PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Micky Thorton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Freddy Warren (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Freddy Warren has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Thorton
vs
Warren

167 cm
21
130 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

175 cm
22
144 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Micky Thorton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Freddy Warren!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Josh West and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Warren gets the takedown into side control.
Warren lands a decent elbow from side control.
You can see the frustration on Thorton's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Thorton is looking to reverse the position.
Thorton struggling a bit here.
Thorton is trying to improve his position.
Warren is trying to ground and pound but Thorton uses the momentary lack of control by Warren to regain half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Warren trying to control the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thorton wants to control but Warren is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Warren slows the pace down in half guard.
Thorton blocking the ground and pound attempt from Warren.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Warren in particular looking to stall.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Thorton keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two 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.
Thorton closes the distance and clinches up with Warren, looking for a takedown. Thorton pushes Warren against the cage but Warren circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Warren looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Thorton looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Warren lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Warren throws a left and a right that both miss

and Thorton moves into the clinch.

Thorton has clasped his hands together around Warren's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Thorton advances to full mount.
Warren is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Warren is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Thorton tries to control but Warren wriggling away.
Warren really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Thorton. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorton fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Thorton lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Thorton controlling from mount.
Thorton has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Warren's face.
Thorton controlling his opponent.
Thorton throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Warren wants to control but Thorton is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thorton lands a heavy elbow.
Thorton fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Thorton avoids the attempt from Warren to control.
Warren tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The referee warns Warren that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Thorton throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Thorton is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Warren slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Micky Thorton dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Thorton shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Warren manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Warren seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Warren preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorton with a flurry of punches that miss.
Thorton looking to pass the guard.
Thorton has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Thorton won't allow Warren to get back to his feet.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Warren tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Thorton was well out of range. Poor timing from Warren.
Thorton on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Thorton gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Warren counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Thorton bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Warren managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Thorton.
Thorton throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Thorton creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Warren sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Warren stuck in half guard on the bottom here.
Thorton is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Thorton scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Warren to see if he's OK.
Thorton just content to control the position.
Thorton wants to lay and pray for a moment but Warren keeps working.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Warren is trying to control Thorton's posture but Thorton avoids it.
Warren is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Thorton has just dragged him back down to the mat.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Thorton tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Thorton has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Warren is trying to control Thorton's posture but Thorton avoids it.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Warren keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Thorton.

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.
Warren swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Thorton appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Thorton tries for a takedown but Warren sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Thorton fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Warren manages to avoid it.
Micky Thorton seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A looping hook to the body misses from Warren. Thorton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Warren ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thorton moves away.
Thorton fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Micky Thorton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Warren takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Micky Thorton dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Thorton shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Warren but Warren pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Warren takes a swing at Thorton's ribcage but misses.
Thorton keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Thorton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Warren can do to turn this around?
Warren wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Thorton dives in for a single leg takedown but Warren sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Warren throws out a counter right but Thorton avoids it with no problem.
Warren jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Thorton attempts a counter takedown but Warren avoids it well and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorton looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Micky Thorton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thorton fails with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A jab from Warren does it's job there.
Thorton misses with a body shot.
Warren appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Warren throws a jab but it's blocked by Thorton.
Thorton throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Warren counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Warren connects with a single shot there.
Thorton shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Thorton throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thorton has his takedown stuffed
enabling Warren to counter with a crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Warren throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Thorton on the side of the head.
Thorton misses with an uppercut.
Warren lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Warren misses with a body shot.
Thorton misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Warren looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Thorton is defended easily by Warren.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorton takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Warren ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thorton moves away.
Thorton shoots in for a double leg but Warren sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Warren connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Thorton's hands.
Warren works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Warren connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Thorton looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Warren is fending him off so far but Thorton persists. Nope, Warren circles away and we're back to standing.
As Thorton backs off Warren throws a huge counter combo but Thorton manages to avoid it all.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thorton dives in and grabs Warren's left leg, looking for a takedown. Warren pushes down on Thorton's head and hops out.
Warren looks to land a combination but Thorton avoids it well.
Freddy Warren seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Warren waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Thorton.
Thorton attempts a counter takedown but Warren avoids it well and moves away.
Warren looks to throw the jab but Thorton is out of range.
Thorton shoots and misses
and Thorton takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Thorton throws a poor cross that misses
enabling Warren to counter with a crisp jab.
Warren scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Warren looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Warren winds up and cracks Thorton with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Freddy Warren comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Thorton has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 28:28
Judge Josh West scores the fight 28:28
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a draw!