PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Terrence Thornton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Greg Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thornton's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Pusha T - Exodus 23:1. Greg Ward has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Thornton
vs
Ward

187 cm
34
178 lbs
17 - 4 - 1

178 cm
31
183 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Sully's Bar & Grill
Kalashnikov Nutrition & Supplements (160Q)

Sully's Bar & Grill

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 17 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Terrence Thornton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Greg Ward!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, James Atkins and Colin Fotheringham.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ward staying out of range there.
Thornton misses with a head kick.
Thornton darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Thornton tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ward shoots and misses
and Thornton counters with a three punch combo that has Ward backing up. Ward nods at Thornton to acknowledge the strikes.
Ward throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Thornton appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Thornton stuffs the takedown attempt from Ward. Ward gets slowly back to his feet.

Ward drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Ward misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Thornton has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thornton is looking to regain half guard here but Ward keeps moving and retains side control.
Thornton can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thornton is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Ward's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Thornton is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ward takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Ward is looking for a kimura but Thornton is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Ward to get the leverage.
Thornton makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Thornton.

Ward avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Thornton controls Ward momentarily but Ward frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ward throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Thornton is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Ward got a little sloppy there for a moment and Thornton has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ward has managed to get both his arms back between Thornton's legs - danger averted.
Ward stopping the sweep attempt from Thornton.
Ward trying to control but Thornton is working from the bottom.
Thornton trying to keep a closed guard but Ward is proving a slippery customer.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ward is stalling in the full guard.
Thornton is trying to control the position but Ward postures up.
Ward engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Thornton throws a leg kick

and Ward counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Ward looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Thornton with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ward keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Thornton looking for submissions off his back.
Ward performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thornton wants to get back to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thornton gets back to full guard.
Ward stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Thornton swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Thornton looking for a triangle here. Ward is fighting it but it looks tight! Thornton pulls the arm across and this one won't last much longer! Nope, Ward is tapping out - this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:51 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Terrence Thornton!
After the fight, Terrence Thornton was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.