PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Black (ranked 531 p4p, 59 weight class) and Pierre St. Georges (ranked 143 p4p, 13 weight class). Black comes to the cage accompanied by Manu Chao - Mr. Bobby. St. Georges comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Jiu Jitsu kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Black
vs
St. Georges

192 cm
35
275 lbs
26 - 12 - 1

193 cm
29
265 lbs
16 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Riner Clothing and Laundry (85%)

Bullet Proof System

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 26 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Matt Black!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Pierre St. Georges!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Josh West and Paul Gruel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Black is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by St. Georges.
St. Georges misses the shot to the body.
St. Georges looks to land a left hand but Black moved out of range nicely.
Black fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Black misses with a hook. St. Georges ducked under it nicely.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from St. Georges! But no joy.
Black has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Talu's Boxing Club in the buildup to the fight.
A jab from Black misses.
St. Georges takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Nice body punch from Black.

Black shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Black showed some decent athleticism there.
St. Georges trying to control but Black postures up.
Black is taking a breather. St. Georges says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Black is looking for a kimura but St. Georges is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Black to get the leverage.

Black is sneakily working for an arm triangle but St. Georges sees it coming and defends easily.

Black is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Black is controlling the pace.
St. Georges trying to control here.
St. Georges is trying to stand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
St. Georges is looking to improve his position.

Black is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
St. Georges wants to get back to full guard.

Black is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so St. Georges is just riding it out for now. Black eventually gives up the hold.
St. Georges looks like he's trying to stand up.
St. Georges is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Black's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Black's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black turns into St. Georges and is now in his guard.
St. Georges controlling the position.
St. Georges keeping moving, preventing Black from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
St. Georges has Black pulled in close to control his posture.
Black looking to pass the guard.

Black 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.
St. Georges managing to control the position.
Black scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Black thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Black landing with the ground and pound.
Black postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
St. Georges is looking to stand back up but Black counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by St. Georges.
Black keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
St. Georges on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
St. Georges is looking to control Black's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can St. Georges avoid being mounted?
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nice strikes from Black there.
Black missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Black prevents St. Georges from standing back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Black dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Black throws a right hand that misses
and St. Georges cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

It looks like Matt Black has been cut.
Decent striking displayed by Black there.
Black scores with a crisp jab that stopped St. Georges in his tracks.
Black lands a jab to the nose.
Black is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that St. Georges can do to turn this around?
St. Georges lands a really nice looking cross but Black seems unphased.

Black waves his right hand out in front of him, looking to distract St. Georges. Oh, he's unloaded a beast of a left hand - it worked! He's dropped St. Georges to the canvas! Can he finish him!?

St. Georges is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Black content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
St. Georges is still in real trouble! Can Black finish him?
St. Georges pulls Black in close to prevent any damage.
St. Georges seems to have recovered his senses.
Matt Black overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
St. Georges is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St. Georges is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

Black drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Black jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Black pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. St. Georges is keeping the position for now.
St. Georges controlling Black's posture.
Black makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
St. Georges is pulling down on Black's head to control his posture.
St. Georges is continuing to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Black sitting in guard here, content to control.
St. Georges controlling Black's posture.
Black is working St. Georges over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Black trying to control but St. Georges is working from the bottom.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as St. Georges holds on and takes a little breather.
Black slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Black wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by St. Georges, who protects the arm well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St. Georges tries to bench press Black off him but Black keeps the position.

Black is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but St. Georges is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
St. Georges is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Black off and has taken his back!
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
St. Georges wants to control but Black is keeping busy.
Black trying to control the hands but St. Georges won't let him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black is trying to break free.
St. Georges is trying to stick to Black's back but Black is turning into St. Georges. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in St. Georges's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Black.
St. Georges wants to stand but Black is controlling the position.
St. Georges is adopting a defensive guard.
Black missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Black pushes down on St. Georges's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Black is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, St. Georges has managed to free his arm - good work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Black dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Matt Black's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

St. Georges thows a left - swing and a miss!
St. Georges fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Black manages to avoid it.
Black throws a looping overhand right but St. Georges ducks down to avoid it.
Black smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Black dodges the punch combination from St. Georges.
Black moves in looking to clinch but St. Georges pushes him off.
St. Georges looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Black lands with an overhand left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
St. Georges will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Black gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St. Georges working aggressively here.
A right handed body shot lands from St. Georges.
St. Georges misses with a body punch.
Black struggles to land a body shot inside as St. Georges controls his hands.
St. Georges lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
St. Georges misses with a shot to the kidneys.
St. Georges misses with the head strike.
St. Georges swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Black swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Black jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as St. Georges walks away with a smile on his face. Black gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
St. Georges misses with a two punch combination.
St. Georges moves out of range as Black strikes.
St. Georges now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
St. Georges uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Black.
Black slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
St. Georges takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Black misses the jab.
Black wants to clinch up but St. Georges keeps it at a distance.

Black fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. St. Georges sprawls well initially but Black persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

St. Georges pushes Black off and gets back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
St. Georges takes one on the button.
St. Georges bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Black's head backwards.
St. Georges missing with a left hand there. Black was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Black digs a good body shot into St. Georges's ribs.
Black loads up on a big right hand but St. Georges slips the punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black swings and misses with a hook to the body.
St. Georges shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Black fails to land with a series of punches.
St. Georges throws a counter combo.
Black swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by St. Georges.
St. Georges takes a jab right on the kisser.
Matt Black is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Black throws a hook to the side of St. Georges's head but St. Georges sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
St. Georges is looking for the big counter here.
Black throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Black uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from St. Georges.
Black throws a good cross that connects.
St. Georges throws a poor cross that misses
and Black counters with a two punch combo.

Black gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
St. Georges lands an uppercut.

Matt Black's cut is getting worse.
St. Georges tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Black's elbow.
St. Georges goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
St. Georges working aggressively here.
St. Georges misses with a shot to the kidneys.
St. Georges misses with some punches.
St. Georges misses with a short punch on the inside.
Black blocks a body shot from St. Georges.
St. Georges misses with a punch to the body.
A left hand lands to the body for St. Georges.
St. Georges tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Pierre St. Georges has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
St. Georges stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

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 Matt Black.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Black, 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Josh West scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Black!
A relieved looking Matt Black thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.