Fitzgerald is looking for a sweep.
Fitzgerald is trying to control Pinaglabanan's posture but Pinaglabanan avoids it.
Fitzgerald is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Pinaglabanan is staying active.
Pinaglabanan in side control, throwing shots but Fitzgerald defends.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Pinaglabanan are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Fitzgerald defending against the ground and pound.
Pinaglabanan tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Pinaglabanan landing strikes.
Pinaglabanan misses with the ground and pound.
Pinaglabanan fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Fitzgerald managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Pinaglabanan.
Fitzgerald dodges the ground and pound from Pinaglabanan.
Pinaglabanan misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Pinaglabanan throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Fitzgerald works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Pinaglabanan not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Fitzgerald blocking the ground and pound attempt from Pinaglabanan.
Nice strikes from Pinaglabanan there.
Fitzgerald has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Pinaglabanan is working away from the top position though.
Fitzgerald has hold of Pinaglabanan's hands but Pinaglabanan slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pinaglabanan throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Pinaglabanan content to control rather than advance.
Pinaglabanan missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pinaglabanan wants to advance to full mount but Fitzgerald doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Pinaglabanan scoring with some ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Pinaglabanan showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Pinaglabanan has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 30:26
Judge William Gold scores the fight 29:27
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Pinaglabanan!
John Pinaglabanan thanked the fans post fight for their support.