PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Damien OQuinn (ranked 5454 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jim Bassett (ranked 4952 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

OQuinn
vs
Bassett

199 cm
24
237 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

190 cm
26
265 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Damien OQuinn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jim Bassett!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, David Schapiro and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

OQuinn clinches up with Bassett and pushes him back against the cage.
OQuinn avoiding damage.
Knees in the clinch landing for OQuinn.
OQuinn taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
OQuinn lands a nice knee to the body.
OQuinn using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bassett has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
OQuinn displaying some good clinch control by pressing Bassett up against the cage.
Bassett is trying to pull guard but OQuinn has him pressed against the cage.
Knees to the body from OQuinn.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
OQuinn keeps control of Bassett as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
OQuinn gets underhooks to prevent Bassett's takedown attempt.
OQuinn lands a knee to the body.
OQuinn is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Bassett looks winded!

That's one minute gone in the round.
OQuinn with a knee to the head.
OQuinn unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Bassett is trying to work for a single leg takedown but OQuinn pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Damien OQuinn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jim Bassett.
Bassett takes a knee right on the jaw!
Bassett has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by OQuinn after a bit of a struggle.
OQuinn scores with a knee to the head.
OQuinn'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.
Knees in the clinch landing for OQuinn.
Knees in the clinch landing for OQuinn.
OQuinn lands a good knee to the midsection. Bassett won't want to take too many of those.
OQuinn stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
OQuinn lands a good knee to the midsection. Bassett won't want to take too many of those.
OQuinn landing knees to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
OQuinn effectively controlling the action here.
OQuinn definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
OQuinn utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
OQuinn has Bassett pushed against the cage.
OQuinn is struggling to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
OQuinn lands a knee to the body.
OQuinn lands a knee to the head.
OQuinn landing knees to the body.
OQuinn lands a nice knee to the body.
OQuinn lands a good knee to the midsection. Bassett won't want to take too many of those.
A knee to the head by OQuinn.
A knee to the head by OQuinn.
A knee to the head by OQuinn.
OQuinn slowing the pace effectively.
OQuinn lands a nice knee to the body.
OQuinn tries to land a knee to the head but Bassett blocks with his arms.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bassett drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
OQuinn utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Knees to the body from OQuinn.
OQuinn unloads a knee to the mid-section.
OQuinn using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from OQuinn.
OQuinn connects with a knee to the head.
OQuinn is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Bassett is defending well for now.
OQuinn tries to land a knee to the head but Bassett blocks with his arms.
OQuinn trying to control the position but instead, Bassett has worked for underhooks and has pushed OQuinn into the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damien OQuinn dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

OQuinn displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bassett.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bassett looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Jim Bassett seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bassett throws a lazy head kick
and OQuinn counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Bassett misses with a takedown attempt
and OQuinn counters with a three punch combo that has Bassett backing up. Bassett nods at OQuinn to acknowledge the strikes.
Bassett avoids a punch combination nicely.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Bassett! But no joy.
OQuinn feints and then cracks Bassett's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Bassett down.
OQuinn 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.
Bassett closes the distance and clinches up with OQuinn, looking for a takedown. Bassett pushes OQuinn against the cage but OQuinn circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Damien OQuinn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jim Bassett.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

OQuinn pushes Bassett up against the cage in a clinch.
Bassett is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Bassett is trying to break the clinch but OQuinn is controlling him.
OQuinn is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bassett can do to turn this around?
OQuinn is pressed up against the cage. Bassett has hold of a leg and is looking to drag OQuinn down to the mat. OQuinn avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
OQuinn misses with a wild combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.

OQuinn darts in and clinches Bassett up against the cage.
Damien OQuinn has scored more points in the clinch so far.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. OQuinn obliges.
OQuinn wants a takedown.
Come on OQuinn - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
OQuinn is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Bassett is defending well.

Bassett gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Bassett working the head and body with strikes.
OQuinn moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Bassett throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bassett keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of OQuinn's head.
OQuinn keeping moving, preventing Bassett from controlling successfully.
Bassett advances position into side control!
OQuinn is trying to get back to half guard.

Bassett goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, OQuinn has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Bassett but great work by OQuinn.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bassett avoids any damage from the ground and pound of OQuinn.
OQuinn throwing strikes but Bassett manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
OQuinn manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Bassett is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
OQuinn moves into full guard.
Bassett working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bassett trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

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

Bassett drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Bassett jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Bassett postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Bassett passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Bassett goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, OQuinn has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Bassett but great work by OQuinn.

OQuinn tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no OQuinn has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
OQuinn throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damien OQuinn dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

OQuinn keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

OQuinn gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Bassett drops to a knee looking for a takedown but OQuinn gets the underhooks and prevents it.
OQuinn scores a nice knee to the body.
OQuinn connects with a nasty looking knee right to Bassett's face.
OQuinn lands a knee to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
OQuinn controlling the action here for a moment.
Knees to the body from OQuinn.

That's one minute gone in the round.
OQuinn working Bassett over with knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Knees in the clinch landing for OQuinn.
OQuinn scores with a knee to the head.
Bassett prevents the takedown attempt.
OQuinn with a knee to the head.
OQuinn is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Bassett is defending well for now.
Bassett drops to a knee looking for a takedown but OQuinn gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Damien OQuinn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jim Bassett.
OQuinn is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
OQuinn throws a knee to the head but misses.
Bassett tries for a takedown. No joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bassett tries to break free but OQuinn pushes him back against the cage.
OQuinn stops a takedown attempt from Bassett.
OQuinn lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
A bit of stalling here from OQuinn.

Bassett works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now OQuinn is on top in guard.

OQuinn slips nicely into half guard.

OQuinn is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Bassett defends it well.
OQuinn is trying to control. Bassett wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Damien OQuinn is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
OQuinn passes to full mount!
Jim Bassett has got the better of the ground game so far.
Bassett avoids a series of strikes thrown by OQuinn.
OQuinn thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
OQuinn controlling from mount.
OQuinn throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Bassett because OQuinn loaded up on that one.
OQuinn throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Bassett tries to lock up and control but OQuinn gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bassett avoids a series of strikes thrown by OQuinn.
OQuinn takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Bassett really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
OQuinn content just to control the position here.
OQuinn can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Bassett is looking to escape.
OQuinn 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.
OQuinn controlling the pace for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Damien OQuinn showed his dominance in that final round.
Well OQuinn has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:26
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:26
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damien OQuinn!
In his post fight interview, Damien OQuinn started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.