PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Reed Burch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Todd Francis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Reed Burch has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Burch
vs
Francis

206 cm
20
161 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Intelligent

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Reed Burch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Todd Francis!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Aafke Stam and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Francis has taken the fight to the clinch.
Francis wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Burch has him pressed against the cage.
Francis tries to score a body lock takedown but Burch shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Francis goes for a takedown attempt but Burch pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Francis 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.
Francis must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Burch is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Burch scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Burch is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

Burch looking for a guillotine from mount but Francis is having none of it.
Burch lands a nice shot to the head.
Burch will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Francis is bucking up trying to escape but Burch cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Francis is working to get back to half guard.

Burch working for a guillotine from mount but Francis is in no mood to give up.

Burch is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Francis has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Francis is desperately trying to improve his position but Burch has a good base and remains in mount.
Francis wants to control but Burch is having none of it.
Burch working the ground and pound effectively.
Francis really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burch connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

Burch looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Francis tries to hold on but Burch pushes him away.

Burch is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Francis has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Francis!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Burch wriggles free and stands up.
Burch takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Burch instigates a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francis scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Burch really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Burch breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Francis takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Francis throws a head kick but Burch moves out of range.
Reed Burch is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Francis misses with a leg kick
and Burch finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.

Francis has managed to clinch.
Francis tries to circle away but Burch has him pinned against the cage.
Francis drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Reed Burch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Todd Francis.

Burch breaks the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Burch darts in and clinches Francis up against the cage.
The referee calls for Burch to work.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Burch.
Francis tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Burch just stands there and leans against the cage.
Burch putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Francis in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Francis wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Burch leaning his opponent against the cage.
Francis is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Burch is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Francis tries to keep at a distance but Burch has taken the fight into the clinch.
Francis taking a breather.
Francis stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Burch lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Francis backwards.
A bit of stalling here from Burch.
Burch lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Francis is trying to break free.
Burch lands a shoulder strike.

Burch breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Burch is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Francis can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.

Burch gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Burch lands a left hand that snaps the head of Francis backwards.

Burch pulls guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Francis connects with a couple of short punches.
Francis wants to control from the top but Burch keeps moving.

Francis gets to his feet - Burch follows without any prompting.
Francis throws a head kick that misses
and Burch counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Burch displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Francis.

Francis tries to keep at a distance but Burch has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Francis looking for a takedown.

Burch breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Burch has taken the fight to the clinch.
Francis is trying to stall.
Francis goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Burch gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Burch takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Burch scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Burch is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burch scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Burch is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Burch seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Burch slips a nice elbow through Francis's hands, connecting with Francis's forehead.
Francis is looking to control Burch's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Francis avoid being mounted?
Burch working over Francis with some ground and pound. Francis looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Burch is working for a kimura but Francis is defending it quite comfortably.

Burch seems to be looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Burch is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Francis is trying to control but can't.
Burch working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

Burch is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Burch throwing shots but Francis is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Reed Burch dominated that second round.
That's time! Burch's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Burch instigates a clinch.
A short right from Burch.
Burch lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Burch has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Burch cracks Francis with a nice body shot.
Francis has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Burch after a bit of a struggle.
Francis jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Burch walks away with a smile on his face. Francis gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Burch clinches up with Francis and pushes him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Burch keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Francis's efforts to push away.
Francis is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Burch gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Reed Burch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Todd Francis.
Burch blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Burch pulls guard.
Burch is controlling Francis's posture.
Burch tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Burch striking off his back but it's not causing Francis any problems.
Francis slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Burch.
Francis is stalling here. Burch is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Francis seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Burch has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Francis is trying to improve his position.
Burch working the head with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Burch decides to stand back up. Burch steps back and let's Francis get back to his feet.

Burch closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Burch gets underhooks to prevent Francis's takedown attempt.
Francis takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A short right from Burch.
Francis tries to pull guard but Burch forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Burch manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Burch looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Francis is trying to tuck his arms in to keep them safe but Burch has managed to isolate one of them and has got a loose triangle. Francis is looking to defend but Burch has done well to lock his legs together - this could be big trouble for Francis! Burch pulls down on the head and a little smile comes across his face - he knows he's got it. Yep, Francis taps out and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Reed Burch!