PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between DJ Boom (ranked 1231 p4p, 129 weight class) and Bronson Hughes (ranked 1275 p4p, 132 weight class). Hughes has chosen Slam - By: Onyx as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Boom
vs
Hughes

170 cm
28
151 lbs
20 - 8 - 0

170 cm
29
154 lbs
11 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

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 20 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, DJ Boom!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bronson Hughes!
The judges for this bout are , Jack Bonds and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Boom scores with a kick to the midsection.
Nice takedown defense from Boom. No joy for Hughes on that attempt.
Boom lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hughes circles away quickly and effectively.
Hughes fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Boom.
Hughes is looking to score with low kicks.
Crunch! Boom slams his shin into Hughes's torso.
Boom fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Hughes.
Hughes looks to throw the jab but Boom is out of range.
Hughes throws a poor cross that misses
and Boom makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Boom swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Boom punishes Hughes's body with a nice straight punch.
Hughes paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Boom throws the kick towards the body but Hughes avoids it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Boom misses with a straight right.
Boom throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hughes uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Boom.
Boom throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hughes misses with a hook. Boom ducked under it nicely.
Hughes throws a sloppy head kick
and Boom counters with a nice uppercut.
Hughes throws a good cross that connects.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boom rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hughes moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Hughes scores with a takedown into Boom's guard.
Boom not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Boom keeping full guard, as Hughes tries to pass.
Hughes throws an elbow that misses. Boom uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Hughes's guard. Nice move by Boom!

Hughes wants to sweep here but Boom controlling him for the moment.
Hughes pulls Boom in close to prevent any damage.
Boom seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hughes looking for a sweep. Not yet Hughes, not yet.
Hughes pulls Boom in close to prevent any damage.
We've been hearing good reports from Boom's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes tries to land a sweep but no joy.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Hughes takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Hughes misses with a series of wild punches.
Boom avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Boom throws a jab when Hughes was well out of range.
Hughes thuds a left hand into Boom's body.
Hughes lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Hughes throws the left hand but Boom avoids the punch easily.
Hughes connects with a solid leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hughes connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Boom momentarily.
Boom misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hughes.
Boom is looking to wear down Hughes with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Hughes takes a kick to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hughes throws a lazy right hand but Boom sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hughes keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Boom with a jab.
Boom misses with a looping left.
Hughes on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Boom. Boom obviously looking to wear him down.
Hughes misses with a looping left.
Boom misses with a double jab.
Hughes lands an overhand right.
Hughes shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Boom as he avoids it easily.
Boom throws a push kick but Hughes slaps the foot to one side.
Boom looks to land a left hand but Hughes moved out of range nicely.
Hughes is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Boom.
Hughes throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Boom counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Boom misses with a hook. Hughes ducked under it nicely.
Hughes waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Boom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

DJ Boom 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.

Hughes closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Boom to the mat! Boom manages to get full guard.
Boom wants to sweep but no luck.
Hughes working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Boom's head.
Hughes scoring with some ground and pound.
Boom avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hughes trying to control the position from guard on top but Boom is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hughes has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Boom wants to sweep here but Hughes controlling him for the moment.
Hughes with a nice head shot there.
Boom seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boom preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hughes accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Boom wants to sweep here but Hughes controlling him for the moment.
Hughes throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Boom works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Boom is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Boom trying to control the position.
Hughes throwing strikes from guard but Boom blocks nicely.
Hughes loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Boom has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Hughes.
Hughes takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
DJ Boom is winning the standup battle so far.
Good standup being displayed there by Hughes as he connects with a hook.
Hughes lands with a straight right. Boom didn't see that one coming.

Hughes shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Boom is positioning himself well to prevent Hughes advancing to mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hughes thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Boom's head.
Boom is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Hughes misses with a head shot. Boom uses the momentum to regain guard.
Hughes postures up and lands a big shot to Boom's brow.
Boom has Hughes pulled in close to control his posture.
Hughes trying to control the position from guard on top but Boom is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Boom is on top in guard.

Our spies down at at LOD: Scrap Squad inform us that Hughes has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes wants to sweep here but Boom controlling him for the moment.
Hughes keeping moving, preventing Boom from controlling successfully.
Boom engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Hughes wants to sweep but no luck.
Boom looking to sit in guard and control but Hughes gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Boom tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Bronson Hughes has got the better of the ground game so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hughes with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hughes trying to control but Boom is working from the bottom.
Hughes missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bronson Hughes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Hughes fails with a takedown attempt.
Hughes ducks under a wild hook from Boom.
Hughes misses the shot to the body.
It looked like Boom wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Hughes tests Boom's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Hughes scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Hughes misses with a looping right.
Boom fires out a quick counter leg kick but Hughes just manages to avoid it.
Boom checks a low kick from Hughes.
Nice defenses there by Hughes.
Boom on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Hughes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boom walks into a jab.
Hughes tries to bum rush Boom with a series of wild strikes but Boom uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Boom misses with a looping left.
Boom fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hughes manages to avoid it.
Hughes throws a hook but Boom blocks it.
Boom swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Boom uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hughes.
A counter left hand to the body from Boom misses its target.
Boom just misses with a punch to the body.
Bronson Hughes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Boom throws an overhand right that lands on Hughes's shoulder, as Hughes tries to avoid the shot.
Boom avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hughes thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hughes keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
And Hughes tries to counter it with a takedown but Boom pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Boom swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A swing and a miss from Hughes.

Hughes is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Boom's half guard.
Boom blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hughes.

Hughes seems to be working for a kimura but Boom defends the submission attempt.
Hughes missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Boom avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hughes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Boom controlling the position for now.
Hughes lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Hughes wants to take a breather but Boom is having none of it.
Hughes is nestled in close to Boom, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Well,Boom is on his way to losing a decision here. Can he use his experience to pull something off in the closing minutes?
Boom blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hughes.
Boom slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Boom looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hughes is one step ahead there.
Hughes chips away with some ground and pound.
Bronson Hughes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hughes in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hughes throwing strikes but missing.
Hughes lands a couple of elbows.
Hughes postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Hughes landing some decent shots from guard.
Boom wants to sweep but no luck.
Hughes stands up over Boom, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Hughes throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Boom preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Boom is trying to keep Hughes in close.
Hughes looking to sit in guard and control but Boom gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Boom wants to control from the top but Hughes keeps moving.
Boom trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Hughes manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Boom tries to land a sweep but no joy.
DJ Boom has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hughes wants to control from the top but Boom keeps moving.
Hughes throws a big elbow that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bronson Hughes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hughes 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight for Bronson Hughes!
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight for Bronson Hughes!
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight for Bronson Hughes!

Bronson Hughes wins by unanimous decision!
Our winner, Bronson Hughes, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.