PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Raul Odonnell (ranked 8708 p4p, 0 weight class) and JP Mate (ranked 5555 p4p, 248 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Odonnell
vs
Mate

212 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

168 cm
21
130 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Raul Odonnell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, JP Mate!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Steven Brown and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mate throws a head kick that misses.
Odonnell really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Mate looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Odonnell!
Mate trying to control the action but Odonnell is working from the bottom.
Odonnell managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Mate.
Odonnell wants to control but Mate postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mate tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Mate creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Odonnell sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Mate fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mate tries to stand but Odonnell is controlling his head.
You can see the frustration on Odonnell's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Mate is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Odonnell is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Mate tries to advance to mount but Odonnell denies him.
Odonnell tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Mate presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mate with the ground and pound from mount.
Odonnell is looking to get to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Odonnell reaches up and holds on to Mate to control the position.
Mate tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Mate throwing strikes here but Odonnell is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Mate prevents Odonnell from getting the reversal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Odonnell tries to hold on but Mate pushes him away.
Odonnell is desperately trying to improve his position but Mate has a good base and remains in mount.
Mate controlling from the full mount.
Odonnell working to try and regain half guard.
Mate thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Odonnell tries to hold on but Mate pushes him away.
Odonnell taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Odonnell wants to hold on but Mate pushes him away.
Odonnell wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Mate.
Odonnell knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mate on the ground.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Mate looking to control and managing it successfully.
A nice elbow there by Mate.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Odonnell is trying to escape the mount.
Odonnell wants to control but Mate is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Mate throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Odonnell was covering up waiting for the punch and Mate finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Odonnell has Mate pulled in close to control his posture.
Mate wants to control from the top but Odonnell keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Odonnell keeping full guard, as Mate tries to pass.
Odonnell will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Odonnell has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mate stands up and waves to Odonnell to follow him.

Mate closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Odonnell did well to prevent Mate getting side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mate perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Odonnell keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Odonnell tries to get to full guard but Mate has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Odonnell is concentrating on defense, preventing Mate from advancing position.
Odonnell trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Mate manages to pass to mount!
Mate looking to control but Odonnell is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Mate trying to control but Odonnell is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Mate controlling from mount.
Mate trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Mate is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Odonnell has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Mate lands a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mate throwing strikes here but Odonnell is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Odonnell tries to lock up and control but Mate gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
JP Mate has got the better of the ground game so far.

Mate is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Odonnell has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Mate is breathing heavily.
Odonnell is hanging on here. He's in a desperate position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mate looking to control but Odonnell is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

JP Mate showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Odonnell fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Odonnell closes the distance and clinches up with Mate, looking for a takedown. Odonnell pushes Mate against the cage but Mate circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Mate gets a double leg takedown into Odonnell's guard.
Odonnell has Mate pulled in close to control his posture.
Mate has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Mate trying to control the position from guard on top but Odonnell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Odonnell looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mate is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Odonnell is trying to hold Mate in close to prevent damage but Mate has managed to pass into half guard.
Mate looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Mate wants to lay and pray for a moment but Odonnell keeps working.
Mate has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mate passes into side control, despite Odonnell's attempt to control the position.
Odonnell is not content to let Mate control the position.
Mate tries to score with some ground and pound. Odonnell controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Mate remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Odonnell managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Mate.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Mate stalls from top position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mate.
Mate takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Odonnell is trying to work for a sweep but Mate has mounted him!
Mate trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mate goes for an armbar but Odonnell turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Odonnell.
Odonnell scoring with some ground and pound.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Odonnell with a nice head shot there.
Raul Odonnell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
JP Mate is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Mate pulls Odonnell in close to prevent any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
JP Mate comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mate has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 25:30
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 25:30
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... JP Mate!