PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Brandon Simmons (ranked 120 p4p, 5 weight class) and Gerbert Bryant (ranked 60 p4p, 2 weight class). Simmons comes to the cage accompanied by 3Hunna. Bryant comes into a darkened arena with his song building. I just wanna kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Simmons
vs
Bryant

190 cm
28
254 lbs
18 - 3 - 0

195 cm
33
275 lbs
31 - 11 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter
Aspire Clothing

Aspire Nutrition
Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Brandon Simmons!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 31 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gerbert Bryant!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, Colin Fotheringham and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bryant avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Bryant has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Nice shot lands for Bryant.
Bryant blocks a jab.
Bryant stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Simmons.
Simmons takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Simmons throws a looping overhand right but Bryant ducks down to avoid it.
Simmons on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Simmons throws a jab when Bryant was well out of range.
Simmons misses with an attempted mid kick.
Bryant looks to score with a jab to the body but Simmons is just out of range.
Bryant blocks a head kick by Simmons.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Simmons lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Simmons is looking to clinch.
Simmons takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Simmons darts in trying to clinch
and Bryant cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Simmons scores with a nice strike.
Simmons closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Simmons throws a jab when Bryant was well out of range.
Bryant takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Bryant misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Simmons.
Simmons appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Bryant tries to close the distance and clinch up but Simmons swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Simmons throws a lazy body kick
and Bryant counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Brandon Simmons seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Simmons is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Bryant.
Brandon Simmons is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Simmons tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Bryant manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Bryant feints the counter takedown.
Simmons feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Bryant's calf.
Bryant throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Simmons works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Simmons finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Simmons misses with a hook. Bryant ducked under it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bryant loads up on a big right hand but Simmons slips the punch.

Simmons clinches with his opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Simmons throws a punch but it's blocked by Bryant.
Simmons blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bryant has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Simmons avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Simmons is working Bryant over against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Simmons fails to land.
Simmons takes a shot to the head.
Bryant lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Simmons scores with a shot to the side of Bryant's head.
Simmons misses with a hook from the clinch.
Simmons misses with a body punch.
I was talking to Simmons's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Bryant misses with a body punch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bryant creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Bryant tries a body shot but Simmons blocks it.
Bryant misses with a punch to the body.
Bryant is working for takedown but Simmons is calmly controlling the position for now.
A left hand lands to the body for Simmons.
Bryant looks winded!
Simmons working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Bryant blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Bryant fails to land.
Simmons tries to throw a body punch but Bryant avoids it by throwing Simmons back against the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Bryant.
Bryant blocking some punches.
Bryant tries to throw a body punch but Simmons avoids it by throwing Bryant back against the cage.
Simmons working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Simmons is pressed up against the cage. Bryant has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Simmons down to the mat. Simmons avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Brandon Simmons has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gerbert Bryant.
Bryant swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Simmons goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Bryant takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Simmons connects with a solid leg kick.

Simmons closes the distance and pushes Bryant back into the cage.
Bryant blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Simmons blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Simmons fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Bryant blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A short uppercut from Simmons.
Simmons misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bryant doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Simmons tries a body shot but Bryant blocks it.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Simmons.
Simmons is pressed up against the cage. Bryant has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Simmons down to the mat. Simmons avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Bryant blocks a jab.
Simmons uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bryant.
Simmons throws a hook but Bryant avoids it easily.
Simmons feints and then cracks Bryant's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Bryant down.

Bryant shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Simmons manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Bryant is looking to pass into half guard but Simmons pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Simmons is in guard.

Simmons sitting in guard here, content to control.
Simmons stopping the sweep attempt from Bryant.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Simmons would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brandon Simmons dominated 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.

Simmons throws the kick towards the body but Bryant avoids it.
Bryant misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A low kick from Simmons is predictable there
enabling Bryant to counter with a crisp jab.
Simmons slips under a jab.
Simmons throws a shot from downtown. Bryant moves away and avoids it.
Simmons waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Bryant.
Bryant misses with a body shot.
Simmons scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Bryant doesn't seem bothered though.
Bryant dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bryant throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Bryant pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bryant walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Bryant misses with a body shot.
Bryant blocks a low kick nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bryant swings for the body but Simmons moves out of range.
Simmons throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

It looks like Gerbert Bryant has been cut.
Simmons misses with a low kick.
Bryant misses the shot to the body.
A counter left hand to the body from Simmons misses its target.
Simmons tries to score with a low kick but Bryant moves his leg out of the way.
Bryant is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Simmons is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bryant can do to turn this around?
Good shot there by Simmons.
Bryant has a takedown stuffed.
Simmons lands a nice hook to Bryant's body. Bryant takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Bryant throws a body punch but Simmons moves out of range.
Simmons scores with a jab to the head.
Simmons thumps Bryant with a low kick.
Simmons slips under a jab.
Simmons takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Simmons thows a left - swing and a miss!
Bryant misses the shot to the body.
Brandon Simmons is winning the standup battle so far.
Simmons lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bryant throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Simmons throws an off balance right hand
and Bryant counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Simmons gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Bryant misses with some punches.
Bryant pushes Simmons back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Simmons blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Simmons swings wildly with an uppercut but Bryant uses good head movement to avoid it.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bryant creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

Simmons escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Simmons instigates a clinch.
Bryant struggles to land a body shot inside as Simmons controls his hands.

