PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Travis Sinclair (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Amir Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Travis Sinclair has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Sinclair
vs
Thompson

180 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

195 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Travis Sinclair!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Amir Thompson!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thompson shoots in for a takedown but Sinclair shows good takedown defense.
Thompson moves in looking to clinch but Sinclair pushes him off.
Sinclair clinches but Thompson breaks the clinch

and Thompson counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Sinclair wants to get back to his feet.
Sinclair trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Thompson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Thompson looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Thompson trying to mount his opponent but Sinclair defends it.
Thompson is stalling here. Sinclair is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Thompson seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Sinclair has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Thompson is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Sinclair's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Thompson can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Thompson controlling the position for now.
Thompson is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Sinclair wants to stand but Thompson has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

Thompson looking for submissions off his back.
Thompson is looking to control Sinclair's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Thompson avoid being mounted?
Thompson tries to get to full guard but Sinclair has control of the leg.
Sinclair not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Sinclair prevents Thompson from improving his position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Sinclair shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Thompson decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Sinclair's guard.
Sinclair will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Thompson trying to control but Sinclair is working from the bottom.
Sinclair 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.
Thompson is stalling in the full guard.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sinclair manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Thompson with a lazy takedown attempt
and Sinclair counters with a two punch combo.
Thompson looks gassed!
An inside leg kick lands from Sinclair.
Sinclair connects with a looping right hand.

Thompson gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sinclair stops a takedown attempt from Thompson.
Travis Sinclair has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Amir Thompson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson tries to score a body lock takedown but Sinclair shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Sinclair pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sinclair turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
A punch combination from Sinclair misses.
Sinclair fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Thompson.
Sinclair lets loose with a powerful body kick. Thompson will feel that in the morning.
Sinclair lands the left hand.
Thompson tries to clinch but Sinclair is having none of it.
Nice sprawl there from Thompson as Sinclair shoots in.
Sinclair tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick by Thompson misses
and Sinclair counters with a two punch combo.
Thompson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Sinclair has closed the distance and engaged Thompson in a clinch.
Thompson looking for a takedown.

Sinclair breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Thompson closes the distance and clinches up with Sinclair, looking for a takedown. Thompson pushes Sinclair against the cage but Sinclair circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Sinclair dodges the punch combination from Thompson.
Sinclair misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Thompson closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Sinclair can't do much from the bottom here.
Sinclair is looking to regain half guard here but Thompson keeps moving and retains side control.
Thompson taking a breather here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sinclair regains half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Thompson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Thompson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Sinclair might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Sinclair is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sinclair keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Thompson looking to control and managing it successfully.
Thompson punishing his opponent with strikes.
Thompson wants to control the pace but Sinclair is squirming around nicely.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Thompson is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Sinclair regains half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sinclair wants to get back to his feet.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Thompson in particular looking to stall.
Sinclair is trying to stand back up but Thompson is controlling him
Thompson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Thompson wants to pass to mount but Sinclair is defending the position.
Thompson winds up and cracks Sinclair with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Thompson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sinclair keeps working.
Thompson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sinclair with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Thompson wants to control but Sinclair is keeping him busy.
Thompson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Thompson is trying to control the action in half guard but Sinclair is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Thompson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sinclair. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Thompson lands with a punch from half guard.
Thompson is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Thompson connects with a nice short shot to Sinclair's temple.
Sinclair wants to improve his position but Thompson is controlling well.
Thompson scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Thompson tries to pass the half guard into mount. Sinclair knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Thompson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair is looking to improve his position.
Sinclair is working hard here to advance position.
Sinclair is looking to escape.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Thompson closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Thompson lands in his opponent's guard.
Thompson lands a couple of elbows.
Amir Thompson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sinclair is looking to stand up but Thompson isn't so interested in that idea.
Sinclair keeping moving, preventing Thompson from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson chips away with some ground and pound.
Thompson connects with a couple of short punches.
Thompson controls from within his opponent's guard.
Thompson trying to control the position from guard on top but Sinclair is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Thompson wants to pass the guard but Sinclair is keeping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Amir Thompson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Sinclair's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Thompson with a poor takedown
and Sinclair counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Thompson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Sinclair slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Sinclair taking some punishment here, with Thompson in his half guard.
Sinclair is pressing down on Thompson's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Sinclair had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Thompson is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Sinclair Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Thompson's back instead.
Thompson staying busy and making it hard for Sinclair to control.

Sinclair tightening his grip on Thompson, looking for the choke.
Thompson breaks Sinclair's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Thompson trying to control the position from guard on top but Sinclair is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sinclair is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Thompson stands up over Sinclair, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Thompson with a nice head shot there.

Thompson stands and steps away. Sinclair gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Thompson drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Sinclair throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson wants to control but Sinclair is keeping him busy.
Sinclair prevents Thompson from moving into mount.
Thompson creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Sinclair sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Sinclair is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Thompson tries to pass the half guard into mount. Sinclair knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Sinclair looks like he's trying to stand up.
Thompson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Thompson moves in looking to clinch but Sinclair pushes him off.
Thompson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sinclair blocks a head kick by Thompson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Thompson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Thompson prevents Sinclair from standing back up.
Thompson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sinclair keeps working.
Sinclair trying to control from the bottom.
Amir Thompson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Sinclair looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Thompson stands up from half guard.
Sinclair throws a series of punches but Thompson avoids them all with ease.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sinclair lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Thompson circles away quickly and effectively.

Thompson closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Sinclair to the mat! Sinclair manages to get full guard.
Thompson seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Thompson must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Sinclair is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Thompson content to stall in guard here.
Thompson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Amir Thompson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Thompson winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Amir Thompson!