PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Gary Red (ranked 4423 p4p, 470 weight class) and Haven West (ranked 6631 p4p, 582 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Red
vs
West

195 cm
26
195 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

188 cm
25
200 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Gary Red!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Haven West!
The judges for this bout are Chris Dean, Hugh Johnson and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Red goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Red misses with a few strikes there.
West avoids the head kick by Red.
West changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Red pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
West tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Red tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Red fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
West walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Red throws a series of punches but West avoids them all with ease.
West feints the counter takedown.
Red scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

It looks like Haven West has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Red lands with a nice combination. West backs away looking to recover.
Nice shot lands for Red.
Red misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Red scores with a hook.
Red throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Red throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and West counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
West is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ground and pound from West.
Red knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for West on the ground.
Red is trying to stand up here but West is controlling him well.

Red makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Red throws a sloppy head kick and West moves out of range easily.
Red scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Red stalks West and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into West's face. West staggers backwards, shaken.
Gary Red seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick by Red misses

and West counters with a single leg into guard. Red didn't expect that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
West landing with the ground and pound.
West is pushing down on Red's leg trying to pass to half guard. Red is fighting to maintain full guard but West has managed to sneak the leg through.
West prevents Red from standing back up.
West lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
West is just content to waste time from the top position. Red takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West pushing down on Red's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
West looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Red with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

West is working for a submission of some sort.
West is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
West slips a nice elbow through Red's hands, connecting with Red's forehead.
West throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
West trying to control from Red's half guard. Red has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
West missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Red wants to get back to his feet but West is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
West cracks Red with a solid left hand.
West working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
West wants to control from the top but Red keeps moving.
West advances to half guard.
West performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
West seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
West working the head and body with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gary Red dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Haven West's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Red throws a right and a left that West avoids nicely.
A head kick by Red misses

and West decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Red's guard.
Red has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.

West drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Red dives on top into guard.

West seems keen to control Red's posture.
Red wanted to stand there but West had control of the position.

Red stands and steps away. West gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Red throws a series of punches but West avoids them all with ease.
West changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
West blocks a head kick by Red.
West feints the counter takedown.
Red is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that West can do to turn this around?
Red lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
A low kick from Red is predictable there

and West counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
West lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
My spies in Arvins Bootcamp inform me that West has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
West working the head and body with strikes.
West is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Red is trying to stand up here but West is controlling him well.
West trying to control the action but Red is working from the bottom.
West has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
West lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

West is trying to work for a kimura but Red is defending well.

West is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Red sees it coming and defends easily.
Red is trying to stand back up but West is controlling him
Red on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
West seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Red does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Red pushes West off looking to stand but West dives back in and keeps control.
Red pushes West off but West dives into side control.
Red is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

West is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Red is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Red sneaks out the side door and pushes West away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
West avoids the head kick by Red.
West is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Red works over West's head and body with a nice combination.
Red lunges at West with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by West's hand.
West moves forwards but Red connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Red throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Red tries to bum rush West with a series of wild strikes but West uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
West feints the counter takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Red falls off balance throwing a combination

and West counters with a takedown into side control.
Red tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
West trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Red doesn't escape.
Red wants to get back to his feet.
West scores with punches to the body.
West throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Red!
Will West go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Gary Red will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Haven West's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Red will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
West is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Red misses with a series of wild punches.
West gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Red misses with the combination.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Some wild striking there from Red.
And West tries to counter it with a takedown but Red pushes his down on his head and steps out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Red misses with a head kick.
West with the counter takedown but Red avoids it easily.
A left lands for Red.
Red looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
West feints the counter takedown.
West ducks under a wild hook from Red.
Red connects with the punch.
Red throws a head kick but West moves out of range.
West with the counter takedown but Red avoids it easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Red misses with a double jab.
Red scores with a jab to the head.
Red punishes West's body with a nice straight punch.
Gary Red is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
West blocks a head kick by Red.
West with the counter takedown but Red avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
West walks into a jab.
Gary Red is winning the standup battle so far.
Red shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
And West tries to counter it with a takedown but Red pushes his down on his head and steps out.
West takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Red throws a head kick that misses

and West counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by West.
West working some strikes from top position.
West not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
West with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
West connects with a couple of short punches.
West postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
West is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West with a nice head shot there.
West prevents Red from getting back to his feet.
West is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Red is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst West is controlling him.
West working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Red's head.
West wants to control from the top but Red keeps moving.
West won't allow Red to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
West cracks Red with a solid left hand.
West with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
West chips away with some ground and pound.
West stops Red from standing up.
West working some strikes from top position.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells West's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
West scoring with some ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells West's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
West is standing up over Red. Red looks to escape but West dives into side control.
West tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Gary Red.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Red, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Chris Dean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:28
Judge Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gary Red!
After the big win, Gary Red made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Phantom Fightwear and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.
The defeated Haven West had this to say: 'sfsh the wezzydog will be back notorious and mighty auuuraaahhhh'.