PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Isajah Free (ranked 7770 p4p, 733 weight class) and Joe Sliver (ranked 8344 p4p, 754 weight class). Joe Sliver will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Free
vs
Sliver

193 cm
18
199 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

195 cm
21
215 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Prefers standup

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Isajah Free!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Joe Sliver !
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Daniel Bishop and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Free fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sliver flicks out a counter leg kick but Free steps away.

Sliver has Free up against the cage in a clinch.
Sliver is pushing Free up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Free letting Sliver take a breather here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sliver trying to control the position but instead, Free has worked for underhooks and has pushed Sliver into the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sliver .

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sliver looking to stall.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Sliver is persisting with his attempts to control the action in the clinch, rather than do any real damage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Joe Sliver .
Free throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sliver lands with a slapping head kick.
Free avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Free circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sliver throws a head kick that half lands.
Joe Sliver seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Free shoots in for a takedown but Sliver shows good takedown defense.
Sliver lands with a kick to the ribs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sliver connects with an inside leg kick.
Sliver lands a head kick. Free smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Sliver stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Sliver wants it to stay on the feet.
Sliver wants to counter the offense by Free and move into the clinch position.
Free definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Isajah Free. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Sliver closes the distance and clinches.
Sliver landing knees to the body.
Free is breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sliver is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Free tries to pull guard but Sliver holds him up against the cage and eventually Free drops back down to his feet.
Sliver connects with a knee to the head.
Sliver taking a breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Free tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sliver avoids it.
Sliver lands a knee to the head.
Knees to the body from Sliver .
Sliver connects with a knee to the head.
Sliver lands an elbow inside.
Sliver landing knees to the head.
Sliver lands a knee to the head.
We've been informed that Sliver has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Sliver using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Sliver is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Sliver scores a nice knee to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Sliver obliges.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sliver lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Sliver controlling the action here for a moment.
Free letting Sliver take a breather here.
The crowd are getting on Sliver 's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
Sliver is pushing Free up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Sliver continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Sliver is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Sliver dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Sliver moves in looking to clinch but Free pushes him off.
Free tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Sliver manages to circle out of the way.
Sliver scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Sliver throws a leg kick which misses Free's front leg but catches the back leg as Free tries to avoid it.

Sliver rushes Free and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Sliver wants to stall.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Joe Sliver .
Free tries for a takedown but Sliver sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Sliver was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.

Free scores with a takedown into Sliver 's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Free controls from within his opponent's guard.
Sliver is trying to keep Free in close.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Free controls from within his opponent's guard.
Free postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Free tries to free his leg and advance position but Sliver is retaining full guard.

Free is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Free wants to control from the top but Sliver keeps moving.

That's two 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.
Sliver not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Free trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Free engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Sliver feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Free's calf.
Sliver lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Joe Sliver is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Sliver has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sliver trying to stall but Free improves his position.
Free tries for a takedown but Sliver manages to get underhooks.
Sliver unloads a knee to the mid-section. Free lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sliver stalling in the clinch.
Sliver lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sliver .
Free drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Sliver gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Isajah Free. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sliver is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Free is keeping busy.
A knee to the head by Sliver .

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sliver with a knee to the head.
Sliver is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Sliver throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Free blocks it with crossed arms.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Sliver obliges.
Free with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sliver is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Sliver landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
A bit of stalling here from Sliver .
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sliver working Free over with knees to the body.
Sliver crunches a lovely knee into Free's ribcage.
Sliver putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Free in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Sliver 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! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Sliver lands with a kick to the temple. Free shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Sliver goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Joe Sliver seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Free circles away from the clinch attempt.
Free throws a big counter combination but Sliver scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Sliver wants to clinch.
Free wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Free.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sliver throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sliver throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Free.
Isajah Free is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Free swats away the attempt to clinch by Sliver .
As Sliver tries to get set, Free tries to push him back and clinch up but Sliver manages to avoid the attempt.
Sliver tries to clinch but Free is having none of it.
Sliver tries to close the distance and clinch but Free swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Sliver throws a head kick that half lands.
Free avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Free wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Sliver connects with a high kick.
Free on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sliver clinches up with Free and pushes him back against the cage.
Free managing to block the knees to the body from Sliver .
Knees in the clinch landing for Sliver .
Joe Sliver seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Free is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Sliver pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sliver .
Free takes a knee to the side of the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sliver scores with a knee to the head.
Sliver is pushing Free up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Sliver stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sliver is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Sliver is pushing Free up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Sliver utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sliver is looking to control Free's arms but Free gets an underhook and turns him. Now Sliver has his back to the cage.
Sliver doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sliver scores a nice knee to the body.
Knees to the body from Sliver .

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Sliver avoiding damage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Joe Sliver .
Sliver throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Free.
Joe Sliver is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Sliver tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Free paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sliver doesn't manage to clinch there - Free circles away.
Sliver throws a head kick that Free semi-blocks.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Free looks for a takedown but Sliver sprawls well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Sliver comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Sliver winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 25:30
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 25:30
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Sliver !