PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ben Lagman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthew Malians (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Ben Lagman has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Lagman
vs
Malians

188 cm
22
169 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

173 cm
23
167 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ben Lagman!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Matthew Malians!
The judges for this bout are Jorge Garcia, Russell Pearce and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Malians throws a head kick that misses.
Lagman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Malians paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Lagman throws a head kick but Malians moves out of range.
Matthew Malians seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Malians throws a head kick that misses.
Lagman blocks a head kick by Malians.
Lagman avoids the head kick by Malians.
Lagman tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Malians swivels and escapes.
Malians tries to close the distance and clinch but Lagman swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Lagman has closed the distance and engaged Malians in a clinch.
Lagman is leaning against Malians and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Malians tries a knee to the head but Lagman blocks it.
Malians pushes off an throws an elbow but Lagman leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Lagman can't get the takedown.

Lagman breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Malians has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Lagman dodges the punch combination from Malians.
Malians throws a nice looking combination but Lagman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
A thudding body kick lands there by Lagman!

Lagman closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Lagman creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Malians is pushing Lagman's head away, looking to escape. Lagman manages to hold on to the position though.
Malians looks gassed!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malians tries to improve position but can't.
Lagman working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

Lagman wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Malians, who protects the arm well.

Lagman thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Lagman 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.
Lagman grinds an elbow into Malians's temple.
Malians throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Lagman misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Malians taking a bit of punishment here - Lagman scoring with strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Lagman looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Malians gets back to half guard.
Malians wants to get back to his feet.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Lagman is looking for a kimura here.

Malians has one foot on Lagman's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Malians.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A punch combination from Malians misses.
Malians throws a combination that misses

and Lagman counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Malians manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Lagman tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Poor strikes thrown by Malians there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Malians throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Malians thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Lagman is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Lagman throwing hammer fists to the chest of Malians. What's that going to do exactly?
Lagman holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Malians tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Lagman really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Lagman is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Lagman holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Malians tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Malians blocks Lagman's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Malians looking to ground and pound but Lagman is blocking nicely.
Lagman is in all sorts of trouble here.
Malians thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Malians misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Malians sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Lagman dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Malians clinches up with Lagman and pushes him back against the cage.
Malians scores with a shoulder strike.
Malians throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Lagman blocks it with crossed arms.
Lagman can't break the clinch.
Malians effectively controlling the action here.
Lagman is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Lagman on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Malians tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lagman is trying to stall.
A right handed body shot lands from Lagman.
Malians prevents the takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Malians misses with a knee to the head.
Malians is pushing Lagman up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Malians tries to land a knee to the head but Lagman blocks with his arms.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lagman working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Malians looking to stall.
Lagman tries for a takedown. No joy.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Malians pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Lagman looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Malians is fending him off so far but Lagman persists. Nope, Malians circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Lagman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Malians turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Lagman throws a right and a left that Malians avoids nicely.
Malians misses with a combination

and Lagman counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Lagman pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Malians is keeping the position for now.
Lagman thows a big elbow that misses.
Lagman working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Malians thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

Lagman postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Malians is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Lagman, into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Malians has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Lagman is proving hard to escape from.

Lagman looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Malians throwing strikes from guard but Lagman blocks nicely.

Lagman is working an open guard so Malians takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Lagman takes a head kick and keeps coming.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Malians scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Malians decides to stand and escape the position.

Malians rushes Lagman and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lagman is trying to break free.
Malians misses with a knee strike.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Malians.
A shot in the inside from Malians.
Malians lands a hook that snaps the head of Lagman backwards.

Malians's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Lagman showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Malians.
Lagman misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lagman throws a leg kick but Malians checks it.
Malians falls off balance throwing a combination
and Lagman counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Malians scores with a head kick.
Lagman connects with a nice looking jab.

Lagman scores a takedown into full mount!
You get the feeling that Malians really doesn't like being in this position too much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lagman working for a submission but Malians is keeping him at bay.
Lagman is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Malians blocking the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lagman in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Malians squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

Lagman goes for an armbar but Malians turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Malians.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lagman is striking but Malians is not phased and passes to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthew Malians showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Lagman swats away the attempt to clinch by Malians.
Malians throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Ben Lagman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Malians misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Lagman scores a takedown into full mount!
Lagman in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

Lagman is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Malians has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Malians!
Malians must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Lagman has a closed guard, preventing Malians from standing up.

Malians avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Malians stands up and waves to Lagman to follow him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malians tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lagman paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Malians misses with a series of wild punches.
Malians tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Lagman misses with a low kick as Malians jumps back.
Malians misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Lagman closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Lagman in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Malians is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Lagman off and has taken his back!
Lagman manages to reverse the position and now he's in Malians's guard. Nice work there by Lagman.
Lagman in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lagman throws a strike but Malians rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Malians gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Lagman scores with a takedown into Malians's guard.
Malians preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lagman trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Malians is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Lagman stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lagman misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Malians!
Lagman scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Malians stuffs the takedown attempt from Lagman. Lagman gets slowly back to his feet.
Malians lands with a slapping head kick.
Malians lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Lagman circles away quickly and effectively.
Malians stalks Lagman and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Lagman's face. Lagman staggers backwards, shaken.
Lagman displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Malians misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Malians gets caught flat footed, as Lagman shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Malians is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Lagman.
Malians tries to land a knee to the head but Lagman blocks with his arms.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lagman is working Malians over against the cage.
Malians gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Lagman.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Lagman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Malians misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Lagman.
Malians looks to throw an elbow but misses.

