PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Billy Hope (ranked 4128 p4p, 496 weight class) and Eliott Leighton (ranked 3509 p4p, 442 weight class). Hope comes to the cage accompanied by Welcome to the Jungle. Leighton has chosen Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood as his entrance music. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Hope
vs
Leighton

189 cm
22
216 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

191 cm
20
215 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Freebok (85% Laundry)
Urban Fighter

Pit Bull Development
Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Billy Hope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Eliott Leighton!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Vladimir Khabensky and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hope throws out a leg kick but Leighton moves out of range and Hope only half commits.
Hope misses with a lunging right hand
and Leighton counters with a straight right hand.
Hope wants to land a leg kick but Leighton is out of range.
Hope pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Leighton tries to counter with a clinch but Hope shakes him off and moves away.
Leighton walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Hope has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Fight Hard in the buildup to the fight.
Hope pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hope throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hope digs a good hook to Leighton's body.
Hope lands a nice shot that snaps Leighton's head back.
Billy Hope seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leighton takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Leighton's coach down at Kalashnikov ELITE MMA Gym ($600/Week) was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Leighton's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Hope lands a glancing blow to the side of Leighton's head.
Hope scores with a nice right hand.

Leighton is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hope misses with a left hand
and Leighton counters with a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hope misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Leighton.
It seemed like Leighton was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Hope misses with a lunging right hand
and Leighton counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Leighton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Leighton throws a leg kick which misses Hope's front leg but catches the back leg as Hope tries to avoid it.
Leighton dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Hope. That did some damage!
Hope pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hope throws a lazy uppercut
and Hope takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Hope misses with an uppercut. Leighton saw that one coming.
Leighton avoids the head kick by Hope.
Hope misses with a straight left.
Hope fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Leighton manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leighton avoids the head kick by Hope.
Leighton moves into range and connects with a jab.
Hope lands a nice looking body shot.

Hope lands a big head kick that sends Leighton tumbling to the mat! Hope takes a step backwards and waves Leighton back to his feet - he wants the finish!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hope throws a sloppy head kick
and Leighton counters with a straight right hand.
Hope throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Leighton is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hope. Leighton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hope throws a sloppy head kick and Leighton moves out of range easily.
Leighton looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Leighton lands with a cross.
Hope misses the body punch
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Nice defenses there by Leighton.
Leighton tries to counter by closing the distance.
Leighton blocks a head kick by Hope.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hope is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Leighton.
Leighton swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Hope throws a body shot but no joy.
Hope pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hope looks to score with a jab to the body but Leighton is just out of range.
Hope sets himself, and Leighton steps forward looking for the clinch! Hope avoids it this time.
Hope throws a jab but it's blocked by Leighton.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Leighton, right into the meat.
Hope tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Leighton is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Hope misses with a straight left.
Hope throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Leighton on the side of the head.
Leighton avoids the body shot from Hope.
Hope throws a lazy right hand but Leighton sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Leighton tries to counter with a clinch but Hope shakes him off and moves away.
Leighton avoids the body shot from Hope.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hope throws the left hand but Leighton avoids the punch easily.
Hope swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Hope sets himself, and Leighton steps forward looking for the clinch! Hope avoids it this time.
Hope cracks Leighton with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Hope thows a left - swing and a miss!
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Leighton.
Hope throws a head kick but Leighton moves out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hope misses with a lunging right hand
and Hope takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Hope lands with a good body shot.
Hope takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A nice inside leg kick there by Leighton. That's going to slow Hope down.
A head kick by Hope misses

and Leighton counters by clinching up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Billy Hope dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hope looks to score with a jab to the body but Leighton is just out of range.
Leighton uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hope.
Leighton wants to counter the offense by Hope and move into the clinch position.
Nice defenses there by Leighton.
Hope scores with a jab to the body.
Both these guys seem content to just stand up and trade with eachother but Leighton might want to think about changing up his gameplan a bit because over the course of the fight, Hope has got the better of the exchanges.
Leighton moves out of range as Hope strikes.
Leighton wants to clinch up but Hope keeps it at a distance.
Hope swings for the body but Leighton moves out of range.
Hope fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Leighton manages to avoid it.
Leighton is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hope misses the shot to the body.
Billy Hope is winning the standup battle so far.
Leighton avoids the body shot from Hope.
Hope throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Leighton feints the counter takedown.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hope lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Hope is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Leighton can do to turn this around?
Hope tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Hope breaks from the clinch.
Hope misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Leighton connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Hope ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Leighton moves away.
Hope just misses with a punch to the body.
A head kick misses from Hope.
Hope throws a head kick that misses.
Hope loads up on a big right hand but Leighton slips the punch.
Hope pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hope cracks Leighton with an open hand slap.
Hope throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Leighton counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Leighton.
Hope is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leighton scores with a hook to the body.
Leighton can't find room to land a body shot as Hope controls the action.
Leighton blocks an uppercut.
Leighton lands with a left to the head.
Leighton keeps control of Hope as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Hope has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A right hand to the body from Leighton.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Leighton manages to pull guard.
Leighton wants to sweep here but Hope controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Leighton manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Hope manages to get himself to full guard.

Leighton stays in close to Hope's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leighton stands and throws Hope's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Leighton just content to control the position.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Leighton's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Leighton has knee on belly and moves into mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Eliott Leighton will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Hope misses with a leg kick.
Leighton changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Hope throws a shot from downtown. Leighton moves away and avoids it.
Leighton lands a nice leg kick that just misses Hope's sensitive parts.
Hope walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Leighton checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Leighton with a jab.
Hope fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Leighton manages to avoid it.
Hope sets himself, and Leighton steps forward looking for the clinch! Hope avoids it this time.
Leighton avoids the head kick by Hope.
Hope tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Leighton was well out of range. Poor timing from Hope.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hope takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Hope takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Hope tries a head kick but it misses.
Leighton tries to counter by closing the distance.
Hope misses with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hope throws a sloppy head kick

and Leighton counters by moving into the clinch.
Leighton blocks an uppercut.
A short body shot lands from Leighton as the two fighters clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Leighton.
Leighton scores with a hook to the body.
A left hand lands to the body for Leighton.
Leighton landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Leighton scores with a shot to the side of Hope's head.
Leighton lands a left hand.
Leighton lands a body punch.
Leighton lands a shoulder strike.
Leighton pushes Hope back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Leighton is working Hope over against the cage.
Leighton stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Leighton.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Leighton lands a body punch.
A short left from Leighton.
Leighton lands a body shot.
Still in the clinch, Leighton scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hope working aggressively here.
Nice body punch from Leighton - that landed with a thud.
Eliott Leighton seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Leighton is working Hope over against the cage.
Leighton is leaning against Hope and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Leighton throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Leighton digs a right hand underneath Hope's ribcage. Hope let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Leighton lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Hope or not.
Leighton pushes Hope back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Leighton utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Leighton lands a right hand that snaps the head of Hope backwards.

Leighton drags the fight down to the ground.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Leighton is on top in guard.

Hope can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Leighton controls the pace.
Leighton is continuing to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
More stalling from Leighton.

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.
Hope wants to get back to his feet but Leighton is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Leighton is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Hope rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Leighton counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Leighton.
Leighton lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Hope.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Leighton creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Hope looking to stall.

Hope breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eliott Leighton comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Leighton 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Eliott Leighton!
Eliott Leighton made sure to mention his sponsor, Pit Bull Development in his post fight interview.
Billy Hope was interviewed post fight and said 'I want to thank Freebok for sponsoring me. Buy there the have cool stuff!!! FREEBOK!!!'.