PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Luther Thorton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Harry Sears (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Luther Thorton has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Thorton
vs
Sears

202 cm
25
216 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

170 cm
24
205 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Luther Thorton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Harry Sears!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Shigeki Sano and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thorton takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Sears's jab looks to have found its range, popping Thorton under the eye.
Sears ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thorton moves away.

Thorton drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sears is trying to keep Thorton in close.
Thorton pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sears is keeping the position for now.
Thorton will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Sears looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Sears really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Thorton. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sears is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorton connects with a couple of short punches.
Thorton advances position into side control!

Thorton looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sears can't do much from the bottom here.

Thorton looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Thorton wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Sears, who protects the arm well.

Thorton goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Sears has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Thorton but great work by Sears.
Thorton gets back to half guard.
Sears is trying to control. Thorton wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sears prevents Thorton from improving his position.

Thorton looking for submissions off his back.
Thorton trying to get back to full guard but Sears takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Thorton sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Sears is looking to advance position but Thorton won't allow it.
Sears throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Thorton looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Thorton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorton trying to control here.
Thorton is trying to get back to full guard.

Thorton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Thorton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Thorton manages to get to full guard.

Thorton is looking for a triangle but Sears pushes his legs off easily.
Thorton preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thorton is looking for a triangle but Sears pushes his legs off easily.

Thorton escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Sears gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sears accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Sears avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Thorton looking to control.
Sears must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Thorton looking for a guillotine here but Sears defends easily.
Sears throws a big elbow that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luther Thorton 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.

Sears looks to throw a body kick

and Thorton counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Thorton trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Thorton trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Thorton stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sears swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Thorton trying to control but Sears is working from the bottom.
Sears wants to sweep but no luck.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorton pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sears is keeping the position for now.
Sears is trying to keep Thorton in close.

Thorton is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sears is trying to keep Thorton in close.
Thorton forces his way into half guard.

Thorton is looking for a kimura here.
Sears is not content to let Thorton control the position.

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.
Sears is trying to control but can't.

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

Thorton seems to be working for a kimura but Sears defends the submission attempt.
Thorton with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Thorton throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Sears trying to control but Thorton postures up.
Thorton tries to pass the half guard into mount. Sears knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorton missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Sears has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Hugs & Kisses. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
Sears is trying to get back to full guard.

Thorton is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Sears sees it coming and defends easily.
Sears is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Thorton trying to control from Sears's half guard. Sears has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Thorton postures up.
Thorton not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Thorton loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Thorton throws an elbow that misses. Sears uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Thorton's guard. Nice move by Sears!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sears has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Thorton to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Sears is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Thorton pulls down on the head and he's put Sears to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:22 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Luther Thorton!
During a confident post fight interview, Luther Thorton thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.