PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Eliah Murphy (ranked 4467 p4p, 345 weight class) and Love Machine (ranked 2971 p4p, 265 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Machine's choice of entrance music: Tubthumping. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Murphy
vs
Machine

169 cm
23
149 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

185 cm
22
155 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Eliah Murphy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Love Machine!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Tarja Halkonen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Machine bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Murphy scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Machine tries for a takedown but Murphy circles away easily
and Murphy counters with a stiff right hand.
Machine fails with a takedown attempt.
A little feinted left hand from Murphy on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

Machine closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Machine winds up and cracks Murphy with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Murphy has hold of Machine's hands but Machine slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Machine throwing shots but Murphy is blocking nicely.
Machine not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Machine throwing shots but Murphy is blocking nicely.
Machine missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Machine not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Machine missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Machine not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Murphy on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Murphy tries to get out of the position.
Machine lands with a punch from half guard.
Ground and pound from Machine.
Murphy keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Murphy is not content to let Machine control the position.
Machine is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Machine scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Machine is keen to just control but Murphy is a slippery customer.
Murphy blocking the ground and pound attempt from Machine.
Murphy has hold of Machine's hands but Machine slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Machine sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Murphy defending well though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Machine not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Machine looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Murphy with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Machine is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Machine working his ground and pound in the gym.
Murphy keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Murphy trying to control here.
Machine thows a huge punch but Murphy dodges it nicely.
Machine thows a huge punch but Murphy dodges it nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Machine working over Murphy with some ground and pound. Murphy looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Machine not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Murphy avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Machine.
Machine working Murphy over with strikes.
Machine working Murphy over with strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Machine thows a huge punch but Murphy dodges it nicely.
Machine is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

Murphy is rocked!
Machine wants to free his trapped foot but Murphy is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Oh Murphy is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Machine is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Murphy defends it well.
Murphy seems to have got his legs back now.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ground and pound from Machine.
Murphy taking some punishment here, with Machine in his half guard.
Machine is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Machine looking to finish Murphy with some ground and pound. This is bad for Murphy!
Murphy knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Machine on the ground.
Machine fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Machine scoring with strikes but Murphy is staying in there.
Machine controlling the position easily from mount.
Machine has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Machine drops a big elbow. That's hurt Murphy! More shots from Machine and the ref steps in! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Love Machine!
During a confident post fight interview, Love Machine thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.