PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nick Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rocco Marciano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Taylor might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Hit em up 2. Rocco Marciano has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Taylor
vs
Marciano

194 cm
25
240 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

195 cm
19
247 lbs
0 - 0 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Conviction

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Nick Taylor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Rocco Marciano!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Jack Bonds and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taylor swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Marciano thuds his right hand into Taylor's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Taylor swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nick Taylor seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taylor lands with a right hand.
The fight stays on the outside here - Taylor looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Marciano throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Taylor throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Marciano on the side of the head.
A head kick from Marciano lands but Taylor takes it in his stride.
Marciano on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Taylor. Taylor obviously looking to wear him down.
Taylor dives in and grabs Marciano's left leg, looking for a takedown. Marciano pushes down on Taylor's head and hops out.
We've been hearing reports that Taylor has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Nice cross by Marciano.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Taylor lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Taylor.
Marciano moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

It looks like Nick Taylor has been cut.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Taylor, right into the meat.
Marciano misses the body punch

and Taylor counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Marciano regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Taylor.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marciano pulls Taylor in to control the position.
Marciano utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Marciano controlling Taylor's posture.
Taylor stands up over Marciano, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Taylor has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Marciano not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Marciano is controlling Taylor's posture.
Taylor is looking to work some ground and pound but Marciano has wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Taylor wants to control from the top but Marciano keeps moving.
Marciano has control of Taylor's left arm, preventing Taylor from doing any damage.
Marciano trying to keep a closed guard but Taylor is proving a slippery customer.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Taylor works over Marciano with some ground and pound from guard.
Marciano pulls Taylor in close to prevent any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Taylor throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor trying to control the position from guard on top but Marciano is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Taylor accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marciano pulls Taylor in close to his closed guard and prevents Taylor from doing any damage or advancing position.
Marciano is continuing to stall.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Marciano fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Taylor misses with a series of wild punches.
Marciano throws a counter combo.
Rocco Marciano is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Taylor lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Marciano circles away quickly and effectively.
Taylor fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Marciano misses with a body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marciano throws a head kick that half lands.
Taylor misses with the combination.
Marciano throws a head kick that misses.
Marciano avoids the body shot from Taylor.
Taylor swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Marciano looks for the body kick but Taylor saw that one coming.
Sloppy strikes from Taylor. Those never looked like landing.

Taylor feints and as Marciano raises his hands in defense, Taylor changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Marciano is controlling Taylor's posture.
Marciano trying to keep a closed guard but Taylor is proving a slippery customer.
Taylor content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marciano pulls Taylor in close to his closed guard and prevents Taylor from doing any damage or advancing position.
Marciano keeping full guard, as Taylor tries to pass.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Taylor dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Nick Taylor's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Marciano uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Taylor.
Marciano blocks a leg kick.
Marciano misses with a body kick.
Marciano tries to land a front kick but Taylor steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Marciano swings widly with a right hand

so Taylor counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Marciano is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Taylor lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Marciano is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Marciano is controlling Taylor's posture.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Taylor accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marciano trying to keep a closed guard but Taylor is proving a slippery customer.
Taylor throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Marciano works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marciano controls Taylor momentarily but Taylor frees himself.
Taylor landing with the ground and pound.
Marciano pulls Taylor in to control the position.
Marciano trying to keep a closed guard but Taylor is proving a slippery customer.
Taylor is fighting to break Marciano's control of his arms but Marciano is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Taylor cracks Marciano with a solid left hand.
Taylor working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Marciano working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor is in close to Marciano's body, working some short punches and elbows.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Taylor accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Taylor is looking to work some ground and pound but Marciano has wrist control.
Taylor postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Marciano working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Taylor.
Marciano is trying to keep Taylor in close.
Marciano pulls Taylor in close to his closed guard and prevents Taylor from doing any damage or advancing position.
Marciano is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Taylor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marciano trying to control the position.
Marciano might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Taylor haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Taylor with a nice head shot there.
Taylor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Taylor loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Taylor lands a couple of elbows.
Marciano wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Nick Taylor overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Marciano trying to keep a closed guard but Taylor is proving a slippery customer.
Marciano has his hands on Taylor's head, controlling the position.
Taylor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Marciano is trying to keep Taylor in close.
Marciano is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Marciano utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Marciano preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Taylor throws a big elbow that misses.
Taylor postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Marciano is trying to keep Taylor in close.
Taylor working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Taylor working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Marciano's head.
Marciano working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Taylor.
Marciano is adopting a defensive guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Taylor dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Nick Taylor's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A looping hook to the body misses from Taylor. Marciano does a little dance to reset his feet.
Taylor slips under a jab from Marciano.
Nick Taylor is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Taylor throws a combination. Marciano tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Marciano throws a combination that misses

so Taylor counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Taylor content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Taylor in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Taylor lands a couple of elbows.
Marciano is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Marciano controlling the position.
Taylor throwing strikes from guard but Marciano blocks nicely.
Taylor working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Taylor postures up and lands a big shot to Marciano's brow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marciano utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Marciano is trying to keep Taylor in close.
Taylor is in close to Marciano's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Taylor stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Marciano swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Taylor is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Marciano can do to turn this around?

Taylor decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Taylor tries to bum rush Marciano with a series of wild strikes but Marciano uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Taylor tries to clinch but Marciano is having none of it.

Taylor shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Marciano trying to control but Taylor postures up.
Rocco Marciano has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marciano controlling the position for now.
Taylor sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Marciano defending well though.
Marciano tries to get to full guard but Taylor has control of the leg.
Taylor throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Marciano is looking to improve his position.
Ground and pound from Taylor.
Marciano slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Marciano working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Taylor drops back looking for a leg! Marciano is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Marciano manages to kick Taylor off! Taylor jumps back into Marciano's guard.
Taylor postures up in Marciano's guard and throws a big left but Marciano blocks it.
Marciano is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Marciano avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Taylor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Marciano has his hands on Taylor's head, controlling the position.
Taylor landing with the ground and pound.

That's four 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.
Marciano looking to control.
Nick Taylor is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Taylor stands and steps away. Marciano gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Taylor closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Taylor will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Taylor blocks a jab.

Taylor dives in and scores a takedown into Marciano's guard.
Taylor postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Taylor with a flurry of punches that miss.
Taylor postures up.
Taylor in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Taylor looking to pass the guard.

Marciano has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Taylor can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Taylor showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Taylor 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:26
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Taylor!
Nick Taylor took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Versus for their support in the buildup to the fight.