PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cron Spliffton (ranked 2642 p4p, 369 weight class) and Strategos Themistokles (ranked 4160 p4p, 501 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Spliffton
vs
Themistokles

191 cm
43
213 lbs
27 - 17 - 0

187 cm
34
210 lbs
24 - 17 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 27 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cron Spliffton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Strategos Themistokles!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Wesley Smith and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Themistokles moves into range and clinches up with Spliffton.
A short uppercut from Spliffton.
Spliffton is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Themistokles is looking to take this one to the mat.
Spliffton lands a left hand.
Themistokles has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Spliffton is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Spliffton misses with a punch to the body.
Themistokles is stalling here.
Themistokles misses with the head strike.
Spliffton misses with the head strike.

Themistokles has Spliffton pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Themistokles pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Spliffton tumbling to the mat - Themistokles dives into Spliffton's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Themistokles slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Themistokles working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Spliffton has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Themistokles 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.
Themistokles postures up in Spliffton's guard and throws a big left but Spliffton blocks it.
Themistokles controls from within his opponent's guard.
Themistokles is in close to Spliffton's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Themistokles trying to control but Spliffton is working from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Spliffton keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
It looked like Spliffton was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Themistokles.
Themistokles misses with a low kick.
As Themistokles backs away, Spliffton returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Spliffton stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Spliffton wants it to stay on the feet.
Cron Spliffton has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Strategos Themistokles.
Themistokles moves out of range of the body kick.
Spliffton lands a jab to the nose.

Themistokles closes the distance and clinches.
Themistokles wants a takedown but no success here.
Themistokles stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Spliffton doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spliffton lands with a left to the head.
Themistokles trying to control the position but instead, Spliffton has worked for underhooks and has pushed Themistokles into the cage.
Spliffton struggles to land a body shot inside as Themistokles controls his hands.
Themistokles lands with a right to the head.

Themistokles breaks from the clinch.
A nice inside leg kick there by Themistokles. That's going to slow Spliffton down.
Spliffton looks to land a body kick but Themistokles moved away.
Themistokles walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Spliffton misses with a kick to the body.
Spliffton throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Spliffton misses with a jab, cross combination.
Themistokles tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Themistokles takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spliffton with a nice cross.
Themistokles's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Spliffton connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Themistokles scrambles back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Spliffton throws a shot from downtown. Themistokles moves away and avoids it.
Spliffton bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

Themistokles rushes Spliffton and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Themistokles changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Spliffton fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Spliffton fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Themistokles manages to avoid it.
And Themistokles tries to counter it with a takedown but Spliffton pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Themistokles jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Spliffton scores with a nice right hand.
Themistokles tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Cron Spliffton seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Themistokles swats away the attempt to clinch by Spliffton.
Themistokles feints the counter takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cron Spliffton dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Spliffton throws a hook but Themistokles avoids it easily.
Themistokles finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Spliffton is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Themistokles.
Themistokles uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Spliffton.
Themistokles is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Spliffton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Themistokles can do to turn this around?
Themistokles tries to clinch but Spliffton is having none of it.
Nice defenses there by Spliffton.
Spliffton lands a jab to the nose.
Spliffton dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Themistokles. That did some damage!
Spliffton throws a low kick but Themistokles avoids it.
Themistokles throws a body shot but no joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Spliffton lands with a nice body punch.
Spliffton is looking to land body kicks.
Themistokles throws a low kick but Spliffton moves out of range easily.
Spliffton tries to clinch but Themistokles moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spliffton throws a front kick that sends Themistokles stumbling back into the cage.
Themistokles throws a jab but it's blocked by Spliffton.
A counter left hand to the body from Spliffton misses its target.