Bryant gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Simmons is staying active underneath Bryant, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Bryant with the ground and pound but Simmons uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Bryant throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Simmons works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bryant missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bryant throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Simmons works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Simmons wants to stand but Bryant is controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bryant accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bryant trying to control the position from guard on top but Simmons is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bryant has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Simmons avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Simmons avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Bryant makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Bryant pushes down on Simmons's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Ground and pound from Bryant.
Bryant with the ground and pound but Simmons uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Bryant working some strikes from top position.
Bryant loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bryant working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Simmons is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Simmons misses with a hook from the clinch.
Bryant is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Simmons is defending well.
Brandon Simmons has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gerbert Bryant.
Still in the clinch, Simmons scores with a nice short uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Brandon Simmons will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Gerbert Bryant's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Bryant jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Simmons throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A little jabbing left from Bryant on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Bryant connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Bryant goes for a double leg but Simmons avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Simmons continues to drive forward.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Simmons lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Bryant has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Bryant and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Bryant swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice body punch from Simmons.
Simmons pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A slow jab from Bryant misses its intended target.
A head kick from Simmons lands but Bryant takes it in his stride.
Bryant is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Simmons rather than just go for the knockout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bryant misses with a lunging right hand
and Simmons counters with a low kick, right behind Bryant 's knee.
Simmons turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Bryant tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Simmons stuffs the takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Simmons throws a shot to the body.
Bryant throws out a powerful jab.
Nice sprawl there from Simmons as Bryant shoots in.
Brandon Simmons has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gerbert Bryant.
Bryant takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Bryant waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Simmons.
Simmons misses with a head kick.
Simmons fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Bryant on the side of the head.
Nice shot lands for Bryant.
Bryant throws a series of punches but Simmons avoids them all with ease.
Bryant throws a body punch but Simmons moves out of range.
Simmons uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bryant.
Simmons is looking to counter punch.
Bryant dives in and grabs Simmons's left leg, looking for a takedown. Simmons pushes down on Bryant's head and hops out.
Simmons connects with an inside leg kick.
Bryant just misses with a punch to the body.
Simmons throws a nice inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bryant throws a left and a right that both miss
and Simmons counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Simmons thuds his shin into the meat of Bryant's side.
A slow jab from Bryant misses its intended target.
Simmons looks to throw the jab but Bryant is out of range.
Bryant shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Simmons pinned against the cage. Simmons gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Simmons avoids the body shot from Bryant.

Bryant rushes Simmons and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Gerbert Bryant has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bryant tries to throw a body punch but Simmons avoids it by throwing Bryant back against the cage.
Bryant tries to throw a body punch but Simmons avoids it by throwing Bryant back against the cage.
Simmons digs a right hand underneath Bryant's ribcage. Bryant let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Simmons lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Simmons's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Bryant decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bryant not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Bryant stops Simmons from getting back to his feet.
Simmons avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bryant.
Simmons keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Bryant working the head and body with strikes.

Simmons has one foot on Bryant's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Bryant tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Simmons was well out of range. Poor timing from Bryant.
Simmons scores with a push kick.
Bryant takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Bryant's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Simmons jabs Bryant to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A nice inside leg kick there by Simmons. That's going to slow Bryant down.
Bryant misses with a lunging right hand
and Simmons counters with a three punch combo that has Bryant backing up. Bryant nods at Simmons to acknowledge the strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Simmons misses with an attempted mid kick.
Simmons lands a slapping body shot.
Bryant on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Simmons. Simmons obviously looking to wear him down.
Simmons paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Simmons lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Bryant throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Simmons scores with a spinning back kick!
Simmons connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Bryant looks to throw the jab but Simmons is out of range.
Good exchange - Simmons coming out on top.

And that's the end of the fight!
Brandon Simmons showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Simmons, 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brandon Simmons!
A determined Brandon Simmons didn't want to dwell on this fight in his post fight interview. Instead he was more keen to state he wants a title shot. Let's see if he gets it!
The defeated Gerbert Bryant had this to say: 'The Gerbert takes, but the Gerbert also gives'.