PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Hershel Cox (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thaenir Holban (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thaenir Holban will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Cox
vs
Holban

179 cm
21
140 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

174 cm
22
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hershel Cox!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Thaenir Holban!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Hirohito Nitta and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holban throws a head kick that misses.
Holban comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Holban looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cox is fending him off so far but Holban persists. Nope, Cox circles away and we're back to standing.
Cox tries to counter by clinching up but Holban breaks away and moves out of range.

Holban clinches up with Cox and pushes him back against the cage.
Holban tries to break free but Cox pushes him back against the cage.

Holban breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Holban fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Cox tries to counter by clinching up but Holban breaks away and moves out of range.
Holban misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Hershel Cox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thaenir Holban.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holban has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Holban tries to break free but Cox pushes him back against the cage.
Cox keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Holban's efforts to push away.
Holban on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Holban is trying to force a seperation but Cox has the dominant position.
Holban is trying to break free.
Holban tries to pull guard but Cox won't allow it.
Holban wants a takedown but no success here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Holban wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Holban avoiding damage as Cox throws knees to the body.
Holban blocks the elbow strike.
Cox looking to throw knees to the head but Holban is blocking nicely.
A short right from Cox.
Cox has Holban pressed against the cage, preventing Holban from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Holban has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Cox avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Holban tries to break free but Cox pushes him back against the cage.
Cox putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Holban in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cox keeps control of Holban as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Holban tries to circle away but Cox has him pinned against the cage.
Holban blocks an uppercut.
Holban tries for a takedown. No joy.
Cox throws an elbow but it misses.
Holban blocks the elbow strike.

Holban breaks the clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Holban can't break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Cox trying to land knees to the body.
Holban dodges an elbow strike from Cox.
Holban is trying to break the clinch but Cox is controlling him.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Holban breaks from the clinch.
Holban lands with an uppercut that bounces Cox off the cage and back into range.
Cox really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Holban shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Cox but Cox pushes him off and we're back to square one.
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 Hershel Cox will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Holban misses with a takedown

and Cox counters with a takedown into side control.
Cox has control of an arm but Holban manages to advance to Cox's back!
Cox is trying to get back to his feet but Holban has full control of the position and if anything, Cox has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Holban just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.

Cox manages to escape to his feet.
A right-left combo lands from Holban.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Holban defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Cox.
Holban is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.

Cox fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Holban, pushing him back against the cage.
Cox misses with a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cox just misses with a elbow thrown towards Holban's brow.
A frustrated look appears on Holban's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Cox tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Holban's elbow.
Holban tries to break the clinch but Cox is controlling the position.
Holban has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Cox after a bit of a struggle.
Holban is trying to break the clinch but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Holban is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Cox pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Hershel Cox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thaenir Holban.
Cox tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Holban's elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Holban content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Holban tries to break free but Cox pushes him back against the cage.
Holban blocks a body shot from Cox.
Cox keeps control of Holban as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Cox struggles to land a body shot inside as Holban controls his hands.
Hershel Cox has scored more points in the clinch so far.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Holban avoiding damage as Cox throws knees to the body.
Holban is looking to take this one to the mat.
Cox missing with knees to the body.
Holban wants to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holban wants to break free but Cox has control.
Holban blocks a body shot from Cox.
Holban wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Cox misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Holban.
Cox is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Holban is defending well for now.
Holban wants to get back to striking at distance but Cox won't allow it.
Holban is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Holban is trying to drag Cox to the mat but Cox just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Cox misses with an elbow over the top.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Cox creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Cox misses with an elbow strike.
A frustrated look appears on Holban's face as he tries to break the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holban is trying to push Cox away but Cox has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Holban wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hershel Cox dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Holban throws a low kick but it's checked well by Cox.
Cox attempts a counter takedown but Holban avoids it well and moves away.

Holban moves into the clinch.
Cox misses with an elbow over the top.
Cox tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Holban avoids it.
Holban is trying to push Cox away but Cox has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Holban tries to break free but Cox pushes him back against the cage.
Holban lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cox swings wildly with an uppercut but Holban uses good head movement to avoid it.
Holban is trying to break free.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cox struggles to land a body shot inside as Holban controls his hands.
Cox is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Holban is defending well for now.
Holban has had enough of the clinch but Cox keeps him there for the moment.
Holban tries to score a body lock takedown but Cox shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Holban is trying to pull guard but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Holban tries to circle away but Cox has him pinned against the cage.
Cox tries to throw a body punch but Holban avoids it by throwing Cox back against the cage.
Cox missing with knees to the body.
Holban blocks the elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Holban controlling the action here for a moment.
Holban wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Cox prevents Holban from breaking the clinch.
Holban is trying to break the clinch but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Holban is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Cox tries to land knees in the clinch but Holban avoids the damage to the body.
Holban wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cox being controlled against the cage.
Holban is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Cox gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Hershel Cox has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Thaenir Holban.
Holban on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Holban is trying to break free.
Holban blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cox struggles to land a body shot inside as Holban controls his hands.
Cox looks to throw an elbow but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Holban looking for a takedown.
Holban wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Holban blocks a body shot from Cox.
Holban can't break the clinch.
Holban is trying to pull guard but Cox has him pressed against the cage.
Holban blocks an elbow strike.
Holban tries to score a body lock takedown but Cox shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cox with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Holban is trying to break free.
Thaenir Holban has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hershel Cox is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Holban misses with a body punch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hershel Cox showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Cox, 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hershel Cox!
Thaenir Holban spoke after the fight, saying 'Its RIGGED!!!!!!!!'.