Themistokles moves into the clinch successfully.
Themistokles lands a right hand.
Themistokles looking to stall.
Themistokles is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Spliffton pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Spliffton misses with a punch on the inside.
Themistokles blocks an uppercut.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Themistokles with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Themistokles tries to throw a body punch but Spliffton avoids it by throwing Themistokles back against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Themistokles as Spliffton tries to tie him up.
Spliffton is stalling here.
Spliffton pushes Themistokles back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Spliffton on the inside.
Spliffton throws a head punch that misses.
Spliffton gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Themistokles.
Spliffton misses with a body punch.
Spliffton lands with a right to the head.
Spliffton is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Spliffton.
Themistokles unloads a knee to the mid-section.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Spliffton lands with a right to the head.
Themistokles blocks a body shot from Spliffton.
Themistokles blocking some punches.
Spliffton fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spliffton misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Themistokles makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Spliffton misses with the head strike.
Spliffton misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Spliffton lands with a left to the head.
Spliffton has a couple of punches blocked by Themistokles.
Spliffton tries to throw a body punch but Themistokles avoids it by throwing Spliffton back against the cage.
Cron Spliffton has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Spliffton struggles to land a body shot inside as Themistokles controls his hands.
A frustrated look appears on Themistokles's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Themistokles lands a takedown into guard.
Themistokles with a flurry of punches that miss.
Spliffton keeping moving, preventing Themistokles from controlling successfully.
Themistokles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Spliffton works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Themistokles in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Spliffton keeping full guard, as Themistokles tries to pass.
Themistokles missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Cron Spliffton is winning the standup battle so far.
Themistokles doesn't manage to clinch there - Spliffton circles away.
Themistokles uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Spliffton.
Themistokles lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Themistokles tries to close the distance and clinch but Spliffton swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
It looked like Spliffton wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Themistokles uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Spliffton.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cron Spliffton dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Spliffton tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Themistokles connects with an inside leg kick.
Spliffton scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Themistokles doesn't seem bothered though.
Themistokles is looking to score with low kicks.
Spliffton went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Spliffton ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Good shot there by Spliffton.

Themistokles manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Spliffton on his heels. He'll look to pass Spliffton's guard now, I'm sure.
Spliffton seems keen to control Themistokles's posture.
Spliffton avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Spliffton controlling Themistokles's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Themistokles trying to control the position from guard on top but Spliffton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Themistokles working some strikes from top position.
Themistokles pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Spliffton is keeping the position for now.
Themistokles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Spliffton works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Cron Spliffton is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Spliffton throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Themistokles with the counter takedown but Spliffton avoids it easily.
Strategos Themistokles has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Spliffton throws a hook to the side of Themistokles's head but Themistokles sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
And Themistokles tries to counter it with a takedown but Spliffton pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Spliffton throws a head kick but Themistokles moves out of range.
Themistokles misses the jab.
Themistokles needs to keep his hands up - Spliffton had a free shot at his head there.
Spliffton throws a series of punches but Themistokles avoids them all with ease.
Themistokles misses with a right hand
enabling Spliffton to counter with a crisp jab.

Themistokles moves into the clinch.
Themistokles wants a takedown.
Spliffton stalling the fight.
Themistokles tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Spliffton's elbow.
Spliffton gets through Themistokles's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Spliffton looking to stall.
Spliffton has a couple of punches blocked by Themistokles.
Cron Spliffton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spliffton throws a punch but it's blocked by Themistokles.
A short body shot lands from Spliffton as the two fighters clinch.
Spliffton tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Themistokles drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Spliffton gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Themistokles wants to break free but Spliffton has control.
Themistokles is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Spliffton is defending well.
Cron Spliffton has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Strategos Themistokles.
Spliffton has a couple of punches blocked by Themistokles.

That's four 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.
Spliffton dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Themistokles lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Spliffton fails to land.
A knee to the head by Themistokles.
Spliffton tries to throw a body punch but Themistokles avoids it by throwing Spliffton back against the cage.
Themistokles lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Spliffton.
Spliffton working aggressively here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Themistokles blocks a body shot from Spliffton.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Spliffton creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Themistokles wants to break free but Spliffton has control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cron Spliffton showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Spliffton, 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cron Spliffton!
A victorious Cron Spliffton thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.