PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Erik Norman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fortune Viper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fortune Viper has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Norman
vs
Viper

181 cm
18
214 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

190 cm
25
210 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Experienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Erik Norman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Fortune Viper!
The judges for this bout are Topper Green, Skip Squint and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Viper clinches up with Norman and pushes him back against the cage.
Viper jumps guard but Norman turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Norman prevents Viper from breaking the clinch.
Viper wants to break the clinch but can't.

Viper pulls guard successfully.
Norman stops Viper from standing up.

Viper looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Norman has picked Viper up and slammed him! Viper can't keep hold of the triangle and Norman manages to pass to side control!
Norman is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Viper tries to improve position but can't.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Norman is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Viper will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Norman working the ground and pound but Viper is defending the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Viper takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Viper is looking to regain half guard here but Norman keeps moving and retains side control.
Norman landing strikes.
Norman takes a little break here. Viper wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Viper can do anything to dispel that myth.
Viper is trying to work for a sweep but Norman has mounted him!
Viper working to try and regain half guard.
Norman controlling from the full mount.
Viper is looking to get to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norman avoids the attempt from Viper to control.
Viper is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Norman is staying active.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Viper working to try and regain half guard.
Viper tries to hold on but Norman pushes him away.
Norman controlling the position easily from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norman postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Viper looks a forlorn figure.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Viper tries to hold on but Norman pushes him away.
Viper is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Norman looking to control and managing it successfully.
Viper wants to hold on but Norman pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Norman working for a guillotine from mount but Viper is in no mood to give up.
Norman punishing his opponent with strikes.
Norman punishing his opponent with strikes.
Viper tries to hold on but Norman pushes him away.
Viper regains half guard.
Viper is looking to improve his position.
Viper pushes Norman off but Norman dives into side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Viper is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Erik Norman 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.

Norman tries to keep at a distance but Viper has taken the fight into the clinch.
Viper tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Norman smiles and moves away.
Norman fails to land the takedown.
Norman moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromViper.
Norman shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Viper sprawls well. Viper wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Norman gets slowly back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Norman gets tackled into the cage by Viper. Viper maintains the clinch.
Viper just leaning against Norman, taking a breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Viper scores with a nice short uppercut.
Viper has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Norman after a bit of a struggle.
Viper is trying to push Norman away but Norman has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Viper lands a nice shot to the body.

Viper manages to break the clinch.
Viper dives in and grabs Norman's left leg, looking for a takedown. Norman pushes down on Viper's head and hops out.
Norman seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Erik Norman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fortune Viper.
Viper tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Norman swivels and escapes.
Viper misses with a double jab.
Viper goes for a double leg but Norman avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Norman continues to drive forward.

Viper looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Norman!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norman sneaks back into half guard.
Viper not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Norman gets back to full guard.
Norman bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Viper's guard.

Norman is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Viper can do to turn this around?
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Viper is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Norman wants to control from the top but Viper keeps moving.
Norman could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norman lands a couple of digs.

Viper is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Norman defends well.
Norman wants to stand but Viper is controlling his posture from full guard.
Viper wants to stand and escape but Norman is having none of it.
Norman throwing strikes from guard but Viper blocks nicely.
Norman prevents Viper from getting back to his feet.

That's four 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.
Norman with a nice head shot there.
Norman is standing up over Viper. Viper looks to escape but Norman dives into side control.
Viper is looking to regain half guard here but Norman keeps moving and retains side control.
Norman controlling from side mount.

Norman decides to stand back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Norman tries to keep at a distance but Viper has taken the fight into the clinch.
Viper stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Fortune Viper will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Viper shoots in looking for a takedown but Norman manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Viper's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Viper stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Viper wants it to stay on the feet.
Nice sprawl there from Norman as Viper shoots in.
Norman is looking for a counter combo.
Norman has his takedown stuffed
and Viper counters with a two punch combo.
Viper shoots for a takedown but Norman saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Norman throwing a counter right hand but Viper manages to avoid it.
Erik Norman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Fortune Viper.
Viper shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Norman sprawls well. Norman wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Viper gets slowly back to his feet.
Norman wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Viper.
Viper shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Norman defends it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norman's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Viper connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Norman scrambles back to his feet.

Viper moves into the clinch.

Viper breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A head kick misses from Viper.
Viper connects with a jab.
Viper misses with a two punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Viper dives in and grabs Norman's left leg, looking for a takedown. Norman pushes down on Viper's head and hops out.
Norman takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Viper stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Viper wants it to stay on the feet.
Norman leaves Viper with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Viper takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Norman gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Viper to score an easy takedown into full guard.
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!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Viper accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Norman 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Viper trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Norman manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Viper wants to sweep here but Norman controlling him for the moment.
Norman stays in close to Viper's body and controls the position.
Viper looking to control.
Erik Norman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Viper has an active guard here but Norman has managed to pass into half guard.
Norman is nestled in close to Viper, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Viper has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Norman is working away from the top position though.
Norman trying to control the pace.
Norman scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Norman is figuring out what he wants to do next.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Viper is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Norman moves into full mount! Viper won't be happy about that!

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Fortune Viper.
I think Viper 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Topper Green scores the fight 28:29
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fortune Viper!