Lagman turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Lagman manages to end up in side control.
Malians is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Lagman's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Malians wants to get back to his feet.
Lagman is pressing down on Malians's thigh, looking to free his foot. Malians is holding on for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lagman throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Lagman will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Malians kicks Lagman off and gets back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Lagman clearly takes that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Lagman will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Malians pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Malians misses with a double jab
and Lagman counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Malians throws a sloppy head kick and Lagman moves out of range easily.
Lagman buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
A punch combination from Malians misses.
Malians throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Lagman.
Lagman shoots in for a double leg but Malians sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Malians tries to clinch but Lagman moves out of range.
Lagman avoids the head kick by Malians.

Lagman looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Lagman throwing shots but Malians is blocking nicely.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

Lagman is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Malians defends it well.
Malians wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lagman lands strikes from half guard.
Malians pushes Lagman off looking to stand but Lagman dives back in and keeps control.
Lagman working Malians over with strikes.

Lagman is looking for a kimura here.
Lagman missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Malians misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Lagman throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Malians stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Lagman misses with a takedown attempt - Malians sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Lagman. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two 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.
Malians tries to close the distance and clinch up but Lagman swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Malians misses with the combination.
Lagman blocks a head kick by Malians.
Good exchange - Lagman coming out on top.
Lagman scores with a hook to the body. Malians takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.

Lagman scores with a takedown into Malians's guard.

Lagman drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Lagman jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Lagman throwing strikes from guard but Malians blocks nicely.
Malians preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Malians wants to stand and escape but Lagman is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Lagman's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Lagman thows a big elbow that misses.

Lagman drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Malians dives on top into guard.
Ben Lagman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Lagman looking for a guillotine here but Malians defends easily.

Malians stands up from Lagman's guard - Malians perhaps looking for a knockout.
Malians moves in looking to clinch but Lagman pushes him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lagman avoids the head kick by Malians.
Malians misses the jab.

Lagman closes the distance and pushes Malians back into the cage.
Lagman managing to block the knees to the body from Malians.
Malians misses with a knee to the head.
Malians swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Malians using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Lagman has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Malians throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Malians.
Lagman stalling in the clinch but Malians improves position.
Malians wants to break free but Lagman has control.
Lagman is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Malians is pressed up against the cage. Lagman has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Malians down to the mat. Malians avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Lagman dodges the punch combination from Malians.
Malians looks to land a combination but Lagman avoids it well.
Lagman moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Lagman had his way with Matthew Malians in that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Lagman lands with a nice combination. Malians backs away looking to recover.
Lagman tries for a takedown but Malians sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Malians tries to clinch but Lagman moves out of range.
Malians misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lagman moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Malians throws a head kick but Lagman moves out of range.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Malians.
Matthew Malians seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Lagman shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Lagman showed some decent athleticism there.
Lagman scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Lagman seems to be working for a kimura but Malians defends the submission attempt.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Lagman looks to land a strike but Malians avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malians wants to stand up but Lagman is controlling him.
Malians will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lagman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Malians scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Lagman throws a head kick but Malians moves out of range.
Malians lands a head kick!
Malians misses with a few strikes there.

Lagman fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Malians, pushing him back against the cage.

Lagman has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Malians is trying to keep an underhook but Lagman manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Malians is looking to escape.
Lagman looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Malians with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lagman trying to pass the guard but Malians defending well.
Lagman thows a huge punch but Malians dodges it nicely.

Lagman is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Malians is trying to stand back up but Lagman is controlling him
Lagman sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Malians defending well though.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Lagman shoots in looking for a takedown. Malians tries to sprawl out of it but Lagman keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Malians manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Nice body kick from Malians.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Malians throws a head kick that Lagman semi-blocks.
Lagman scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Malians tries to close the distance and clinch but Lagman swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Lagman wants to clinch up but Malians keeps it at a distance.
Malians swinging wilding here.
Malians moves in looking to clinch but Lagman pushes him off.

Lagman gets a takedown into half guard.

Lagman is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Lagman landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Malians wants to get back to his feet.
Lagman throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Lagman throwing shots but Malians is blocking nicely.
Malians tries to kick Lagman off but Lagman keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Lagman misses with a head shot. Malians uses the momentum to regain guard.
Matthew Malians has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lagman throwing strikes from guard but Malians blocks nicely.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Malians throws a right hand that Lagman ducks under and follows up with a left that Lagman also avoids with ease.
Ben Lagman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
No joy there for Malians, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Lagman closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Malians to the mat! Malians manages to get full guard.
Lagman trying to control the position from guard on top but Malians is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Lagman showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Lagman 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 49:46
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 49:46
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Lagman!
Ben Lagman is the new welterweight champion!