PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Eva Contonio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Don Glover (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Contonio
vs
Glover

182 cm
27
195 lbs
11 - 5 - 1

184 cm
27
195 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Very quick

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Eva Contonio!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Don Glover!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Hirohito Nitta and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Contonio misses with an uppercut. Glover saw that one coming.
Glover looks to land a left hand but Contonio moved out of range nicely.
Contonio slips a jab from Glover.
Glover stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Contonio.
Glover lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Contonio lands with an overhand left.

Glover clinches.

Glover escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Contonio misses with a hook. Glover ducked under it nicely.
Glover misses with an uppercut

and Contonio counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Glover has clasped his hands together around Contonio's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Glover in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Glover blocks the strikes from Contonio.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee asks Glover politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Glover prefers to stall for the moment though.
Contonio is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Glover working away.
Glover controls the position.
Glover trying to control the position but Contonio is working away.
Contonio tries to bench press Glover off him but Glover keeps the position.
Glover controls the position from side control.
Contonio is looking for a sweep.

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.
Glover staying calm.
It looks like Glover might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Glover trying to control the position but Contonio is working away.
Contonio tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Glover taking a breather here.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Contonio's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
The fight stays on the outside here - Contonio looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Glover loads up on a big right hand but Contonio slips the punch.
Glover looks to land a left hand but Contonio moved out of range nicely.
Contonio throwing a counter right hand but Glover manages to avoid it.
Contonio tries to close the distance and clinch up but Glover swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Glover keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Glover looks to land a right hand but Contonio moved out of range.
Glover scores with a hook.
Contonio fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Glover manages to avoid it.

Glover closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Contonio to the mat! Contonio manages to get full guard.

Contonio is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Glover trying to control but Contonio is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Contonio is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Glover is aware though and is defending well.
Glover lands a couple of digs.
Contonio manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Glover manages to get himself to full guard.

Glover is trying to control the position but Contonio postures up.
Contonio missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Contonio has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Glover avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Glover bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Contonio's guard.

The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Glover pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Contonio is keeping the position for now.
Glover is pushing down on Contonio's leg trying to pass to half guard. Contonio is fighting to maintain full guard but Glover has managed to sneak the leg through.
Glover tries to pass to full mount but Contonio defends it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Don Glover 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.

Glover doesn't manage to clinch there - Contonio circles away.
It looked like Contonio wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Don Glover seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Glover lands a jab to the nose.
Glover on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Glover throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Glover feints and then cracks Contonio's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Contonio down.
Glover connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

Glover feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Contonio is looking for a triangle here but Glover uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Contonio is looking to regain half guard here but Glover keeps moving and retains side control.
Glover remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Glover wants to control but Contonio is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Glover lands an elbow.
Glover trying to control the action but Contonio is working from the bottom.
Don Glover has got the better of the ground game so far.
Contonio is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Glover wants to lay and pray for a moment but Contonio keeps working.
Contonio tries to control but Glover manages to take his back.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Glover doesn't have the hooks in and Contonio manages to turn into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Contonio working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Contonio loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Contonio tries to free his leg and advance position but Glover is retaining full guard.
Glover is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Glover performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Contonio looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Glover pushes past his half guard into mount!
Contonio in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Glover can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Contonio is looking to escape.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Contonio can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Contonio wants to hold on but Glover pushes him away.
Glover raining down shots from the mount!
Glover wants to control the pace but Contonio is squirming around nicely.
Contonio is wriggling around trying to escape.
Glover landing strikes, looking to finish!
Glover takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Glover looking to finish Contonio with some ground and pound. This is bad for Contonio!
Glover in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Glover landing strikes from the mount and Contonio is in trouble!
Glover controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Glover connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Glover can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Contonio is looking to escape.
The referee warns Contonio that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The referee warns Contonio that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Glover breaks from Contonio's wrist control and lands an elbow.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Glover lands a heavy elbow.
Glover prevents Contonio from getting the reversal.
Contonio is squirming around, avoiding Glover's attempts to control the action.
The referee warns Contonio that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Don Glover showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Contonio misses with a body kick.
Contonio connects with a body shot.
Contonio tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Glover paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A shot to the liver by Glover. Beautiful body shot.
Glover has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Glover jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Contonio stalks Glover and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Glover's face. Glover staggers backwards, shaken.

It looks like Don Glover has been cut.
Contonio throws an overhand right that lands on Glover's shoulder, as Glover tries to avoid the shot.
Sloppy strikes from Contonio. Those never looked like landing.
Glover throws a right hand that Contonio ducks under and follows up with a left that Contonio also avoids with ease.
Glover throws a leg kick but Contonio sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Contonio avoids the head kick by Glover.
Contonio looks to score with a jab to the body but Glover is just out of range.
Glover tries a head kick but it misses.
Nice jab there from Contonio.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Glover bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Contonio turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
A jab lands there for Glover.

Glover closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Glover lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

Glover gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Contonio regains guard.
Contonio can't keep his opponent in guard - Glover advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Glover prevents Contonio from improving his position.

Contonio looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Still in half guard, Glover seems content to control.
Glover is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Contonio has hold of Glover's hands but Glover slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Contonio is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Glover is trying to control the action in half guard but Contonio is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Contonio wants to sweep but Glover has passed to side control!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Glover working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Glover wants to lay and pray for a moment but Contonio keeps working.
Contonio is looking to reverse the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Glover in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Contonio is looking for a sweep.
A lull in the action here.
Glover tries to advance to mount but Contonio denies him.
Contonio taking punishment in the form of punches.
Contonio gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Contonio is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four 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.
Glover seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Contonio does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Contonio wants to improve his position but Glover is controlling well.
Glover seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Glover prevents Contonio from improving his position.

Contonio looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Glover scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Eva Contonio has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Glover has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Glover slows the pace down in half guard.
Glover wants to take a breather but Contonio is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Don Glover comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Glover has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Don Glover!