PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Thad Grimes (ranked 5941 p4p, 0 weight class) and Soo Bae (ranked 8284 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Grimes
vs
Bae

156 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

150 cm
18
130 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Thad Grimes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Soo Bae!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Donatello Bradman and Bruno Hogan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bae fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Bae fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Grimes could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Bae misses with the combination.
Bae fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Grimes blocks the body kick.
Grimes appears to be looking for a big counter.
Bae will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
It looked like Grimes was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Bae falls off balance throwing a combination

so Grimes counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

Grimes stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Bae misses with the combination.
Nice straight punches there by Grimes. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Grimes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grimes blocks a head kick by Bae.
Grimes tries to counter with a takedown but Bae is quick to defend against it.
Bae slips under a jab from Grimes.
Bae throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Grimes.
Bae misses with a combination
and Grimes counters with a head kick. That will keep Bae thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Bae looks winded!
Bae misses with a wild combination.
Grimes went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Grimes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bae.
Bae misses with a two punch combination.
A punch combination from Bae misses.
Grimes tries to counter with a takedown but Bae is quick to defend against it.
A combination from Bae does no damage.
Grimes scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Grimes looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grimes plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Grimes darts in and clinches Bae up against the cage.
Grimes lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Bae backwards.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Grimes stalls.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Grimes for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Grimes stalls.
Grimes lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Bae escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A combination from Grimes does no damage.
Bae lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Grimes at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bae throws a series of punches but Grimes moves out of range.

Grimes has Bae up against the cage in a clinch.
Grimes throws a punch but it's blocked by Bae.
Bae wants to get back to striking at distance but Grimes won't allow it.
Grimes fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Grimes jumps guard and drags Bae to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Grimes holds on and takes a little breather.
Grimes's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Grimes has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bae wants to get up but he can't break Grimes's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Bae trying to control the position from guard on top but Grimes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Grimes is on top in guard.

Grimes decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Grimes closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Bae to the mat! Bae manages to get full guard.

Grimes stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Grimes fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Bae sprawls well initially but Grimes persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Grimes seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thad Grimes 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.

Grimes tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Bae throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Grimes.
Grimes is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Bae.
Bae fails to land with a series of punches.
No joy there for Bae, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Grimes takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Grimes has closed the distance and engaged Bae in a clinch.
Bae is trying to force a seperation but Grimes has the dominant position.
The referee calls for Grimes to work.
Grimes dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Grimes manages to pull guard.
Grimes pulls Bae in close to prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Grimes is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Bae defends well.
Grimes is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's two 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.

Grimes looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Bae trying to control but Grimes is working from the bottom.
Grimes pulls Bae in close to prevent any damage.
Grimes keeping moving, preventing Bae from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bae wants to pass the guard but Grimes is keeping the position.
Grimes is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Grimes keeping full guard, as Bae tries to pass.
Bae is breathing heavily.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Grimes holds on and takes a little breather.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Grimes keeping moving, preventing Bae from controlling successfully.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Bae misses with a few strikes there.
Jab by Bae.
Bae misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bae misses with a double jab.
Bae looks to land a combination but Grimes avoids it well.

Grimes darts in and clinches Bae up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Soo Bae will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A head kick from Grimes lands but Bae takes it in his stride.
Bae lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

It looks like Thad Grimes has been cut.
Bae ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Grimes moves away.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Grimes.
Soo Bae seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bae throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Grimes counters with a nice double leg into side control. Bae won't be happy with that.

Grimes decides to stand back up.
Bae dodges the punch combination from Grimes.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bae throws a right hand that Grimes ducks under and follows up with a left that Grimes also avoids with ease.
Grimes avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Grimes drops down looking for a counter takedown but Bae sprawls and moves away.
Bae misses with the combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bae fails to land with a series of punches.
Grimes changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Bae looks to land a left hand but Grimes moved out of range nicely.
Grimes is looking for a counter combo.

Grimes closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Grimes working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Grimes stands up and beckons Bae to his feet.
Bae waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Grimes.
Grimes seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Grimes misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bae misses with a double jab.
As Bae looks to move away, Grimes throws a big counter combo but Bae just gets out of the way.

Grimes closes the distance and clinches.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Grimes slows down the pace here.
Grimes taking a breather.
Grimes leaning against his opponent.
Bae working hard to break the clinch.
Grimes lands with a short shot to the head.
Grimes wants to take the fight to the mat but Bae manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Bae working hard to break the clinch.
Bae blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grimes is trying to pull guard but Bae has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thad Grimes. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bae is looking to break free of the clinch but Grimes has double underhooks.
Grimes jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bae walks away with a smile on his face. Grimes gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Bae lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Bae fails to land with a series of punches.
Grimes seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.

Grimes drives through with a takedown into guard.
Bae wants to stand up but Grimes is controlling him.

Grimes stands and steps away. Bae gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Grimes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bae pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Grimes back to the cage. Bae follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Bae misses with the combination.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bae swings for the body but Grimes moves out of range.
Bae misses with a right hand

and Grimes counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Grimes.

Grimes gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Bae lands a jab to Grimes's midsection.
Bae lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Bae.
Bae misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Grimes is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Bae.
Bae pulls out of a head kick attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Soo Bae.
I think Bae 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Hogan scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Soo Bae!