PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Butch Harris Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Des James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). James is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Engine no 9. This should be a great matchup!

Harris Jr
vs
James

186 cm
20
225 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

180 cm
25
220 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Butch Harris Jr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Des James!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Konstantin Menshow and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Harris Jr takes the fight into the clinch.

Harris Jr escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
James tries to clinch up.
Harris Jr is looking to counter punch.

Harris Jr drives through and clinches with James against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Harris Jr as James tries to tie him up.
James tries to pull guard but Harris Jr holds him up against the cage and eventually James drops back down to his feet.

Harris Jr tightens his grip and picks James up, before dumping him to the ground. James manages to land in guard.
Harris Jr cracks James with a solid left hand.
James told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

James is working an open guard so Harris Jr takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Harris Jr rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but James moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Harris Jr lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as James backs up against the cage.

It looks like Des James has been cut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Harris Jr gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James tries to score a body lock takedown but Harris Jr shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

James is fighting off a takedown attempt but Harris Jr is just too persistent for him and manages to trip James to the mat. James regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.

Harris Jr got a little sloppy there for a moment and James has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Harris Jr has managed to get both his arms back between James's legs - danger averted.
Harris Jr controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harris Jr seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down James for as long as he can get away with.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Harris Jr scores with a push kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
James wants to get back to striking at distance but Harris Jr won't allow it.
Harris Jr stalls.
James looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

James pulls guard successfully.
Harris Jr's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Harris Jr's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Harris Jr is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harris Jr sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed James's guard.
Harris Jr seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Harris Jr looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks James with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Harris Jr sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Harris Jr has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Butch Harris Jr dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Des James's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

James doesn't succeed with the takedown
and James takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Butch Harris Jr is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Harris Jr closes the distance and clinches.

Harris Jr pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Harris Jr drives through and clinches with James against the cage.

Harris Jr is trying to trip James. He has hold of a leg but James is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Harris Jr persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Harris Jr controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Harris Jr is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that James can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
James is striking off his back. Harris Jr thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Harris Jr stands up and beckons James to join him on the feet.

James closes the distance and clinches.

Harris Jr lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
James is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Harris Jr jumps into side control!
Harris Jr staying calm.
James takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harris Jr connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused James some visible discomfort.
Harris Jr controlling the position from side mount.
Harris Jr lands a nice forearm strike.
Harris Jr controlling from side mount.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Harris Jr.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harris Jr lands an elbow.
Harris Jr controlling the position.
Butch Harris Jr overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four 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.
Harris Jr creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

Harris Jr stands up and beckons James to his feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
James fails to pull guard.

Harris Jr manages to pull guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
James preventing the sweep.
Harris Jr looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Butch Harris Jr dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Des James's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

James shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Harris Jr but Harris Jr pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Harris Jr moves into the clinch.
James jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Harris Jr walks away with a smile on his face. James gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Harris Jr has managed to clinch.

Harris Jr turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Harris Jr manages to end up in side control.
Harris Jr has control of an arm but James manages to advance to Harris Jr's back!
Harris Jr manages to reverse the position and now he's in James's guard. Nice work there by Harris Jr.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Harris Jr stays in close to James's body and controls the position.
Harris Jr advances position into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harris Jr controls the position.
Harris Jr lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear James down.

Harris Jr tries for a kimura but James is defending well.
Harris Jr taking a breather here.

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.

Harris Jr tries for a kimura but James is defending well.
James is looking to reverse the position.

Harris Jr decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Harris Jr has managed to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harris Jr escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
James fails to land the takedown.
Butch Harris Jr has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Des James.
James takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Harris Jr clinches.
Butch Harris Jr is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Harris Jr is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
James tries to pull guard but Harris Jr won't allow it.

Harris Jr escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Harris Jr circles away from the clinch attempt
and Harris Jr connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Good leg kick by Harris Jr there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

James gets tackled into the cage by Harris Jr. Harris Jr maintains the clinch.

Harris Jr breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Harris Jr rushes James and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
James wants a takedown but no success here.
James wants a takedown.

Harris Jr has hold of one of James's legs. James is fighting the takedown attempt but Harris Jr gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Harris Jr is pushing down on James's leg trying to pass to half guard. James is fighting to maintain full guard but Harris Jr has managed to sneak the leg through.
Harris Jr controlling the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Butch Harris Jr showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Harris Jr has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Butch Harris Jr!
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight for Butch Harris Jr!
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight for Butch Harris Jr!

Butch Harris Jr wins by unanimous decision!