PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Julian Whitfield (ranked 7761 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthew Bricker (ranked 5507 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Whitfield
vs
Bricker

219 cm
24
151 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

183 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Julian Whitfield!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Matthew Bricker!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Alec Ball and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bricker has Whitfield up against the cage in a clinch.
Whitfield tries to pull guard but Bricker forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Bricker pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Whitfield enables Bricker to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Whitfield manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Whitfield has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Bricker can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Whitfield really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Bricker postures up in Whitfield's guard and throws a big left but Whitfield blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitfield controls Bricker momentarily but Bricker frees himself.
Bricker trying to control but Whitfield is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitfield is controlling Bricker's posture.

Bricker stands and steps away. Whitfield gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Bricker looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Bricker is looking for a kimura here.
Whitfield wants to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bricker missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Bricker is looking for a kimura but Whitfield is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Bricker to get the leverage.
Whitfield holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Whitfield has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Bricker is working away from the top position though.
Bricker missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Whitfield won't allow Bricker to pass to mount.
Bricker wants to stand but Whitfield has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitfield is looking to control Bricker's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Whitfield avoid being mounted?

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Whitfield moves into the clinch.

Bricker jumps guard.
Whitfield with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Whitfield distracts Bricker with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whitfield throws an elbow that misses. Bricker uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Whitfield's guard. Nice move by Bricker!

Whitfield keeping full guard, as Bricker tries to pass.
Bricker stops Whitfield from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bricker wants to pass the guard but Whitfield is keeping the position.
Whitfield is pulling down on Bricker's head. It's preventing any offense from Bricker, at least for the moment.
Bricker wants to control from the top but Whitfield keeps moving.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bricker throws a big elbow that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matthew Bricker 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.

Bricker gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Bricker taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

Bricker breaks from the clinch.
Bricker has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Bricker drives through with a takedown into guard.
Bricker loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bricker prevents Whitfield from getting back to his feet.
Bricker in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitfield working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bricker.
Bricker is looking to stand up but Whitfield won't let him.
Bricker trying to move into half guard but instead Whitfield has managed to sweep!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitfield postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bricker has momentary wrist control but Whitfield slips an elbow through the middle.
Whitfield stopping the sweep attempt from Bricker.
Whitfield works over Bricker with some ground and pound from guard.
Whitfield stopping the sweep attempt from Bricker.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitfield working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Whitfield won't allow Bricker to sweep him here.
Whitfield showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Whitfield lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Whitfield in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Whitfield is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bricker looking to control.
Whitfield seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Whitfield avoids a punch combination nicely.
It looked like Whitfield was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Whitfield fails with a takedown attempt.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Whitfield enables Bricker to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Whitfield manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bricker stops Whitfield from standing up.
Whitfield keeping moving, preventing Bricker from controlling successfully.

Whitfield looking for a guillotine here but Bricker defends easily.
Bricker won't allow Whitfield to sweep him here.
Whitfield is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

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.
Whitfield misses with a head shot. Bricker uses the momentum to regain guard.
Whitfield landing with the ground and pound.
Bricker utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Bricker controls Whitfield momentarily but Whitfield frees himself.
Whitfield loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bricker is trying to keep Whitfield in close.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Whitfield scoring with some ground and pound.
Whitfield is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Whitfield cracks Bricker with a solid left hand.
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 Julian Whitfield will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Bricker shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Whitfield napping and manages to drive through into side control!

Whitfield bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Matthew Bricker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Julian Whitfield is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bricker throws a nice outside leg kick.

Bricker drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Whitfield bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bricker misses with a series of wild punches.
Bricker throws a head kick but Whitfield moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bricker closes the distance and pushes Whitfield back into the cage.
Whitfield tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Bricker successfully pulls guard.
Whitfield prevents Bricker from getting back to his feet.
Bricker takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Whitfield scoring with some ground and pound.
Whitfield's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Whitfield working some strikes from top position.
Whitfield is working Bricker over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Whitfield thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Whitfield distracts Bricker with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Whitfield working some strikes from top position.
Whitfield with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitfield postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

Bricker is looking for a triangle but Whitfield pushes his legs off easily.
Whitfield is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Whitfield is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Bricker is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Whitfield defends well.
Whitfield is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Whitfield has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Whitfield landing some decent shots from guard.
Whitfield distracts Bricker with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitfield working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Bricker's head.
Whitfield working some strikes from top position.
Bricker has momentary wrist control but Whitfield slips an elbow through the middle.
Bricker trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Whitfield is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Whitfield showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Bricker utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Whitfield accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Whitfield shoots in looking for a takedown. Bricker tries to sprawl out of it but Whitfield keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Bricker manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Bricker clinches up with Whitfield and pushes him back against the cage.
Bricker stalling in the clinch but Whitfield improves position.

Whitfield pulls guard effortlessly.
Whitfield lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Bricker can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Whitfield controls the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Julian Whitfield showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Whitfield has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 29:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Matthew Bricker!