PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pierre Garcon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tristan Fenix (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fenix is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: For Heavy Metal we will die!. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Garcon
vs
Fenix

165 cm
26
142 lbs
8 - 9 - 0

170 cm
32
147 lbs
22 - 12 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
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 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pierre Garcon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tristan Fenix!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Hirohito Nitta and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fenix lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Fenix misses with an uppercut.

Garcon shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Garcon won't allow Fenix to sweep him here.
Fenix keeping full guard, as Garcon tries to pass.
Fenix can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Garcon controls the pace.
Garcon preventing the sweep.
Fenix is still trying to improve position.
Garcon sitting in guard, not really doing much.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Fenix had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Garcon defends it easily.
Garcon is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fenix seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Garcon passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Garcon is looking to take a break and control but Fenix is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Garcon lands an elbow.
Garcon wants to lay and pray for a moment but Fenix keeps working.
Fenix is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fenix is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Garcon trying to control the position but Fenix is working away.
Fenix is trying to control Garcon's posture but Garcon avoids it.
Garcon takes a little break here. Fenix wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fenix is looking to reverse the position.
Garcon fails to land a wild elbow strike.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garcon working away.
Fenix is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Garcon's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Garcon is looking to take a break and control but Fenix is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Fenix wants to get back to full guard.
Fenix has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Garcon thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Fenix's head.
Fenix is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Fenix is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Garcon scores with a couple of nice shots.
Garcon is keen to just control but Fenix is a slippery customer.
Garcon not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Fenix moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Garcon is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Garcon passes Fenix's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Garcon seems to be working for a kimura but Fenix defends the submission attempt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Fenix is pressing down on Garcon's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pierre Garcon 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.

Garcon walks into a left hand.

Garcon shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Fenix napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Garcon scores with a couple of short elbows.
Garcon wants to lay and pray for a moment but Fenix keeps working.
Fenix taking punishment in the form of punches.
Garcon wants to control but Fenix is keeping him busy.
Garcon lands a decent elbow from side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garcon connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Fenix some visible discomfort.
Fenix is looking to reverse the position.
Pierre Garcon overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Garcon wants to control but Fenix is keeping him busy.
Fenix is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Garcon's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcon trying to mount his opponent but Fenix defends it.
Fenix gets back to full guard.
Fenix tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Garcon wants to control from the top but Fenix keeps moving.
Garcon working some strikes from top position.

Fenix looking for subs off his back but Garcon has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garcon wants to lay and pray for a moment but Fenix keeps working.
Garcon thows a huge punch but Fenix dodges it nicely.
Garcon is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Garcon wants to control from the top but Fenix keeps moving.

Garcon avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Garcon passes Fenix's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcon looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Fenix is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Fenix keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Fenix blocking the ground and pound attempt from Garcon.
Garcon wants to free his trapped foot but Fenix is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Fenix gets full guard.

Fenix looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Garcon has picked Fenix up and slammed him! Fenix can't keep hold of the triangle and Garcon manages to pass to side control!
Fenix managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Garcon.
Garcon sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Fenix is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcon wants to control but Fenix is keeping him busy.
Fenix tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Garcon tries to advance to mount but Fenix denies him.
Fenix is looking to regain half guard here but Garcon keeps moving and retains side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Fenix sneaks back into half guard.
Garcon winds up and cracks Fenix with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pierre Garcon dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Fenix scores with a jab.

Garcon looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Garcon postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Fenix looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Fenix looking for a sweep. Not yet Fenix, not yet.
Garcon wants to control from the top but Fenix keeps moving.
Garcon won't allow Fenix to sweep him here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcon throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Garcon controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Garcon working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Fenix's head.

Garcon avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Fenix had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Garcon defends it easily.
Garcon trying to control but Fenix is working from the bottom.
Garcon is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Fenix can do to turn this around?
Garcon is looking to pass into half guard but Fenix pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Fenix is in guard.

Pierre Garcon is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fenix trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Garcon seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Garcon pulls Fenix in close to prevent any damage.
Fenix postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Garcon holds on and takes a little breather.
Garcon wants to sweep but no luck.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Fenix accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Fenix tries to free his leg and advance position but Garcon is retaining full guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Garcon shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Fenix but Fenix pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Fenix looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Fenix scores with a shot to the body.
Fenix lands with an uppercut that bounces Garcon off the cage and back into range.
Garcon doesn't manage to clinch there - Fenix circles away.
Fenix scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Garcon throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Fenix throws a lazy right hand but Garcon sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Garcon wants to clinch.
Tristan Fenix has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garcon looks to throw the jab but Fenix is out of range.
Garcon fails with the takedown.
Fenix has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Fenix with a jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Garcon dives in and grabs Fenix's left leg, looking for a takedown. Fenix pushes down on Garcon's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pierre Garcon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Garcon misses with a low kick.
Garcon walks into a stiff left hand from Fenix.

Garcon forces Fenix back against the cage and clinches.

Fenix pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Fenix tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Garcon was well out of range. Poor timing from Fenix.
Garcon fails with the takedown.
Garcon tries to score a power double leg takedown but Fenix sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Garcon somewhat.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tristan Fenix comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Garcon has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pierre Garcon!