PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lucien Whitehead (ranked 5715 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan Torres (ranked 5711 p4p, 548 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Whitehead
vs
Torres

225 cm
19
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
20
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Solid 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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Lucien Whitehead!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Juan Torres!
The judges for this bout are Ben Hemmingworth, Skip Squint and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Whitehead forces Torres back against the cage and clinches.
Torres tries to land knees in the clinch but Whitehead avoids the damage to the body.
Whitehead misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Whitehead throws a head punch that misses.
Torres looking to throw knees to the head but Whitehead is blocking nicely.
Torres stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Whitehead misses with a punch on the inside.
Torres working Whitehead over with knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitehead tries a body shot but Torres blocks it.
Torres lands a shoulder strike.

It looks like Lucien Whitehead has been cut.
Torres trying to land knees to the body.
Torres is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Whitehead is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitehead misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Torres.
Whitehead jumps guard but Torres turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Whitehead avoids a wild elbow strike from Torres.
Torres creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Whitehead tries to pull guard but Torres holds him up against the cage and eventually Whitehead drops back down to his feet.
Whitehead tries to pull guard but Torres forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lucien Whitehead. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Whitehead jumps guard.

Whitehead is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Torres defends well.
Whitehead utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Torres throws a big right hand that misses.
Torres throwing strikes but missing.
Torres stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Whitehead swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Torres with a nice head shot there.
Whitehead wants to get back to his feet but Torres is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Torres wants to control from the top but Whitehead keeps moving.
Torres pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Whitehead is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Torres connects with a couple of short punches.
Torres being controlled here momentarily.
Whitehead preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Whitehead looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitehead trying to control the position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Whitehead avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Torres wants to control from the top but Whitehead keeps moving.
Torres throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Whitehead will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Whitehead managing to control the position.
Torres throws a big elbow that misses.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Whitehead keeping moving, preventing Torres from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Whitehead really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Torres has Whitehead up against the cage in a clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Juan Torres dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Lucien Whitehead's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Torres shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Whitehead is trying to defend but Torres finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Whitehead keeping hold of Torres's head, controlling as best he can.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Torres throwing shots but Whitehead is blocking nicely.
Whitehead is staying active underneath Torres, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitehead is concentrating on defense, preventing Torres from advancing position.
Torres throws a strike but Whitehead avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Torres has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Whitehead seems keen to control Torres's posture.
Torres throws a big right hand that misses.
Torres pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Whitehead is keeping the position for now.
Whitehead lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Torres working a defensive guard but Whitehead manages to pass into side control anyway.
Torres can't do much from the bottom here.
Torres tries to bench press Whitehead off him but Whitehead keeps the position.
Torres tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Whitehead presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Whitehead working the ground and pound effectively.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Torres keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Whitehead working the ground and pound effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Torres is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
A nice elbow there by Whitehead.
BOOM! Whitehead connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Whitehead with a couple of short strikes.
Whitehead landing punches.
Torres is wriggling around trying to escape.
Whitehead lands a heavy elbow.
Torres tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Torres is breathing heavily.
Torres is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Lucien Whitehead overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Whitehead blocks Torres's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead landing punches.
Whitehead lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Torres hang on?
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Torres is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Whitehead lands a nice shot to the head.
Torres really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Whitehead. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Torres is trying desperately to improve position.
Whitehead dominating with strikes here.
Whitehead dominating with strikes here.
Torres is bucking up trying to escape but Whitehead cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Whitehead punishing his opponent with strikes.
Whitehead is landing with some decent strikes but Torres is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Whitehead trying to control but he's not successful this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lucien Whitehead dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Lucien Whitehead's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

A punch lands to the side of Whitehead 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Torres connects with a looping right hand.
Juan Torres seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Torres moves in looking to clinch but Whitehead pushes him off.
As Torres tries to get set, Whitehead tries to push him back and clinch up but Torres manages to avoid the attempt.
Whitehead throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Torres throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Whitehead feinted with a counter takedown.
Lucien Whitehead is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Torres scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Torres tries to clinch up.
Whitehead tries to counter by clinching up but Torres breaks away and moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Torres shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Whitehead defends it nicely.
Torres tries to clinch but Whitehead is having none of it.
As Torres looks to move away, Whitehead throws a big counter combo but Torres just gets out of the way.
Torres tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Torres tries to clinch but Whitehead moves out of range.

Torres moves into the clinch successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Torres wants to stall.
Torres drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Torres tries a knee to the head but Whitehead blocks it.
Good body shot from Whitehead.
Torres wants to stall.
Torres looking to slow down the pace here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Whitehead breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Torres scoring well with a low kick there.
Torres goes for a double leg but Whitehead avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Whitehead continues to drive forward.
Whitehead is looking for a counter combo.
Lucien Whitehead has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan Torres.
Torres tries a head kick but it misses.
Torres is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehead tries to clinch but Torres moves out of range.
And Torres tries to counter it with a takedown but Whitehead pushes his down on his head and steps out.

Torres rushes Whitehead and presses him up against the cage.
Whitehead lands with a light punch inside.
Whitehead doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Torres unloads a knee to the mid-section.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Torres just misses with a elbow thrown towards Whitehead's brow.
Whitehead jumps guard but Torres stands there with Whitehead around his waist. Whitehead gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
With the fighters up against the cage, Torres throws an elbow but misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Juan Torres comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Torres 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 Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 28:29
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Juan Torres!