PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Herschel Clarke (ranked 25331 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stoney Black (ranked 5754 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Clarke
vs
Black

173 cm
18
214 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

175 cm
21
207 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Herschel Clarke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Stoney Black!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Franklyn Lucas and Lou da Vinci.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Black fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A telegraphed right hand from Clarke misses the target.
Clarke could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Black shoots for a double leg takedown but Clarke sprawls well. He's pushed Black's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Black misses with a takedown
and Clarke finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Herschel Clarke has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Stoney Black.
Clarke stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Clarke wants it to stay on the feet.
Clarke throws a series of punches but Black avoids them all with ease.
Black slips under a jab from Clarke.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Black clinches.
Black is trying to break the clinch but Clarke is controlling him.
Clarke fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Clarke gets control of Black's arms and successfully pulls guard. Clarke will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Clarke has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black wants to get up but he can't break Clarke's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Clarke trying to control the position here.
Black must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Black stopping the sweep attempt from Clarke.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Clarke is on top in guard.

Clarke in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Black wants to sweep but no luck.
Black utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Clarke postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Black is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Clarke, into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Black accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Clarke looking for a sweep. Not yet Clarke, not yet.
Clarke has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Clarke keeping moving, preventing Black from controlling successfully.
Black content to stall in guard here.
Clarke is looking to stand up but Black isn't so interested in that idea.
Clarke is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Clarke is really struggling to control Black but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Black sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Black trying to control the position from guard on top but Clarke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Black closes the distance and clinches.

Black manages to pull guard.
Clarke throwing strikes but missing.
Black is trying to keep Clarke in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Black isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Clarke stacks Black on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Clarke!
Clarke working the ground and pound.

Clarke working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Black struggling a bit here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Clarke scores with punches from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Herschel Clarke dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Clarke throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Black is looking to land body kicks.
Stoney Black seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Clarke keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
It looked like Clarke wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Clarke has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Clarke throws a left and a right that both miss

and Black counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Clarke jumps guard but Black turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Black lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Clarke jumps guard but Black turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Clarke prevents the takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Clarke fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Herschel Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Clarke tries to pull guard but Black forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Black managing to block the knees to the body from Clarke.
Black is trying to pull guard but Clarke turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Black has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Clarke uses from the top position.

Clarke drops back looking for a leg! Black is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Black manages to kick Clarke off! Clarke jumps back into Black's guard.

Clarke stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Black moves into the clinch successfully.
Clarke jumps guard but Black stands there with Clarke around his waist. Clarke gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Clarke jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Black walks away with a smile on his face. Clarke gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Black closes this distance looking for a takedown but Clarke circles away.
Clarke has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

It looks like Herschel Clarke has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black dives in and grabs Clarke's left leg, looking for a takedown. Clarke pushes down on Black's head and hops out.
Herschel Clarke is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Black darts in and clinches Clarke up against the cage.

Clarke is fighting off a takedown attempt but Black is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Clarke to the mat. Clarke regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Black is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Black sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Black wants to control from the top but Clarke keeps moving.
Black is fighting to break Clarke's control of his arms but Clarke is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Black trying to control but Clarke is working from the bottom.
Clarke looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black is looking to work some ground and pound but Clarke has wrist control.
Clarke pulls Black in close to prevent any damage.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Clarke trying to control the position.

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

Black closes the distance and pushes Clarke back into the cage.

Clarke jumps guard.
Black throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Herschel Clarke overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Clarke pulls Black in to control the position.

Black stands and steps away. Clarke gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Clarke misses with an attempted mid kick.
Black pivots, looking for a leg kick but Clarke is out of range and Black settles back down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Black.
Clarke keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Clarke appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Clarke throws a head kick that misses.
Black shoots in for a takedown but Clarke shows good takedown defense.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Black clinches up with Clarke and pushes him back against the cage.
Clarke goes for a takedown attempt but Black pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Black misses with a double jab
and Clarke counters with a series of strikes. Black will be more careful next time no doubt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stoney Black showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Herschel Clarke's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Black throws a body kick that misses.
Clarke feinted with a counter takedown.
Clarke stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Clarke wants it to stay on the feet.
Black avoids the head kick by Clarke.
Black pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Black throws a leg kick

and Clarke counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Black tries to land knees in the clinch but Clarke avoids the damage to the body.
Black looking to stall.
Clarke fails to pull the fight into his guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Clarke tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Black just stands there and leans against the cage.
Black is trying to break the clinch but Clarke is controlling him.
Clarke jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Black walks away with a smile on his face. Clarke gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Herschel Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Black moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Herschel Clarke is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Black takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Clarke moves into the clinch.

Black jumps into guard, dragging Clarke to the mat.
Black utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Black is looking for a triangle here but Clarke uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

Clarke tries for a kimura but Black is defending well.
Clarke is putting a hurting on Black here, landing some big shots from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black is looking to reverse the position.
Black wants to control but Clarke postures up.
Black is looking for a sweep.

Clarke tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Clarke goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Black rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Clarke's guard! Nice work there by Black!
Clarke throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Clarke is trying to keep Black in close.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke looking to hit a scissor sweep but Black is one step ahead there.
Black looking to pass the guard.
Clarke working a defensive guard but Black passes into half guard.
Clarke has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Black is working away from the top position though.
Black is just content to waste time from the top position. Clarke takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Clarke has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Clarke 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.

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.
Clarke wants to get back to his feet but Black is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Black wants to pass the guard but Clarke is keeping the position.
Black wants to control from the top but Clarke keeps moving.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Clarke trying to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Clarke pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Black shoots in looking for a takedown. Clarke tries to sprawl out of it but Black keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Clarke manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Clarke appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Stoney Black.
I think Black 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 28:29
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:29
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Stoney Black!