PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Howard Blanchard (ranked 8258 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicky Jones (ranked 7468 p4p, 571 weight class). Nicky Jones has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Blanchard
vs
Jones

168 cm
24
162 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

178 cm
25
159 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)
Urban Fighter

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Howard Blanchard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nicky Jones!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Joseph Jones and Bruno Lombardi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blanchard dodges the punch combination from Jones.
Blanchard showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Jones.
Jones misses with a double jab.
Nicky Jones seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jones rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Blanchard moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Blanchard is looking to clinch.
Blanchard is looking to clinch.
Jones connects with a body shot.

Blanchard fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Jones, pushing him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blanchard is stalling here.
Blanchard is looking to take this one to the mat.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Jones has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones letting Blanchard take a breather here.

Blanchard breaks the clinch.
Jones throws a right hand that Blanchard ducks under and follows up with a left that Blanchard also avoids with ease.
Blanchard changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Jones 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.
Jones tries to bum rush Blanchard with a series of wild strikes but Blanchard uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Jones lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Blanchard.
Jones looks to land a combination. Blanchard sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Jones misses with a wild combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blanchard tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Jones manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Jones misses with a few strikes there.
Blanchard went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Jones throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Blanchard fails in his attempt to clinch.
Blanchard tries to clinch but Jones is having none of it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blanchard tries to clinch but Jones moves out of range.
Jones is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Jones throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

Jones shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Blanchard manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Jones looks winded!

Blanchard looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blanchard has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Jones is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Blanchard slowing the pace effectively.
Jones has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Jones wants to break the clinch but can't.
Jones lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Jones wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Blanchard keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Jones's efforts to push away.

Jones drags the fight down to the ground.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Blanchard accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Blanchard gets to his feet. Jones looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blanchard tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Blanchard misses with a few strikes there.
Blanchard fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Howard Blanchard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jones jabs at Blanchard's body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Blanchard looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Jones throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Blanchard half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Jones darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Blanchard 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.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blanchard trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicky Jones 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.

Jones misses with a series of wild punches.
Jones scores with a sloppy right hand. Blanchard should have avoided that one.
Jones scores with a punch to the head.
Jones throws a sloppy head kick and Blanchard moves out of range easily.
Blanchard tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Jones manages to circle out of the way.

Jones drives through and clinches with Blanchard against the cage.
Jones is looking to break free of the clinch but Blanchard has double underhooks.
A short right from Jones.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stalling in the clinch from Blanchard.
Blanchard is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Jones lands a body shot in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blanchard displaying some good clinch control by pressing Jones up against the cage.
Blanchard missing with knees to the body.
Jones is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Jones misses with a body punch.
Jones is trying to break the clinch but Blanchard has him pressed against the cage.
Jones prevents a body shot from Blanchard.
Jones being controlled against the cage.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Jones.

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.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
A hook to the body from Jones.
Jones being controlled against the cage.

Blanchard ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Blanchard no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Jones slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Blanchard is looking to stand up but Jones isn't so interested in that idea.
Jones wants to stand and escape but instead Blanchard has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blanchard throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Jones works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Blanchard gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Jones is breathing heavily.
Blanchard misses with a jab, cross combination.
Jones lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Jones misses with the combination.
Jones looks to land a combination. Blanchard sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Jones stuffs the takedown attempt from Blanchard. Blanchard gets slowly back to his feet.

Blanchard gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jones has had enough of the clinch but Blanchard keeps him there for the moment.

Blanchard drags the fight down to the ground.
Blanchard is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Blanchard is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Blanchard is trying to control the position but Jones postures up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jones 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.

Nicky Jones showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

No joy there for Jones, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Left hook, right uppercut from Jones.

Jones closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Blanchard explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Jones misses with a jab, cross combination.
Blanchard tries to clinch up but Jones circles away and keeps his distance.
Blanchard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Jones gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Jones wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Jones takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Jones managing to block the knees to the body from Blanchard.
Jones is trying to push Blanchard away but Blanchard has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Jones is trying to push Blanchard away but Blanchard has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blanchard missing with knees to the body.
Blanchard displaying some good clinch control by pressing Jones up against the cage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Blanchard just leaning against Jones, taking a breather.
Blanchard's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Blanchard gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.

Jones has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Blanchard uses from the top position.
Blanchard makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Blanchard drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Blanchard jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blanchard is looking to work some ground and pound but Jones has wrist control.
Blanchard with a flurry of punches that miss.
Blanchard postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Blanchard with a nice head shot there.
Blanchard lands a couple of elbows.
Blanchard lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Jones preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Blanchard is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Blanchard accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Howard Blanchard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Jones not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Jones can do anything to dispel that myth.
Blanchard keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Jones's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blanchard gets to his feet - Jones follows without any prompting.
Blanchard is looking to clinch.
Jones tries to clinch there but Blanchard circles away.

Blanchard has taken the fight to the clinch.

Jones pulls guard.
Blanchard in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Blanchard throws a big right hand that misses.

Blanchard stands up from Jones's guard - Blanchard perhaps looking for a knockout.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blanchard holding his opponent close, against the cage.

Blanchard gets control of Jones's arms and successfully pulls guard. Blanchard will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Jones is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Blanchard pushes Jones off and gets back to his feet.

Blanchard clinches with his opponent.
Howard Blanchard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nicky Jones is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Blanchard throws a knee to the head but misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Howard Blanchard showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Jones has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 28:29
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nicky Jones!