PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Irvin Reed (ranked 25522 p4p, 0 weight class) and Henry Highbridge (ranked 6125 p4p, 0 weight class). Henry Highbridge has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Reed
vs
Highbridge

221 cm
25
178 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

172 cm
25
169 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Irvin Reed!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Henry Highbridge!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Ren Mimura and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice defenses there by Reed.
Highbridge with a poor takedown

and Reed holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Highbridge lands an uppercut.
Highbridge jumps guard but Reed turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Reed breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Highbridge throws a lazy head kick

and Reed counters by moving into the clinch.
The referee calls for Reed to work.
Highbridge tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Irvin Reed has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Henry Highbridge.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Reed stalls.
Reed is stalling here.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Highbridge tries to clinch up

and Reed counters with a nice double leg into side control. Highbridge won't be happy with that.
Highbridge is trying to get back to half guard.
Highbridge manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Reed is working for a kimura but Highbridge is defending it quite comfortably.
Reed really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Highbridge taking some punishment here, with Reed in his half guard.
Reed looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Highbridge with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Highbridge taking some punishment here, with Reed in his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Reed there.
Reed working the head and body with strikes.
Reed will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Reed seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Reed scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Reed connects with a nice short shot to Highbridge's temple.
Reed working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Highbridge on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Reed lands a nice short elbow.
Nice strikes from Reed there.

Reed is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Reed winds up and cracks Highbridge with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Reed seems to be working for a kimura but Highbridge defends the submission attempt.

Highbridge is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Reed pulls his head out easily.
Highbridge looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reed drops an elbow to the side of Highbridge's head.
Highbridge really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Reed. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Highbridge is trying to stand up here but Reed is controlling him well.

Reed is trying to work for a kimura but Highbridge is defending well.
Highbridge taking some punishment here, with Reed in his half guard.
Reed working over Highbridge with some ground and pound. Highbridge looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Reed is nestled in close to Highbridge, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Reed working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Reed not doing much here.
Reed seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Highbridge for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Reed.
Reed takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Reed slips a nice elbow through Highbridge's hands, connecting with Highbridge's forehead.
Reed looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Reed landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Reed 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.

Reed wants to work for an arm triangle but Highbridge is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Reed working the head and body with strikes.
Reed working Highbridge over with strikes.
Reed lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Reed working Highbridge over with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Irvin Reed dominated that round.
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.

Reed circles away from the clinch attempt

and Reed counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Highbridge!

Reed is trying to get an arm triangle but Highbridge is defending well.
Reed working the ground and pound.
Reed landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Reed scores with a couple of short elbows.
Reed is chipping away with strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Reed working the ground and pound.
Highbridge takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Reed cracks Highbridge with a big elbow.

Reed is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Highbridge knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
You can see the frustration on Highbridge's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reed in side control lands a decent elbow.
Reed working the ground and pound.

Reed tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Reed has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Highbridge is breathing heavily.
Reed working the body and head with strikes.

Reed thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Reed scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Highbridge to see if he's OK.
Reed in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reed landing strikes.

Reed looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Highbridge is looking for a sweep.
Highbridge lands an elbow from the bottom.
Reed lands an elbow.
Reed cracks Highbridge with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Highbridge takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Reed controls the position from side control.

Reed has an Americana. Highbridge didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Reed is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Reed hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Irvin Reed!