PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Spencer Greer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Craig Hazell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hazell is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall & Oates. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Greer
vs
Hazell

165 cm
24
178 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

178 cm
25
175 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Spencer Greer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Craig Hazell!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Daniel Bishop and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some wild striking there from Hazell.
Greer half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Hazell has taken the fight to the clinch.

Greer wants the takedown. Hazell is fighting it off but Greer persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Hazell's guard against the cage.

Hazell manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

Hazell successfully pulls guard.
Greer missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Greer throwing strikes from guard but Hazell blocks nicely.
Hazell looks winded!
Greer scoring with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hazell is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Greer throws a big right hand that misses.
Greer postures up in Hazell's guard and throws a big left but Hazell blocks it.
Greer postures up and lands a big shot to Hazell's brow.
Greer has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Hazell working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Greer.
Greer missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Hazell working for a triangle but Greer defends it easily.

Greer gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's two 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.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Hazell tries to stall but Greer uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Greer with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Nice elbow from Greer.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Greer prevents a body shot from Hazell.
Greer content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Greer leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Greer dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Greer for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Hazell is trying to break the clinch but Greer has him pressed against the cage.

Hazell drags the fight down to the ground.

Hazell looking for a guillotine here but Greer defends easily.
Greer connects with a couple of short punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hazell utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Greer working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Greer stands up from Hazell's guard - Greer perhaps looking for a knockout.
Hazell fails to land with a series of punches.
Greer could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Hazell stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hazell wants it to stay on the feet.

Greer closes the distance and clinches.
Greer changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Hazell fights it off and pushes away nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hazell misses with a hook
and Greer counters with a nice uppercut.

Hazell shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Hazell was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Craig Hazell will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Hazell has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Hazell misses with a head kick.
Greer is looking to counter with a shot to the body.

Hazell closes the distance and pushes Greer back into the cage.
We've been informed that Hazell has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Greer stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Greer prevents Hazell from breaking the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hazell slowing the pace effectively.
Greer wants to take the fight to the mat but Hazell manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Hazell is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hazell prevents a takedown attempt there.
Greer has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Hazell is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Spencer Greer. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Greer letting Hazell take a breather here.
Greer is looking to take this one to the mat.
Greer has Hazell pressed against the cage.
Greer has Hazell pushed against the cage.

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.

Hazell ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Hazell no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Greer stands up over Hazell, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Greer throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Greer cracks Hazell with a solid left hand.
Hazell preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Greer postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Greer connects with a couple of short punches.
Hazell utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Greer throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hazell works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Greer throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Greer throws a strike but Hazell rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Spencer Greer overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hazell looking to sit in guard and control but Greer gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hazell has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Greer has passed into side control.
Hazell is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Greer is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Greer lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Greer fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Greer cracks Hazell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hazell can't escape the position.
Greer lands a big shot there that rocks Hazell but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Greer with a couple of short strikes.
Hazell wants to hold on but Greer pushes him away.
Greer lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Hazell hang on?
Hazell tries to reverse the position but Greer maintains control.
Greer landing strikes, looking to finish!
Hazell holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Greer tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Greer lands a heavy elbow.
Hazell in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Spencer Greer dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Hazell takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Greer tries to move into range but Hazell moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Hazell throws a left and a right that both miss
and Greer counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Hazell throws a right and a left that Greer avoids nicely.
Greer tries to clinch up but Hazell circles away and keeps his distance.

Hazell moves into the clinch.
Hazell takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Greer is trying to pull guard but Hazell has him pressed against the cage.
Hazell prevents a takedown attempt there.
Greer controlling the action here for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hazell jumps guard.
Greer loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Greer throwing strikes from guard but Hazell blocks nicely.
Greer scoring with punches to the head and body.
Greer throws a big right hand that misses.

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.
Hazell controls Greer momentarily but Greer frees himself.
Greer postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Greer accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Greer stands up from Hazell's guard - Greer perhaps looking for a knockout.
Spencer Greer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hazell misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Greer counters with a slapping leg kick.
Greer tries to clinch but Hazell moves out of range.

Hazell instigates a clinch.
Hazell being controlled against the cage.
Greer wants a takedown but no success here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Spencer Greer. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hazell tries to circle away but Greer has him pinned against the cage.
Greer misses with an elbow over the top.
Greer has Hazell pressed against the cage, preventing Hazell from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Greer stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Greer has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Hazell is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's four 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.
Greer looking for a takedown.
Greer is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hazell can do to turn this around?
Greer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hazell's efforts to push away.
Hazell manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Hazell has had enough of the clinch but Greer keeps him there for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Craig Hazell.
I think Hazell 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 Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 29:29
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:29
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Craig Hazell!
In his post fight interview, Craig Hazell started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.