PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Country Grace (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phat Ho (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Grace
vs
Ho

169 cm
20
146 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

175 cm
22
141 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Country Grace!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Phat Ho!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, George Francis and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ho fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Ho throws a nice inside leg kick.
Grace just misses with a punch to the body.
Ho throws the left hand but Grace avoids the punch easily.
Grace thuds his right hand into Ho's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Grace definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ho looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Ho lands an overhand right.
Grace tried to score with a low kick but Ho checks it.
Ho has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.

Grace closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The strikes coming from Grace are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Grace controlling from side mount.
Grace postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Grace cracks Ho with a big elbow.
Grace is chipping away with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grace working the body and head with strikes.
Grace working the ground and pound but Ho is defending the strikes.
Ho is being controlled here.
Grace scoring with punches from side control.
Ho seems a little lost for a moment, as Grace dominates the positioning.
Ho is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Grace has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Ho prevents Grace from improving position.
Grace misses with the ground and pound.
Ho is pushing Grace's head away, looking to escape. Grace manages to hold on to the position though.
Ho is letting Grace control him for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grace working the head and body with strikes.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Ho can do anything to dispel that myth.
Ho is trying to get back to his feet.
Grace tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Grace in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Ho really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Grace. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Grace in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Grace postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Ho trying to remain calm as Grace controls from the top position.

Grace is trying to get an arm triangle but Ho is defending well.
Grace controls the position from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grace 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.
Grace misses with the ground and pound.
Grace in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Grace scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Ho to see if he's OK.
Ho tries to escape but Grace is in control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ho avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Grace.
Ho regains half guard.
Grace winds up and cracks Ho with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Grace seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Grace lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ho is trying to control but can't.
Grace missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Grace with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Grace scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Grace lands with a punch from half guard.
Grace is nestled in close to Ho, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Country Grace dominated that round.
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.

Grace drives through with a takedown into Ho's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Ho preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Grace working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Grace scoring with some ground and pound.
Grace sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Ho's guard.
Grace looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Grace scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Grace is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ho is trying to stand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Grace trying to control the pace.
Ho tries to kick Grace off but Grace keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grace content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Ho is trying to get back to full guard.
Grace perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ho taking some punishment here, with Grace in his half guard.
Ho is trying to stand back up but Grace is controlling him
Country Grace overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Grace controlling the action here.
Grace throwing shots but Ho is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Grace working Ho over with strikes.
Ho is trying to stand.
Ho avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Grace.
Grace 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.
Grace working Ho over with strikes.
Grace lands strikes from half guard.
Grace trying to control the pace.
Grace not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Grace looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Grace lands with a punch from half guard.
Grace trying to control the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grace tries to pass to full mount but Ho defends it.
Grace thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grace seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Grace not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Grace lands a nice short elbow.
Grace missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Grace with a momentary lay and pray from half 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.

Grace is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Ho doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Grace.
Ho is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grace scores with a couple of nice shots.
Ho tries to roll over but Grace keeps him under control.
Grace scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Grace not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Grace throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Country Grace dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Grace closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Ho quickly recovers to half guard.
Grace lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Grace is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Ho is trying to stand back up but Grace is controlling him
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Grace keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Grace'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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ho is looking to escape.
Grace content to control rather than advance.
Grace lands with a punch from half guard.
Grace takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Grace performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Grace thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grace stalling.

That's two 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.
Grace looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Grace looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Grace trying to control the pace.
Ho is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grace scores with a couple of nice shots.
Grace performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Grace prevents Ho from standing back up.
Grace working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grace throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Grace winds up and cracks Ho with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Grace thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grace with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Grace wants to work for an arm triangle but Ho is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Phat Ho has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Grace sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ho keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Grace there.
Ho is trying to stand.
Grace thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ho's head.
Ho looks like he's trying to stand up.

Grace wants to work for an arm triangle but Ho is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Grace sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ho defending well though.
Grace sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ho defending well though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Grace is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Ho tries to kick Grace off but Grace keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Country Grace showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Grace, 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:26
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:26
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Country Grace!