PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nick Faldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bob Backlund (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Faldo comes to the cage accompanied by Paparazzi Pone - Man Down. The key to victory for Nick Faldo has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Faldo
vs
Backlund

182 cm
41
199 lbs
22 - 11 - 0

189 cm
35
189 lbs
15 - 17 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Red Belt
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)

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 22 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nick Faldo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Bob Backlund!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Paul Gruel and Josh West.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Backlund drives through and clinches with Faldo against the cage.
Faldo misses with a hook to the ribs.
Backlund misses with a hook from the clinch.
Backlund blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Backlund goes for a takedown attempt but Faldo pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Backlund throws a head kick but Faldo moves out of range.
Backlund uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Faldo.
Backlund misses with a looping right.
Faldo lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Nice jab there from Faldo.
A decent looking cross lands there for Faldo.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Faldo throws a body punch but Backlund moves out of range.
Backlund changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Backlund pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Backlund tries to clinch there but Faldo circles away.

Backlund shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Backlund was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Backlund fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Faldo is looking to reverse the position.

Backlund is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Faldo has escaped the position, nice work there.
My spies in Steel's Grappling Penn inform me that Backlund has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Faldo is looking for a sweep.
Backlund is looking to take a break and control but Faldo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Backlund is trying to get an arm triangle but Faldo is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Backlund in side control, throwing shots but Faldo defends.

Backlund swings around for an armbar but Faldo sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Backlund's guard.
Backlund seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Faldo trying to control but Backlund is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Backlund looking for a sweep. Not yet Backlund, not yet.
Backlund is controlling Faldo's posture.
Faldo trying to control the position from guard on top but Backlund is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Faldo controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Faldo being controlled here momentarily.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Backlund displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Faldo throws out the jab.
Backlund throws a big counter head kick but Faldo avoids it with no problem.

Backlund closes the distance and pushes Faldo back into the cage.
Faldo misses with a punch on the inside.
Faldo lands a body punch.
Faldo has a couple of punches blocked by Backlund.
Backlund is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Faldo gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Backlund blocks an uppercut.
Backlund has Faldo pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Faldo manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Nick Faldo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bob Backlund.
Faldo throws a punch but it's blocked by Backlund.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Nick Faldo will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Faldo scores with a decent looking hook.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Backlund.
Faldo lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Faldo jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Backlund is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Faldo.

Backlund pushes Faldo up against the cage in a clinch.
Faldo lands a nice shot to the body.
Faldo lands with a light punch inside.
Faldo lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Backlund backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Backlund blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Backlund misses with a short punch on the inside.
Backlund takes a shot to the head.
Backlund misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faldo doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Faldo fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Faldo tries to throw a body punch but Backlund avoids it by throwing Faldo back against the cage.
Faldo lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Faldo struggles to land a body shot inside as Backlund controls his hands.
Faldo misses with a punch on the inside.
Faldo lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Faldo misses with a punch on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Faldo.
Faldo tries to throw a body punch but Backlund avoids it by throwing Faldo back against the cage.
Faldo working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Faldo takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faldo has a couple of punches blocked by Backlund.
Backlund is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
A head punch on the inside from Faldo fails to land.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Backlund.
Backlund is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Faldo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Backlund wants a takedown.
Nick Faldo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bob Backlund.
Faldo scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Faldo pushes Backlund back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Nick Faldo has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Backlund is trying to pull guard but Faldo has him pressed against the cage.
Faldo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Faldo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Backlund can do to turn this around?
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Backlund has a couple of punches blocked by Faldo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faldo taking a breather.
Faldo lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Backlund.
Faldo is stalling here.
Faldo misses with a short punch on the inside.
Backlund wants a takedown but no success here.
Backlund fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Faldo tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A right handed body shot lands from Backlund.
Backlund is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Faldo pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Backlund blocking some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faldo will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Backlund up against the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Faldo.
Backlund is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Faldo can't find room to land a body shot as Backlund controls the action.
Faldo lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Backlund backwards.
Faldo swings wildly with an uppercut but Backlund uses good head movement to avoid it.
Faldo misses with a hook from the clinch.
Faldo stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Faldo blocks an uppercut.
Backlund blocks an uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Faldo dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Backlund shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Faldo but Faldo pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Faldo tries to counter by clinching up but Backlund breaks away and moves out of range.
Faldo dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Faldo uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Backlund has time to react.
Backlund ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Faldo throws a hook to the side of Backlund's head but Backlund sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Faldo missing with a left hand there. Backlund was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Backlund throws a nice inside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A bone on bone clash there as Faldo blocks the leg kick.
Faldo seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Faldo with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Backlund tries a head kick but it misses.
Backlund misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faldo is looking to score with low kicks.
Faldo lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Faldo looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Faldo scores with a jab.
Backlund lands a nice looking kick to the body. Faldo takes a step back to recover.
Faldo throws a jab when Backlund was well out of range.
Some wild striking there from Faldo.
A head kick misses from Backlund.
Backlund misses with an uppercut. Faldo saw that one coming.
Faldo throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Backlund.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Backlund chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Faldo can pounce on him.
Nick Faldo is winning the standup battle so far.
Backlund throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Faldo ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Backlund misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Faldo misses with a low kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Faldo throws a body punch but Backlund moves out of range.
Backlund throws a jab but it's blocked by Faldo.
An inside leg kick lands from Faldo.
Faldo connects with the punch.
Backlund tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Faldo manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Faldo seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
A head kick misses from Backlund.
Faldo seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Faldo blocks a head kick by Backlund.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Backlund throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Faldo.

It looks like Nick Faldo has been cut.
Faldo bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Backlund tries a head kick but it misses.
Backlund throws a sloppy head kick and Faldo moves out of range easily.
Backlund throws an overhand right that lands on Faldo's shoulder, as Faldo tries to avoid the shot.
Faldo tries to counter by clinching up but Backlund breaks away and moves out of range.
Bob Backlund has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Backlund throws a looping overhand right but Faldo ducks down to avoid it.
Faldo tries to counter by clinching up but Backlund breaks away and moves out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Backlund looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Faldo tries to counter by clinching up but Backlund breaks away and moves out of range.
Backlund doesn't manage to clinch there - Faldo circles away.
Backlund throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Faldo's waist but Faldo gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Backlund off to one side.
Faldo throws a hook to the side of Backlund's head but Backlund sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Faldo throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Backlund sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Backlund throws a head kick that misses.
Faldo stuns Backlund with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Backlund throws a head kick that misses.
Faldo throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Bob Backlund is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A big left from Faldo misses.
Backlund misses with a double jab.
Backlund tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Faldo swivels and escapes.
Nick Faldo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bob Backlund.
Backlund takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Backlund throws a sloppy head kick and Faldo moves out of range easily.
Backlund takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Faldo moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Faldo digs a good hook to Backlund's body.
Faldo is looking to slow Backlund down with leg kicks.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Faldo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Faldo, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 30:27
Judge Josh West scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Faldo!
Nick Faldo tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.