PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jimmy Hopkins (ranked 3675 p4p, 347 weight class) and Aurora Borealis (ranked 3519 p4p, 338 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Hopkins
vs
Borealis

177 cm
31
170 lbs
9 - 5 - 1

184 cm
25
173 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Determined

Woodshins' Ship

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 1, fighting out of New York, Jimmy Hopkins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Aurora Borealis!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Stewart Dunkirk and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hopkins scores with a leg kick.
Borealis shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hopkins pinned against the cage. Hopkins gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Borealis throws a head kick that misses.
Hopkins misses with a straight right.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Hopkins.
A good leg kick by Hopkins.
Borealis moves out of range as Hopkins strikes.
Borealis looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Hopkins is fending him off so far but Borealis persists. Nope, Hopkins circles away and we're back to standing.
Borealis shoots in looking for a takedown. Hopkins tries to sprawl out of it but Borealis keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Hopkins manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Jimmy Hopkins has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aurora Borealis.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hopkins throws a push kick but Borealis slaps the foot to one side.
Borealis on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Hopkins. Hopkins obviously looking to wear him down.
Hopkins stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hopkins wants it to stay on the feet.
Borealis shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hopkins swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Hopkins keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borealis misses with a takedown attempt - Hopkins sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Borealis shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Hopkins defends it nicely.
Hopkins half committed to a counter leg kick.
Hopkins chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Hopkins throws a right and a left that both miss.
Borealis loads up on a big right hand but Hopkins slips the punch.
Hopkins tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Borealis paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Hopkins closes the distance and clinches.
Hopkins stops a takedown attempt from Borealis.
Hopkins lands with a right to the head.
Borealis wants a takedown.
Hopkins misses with the head strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hopkins fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A right hook to the body lands for Hopkins.
Borealis blocking some punches.
Hopkins pushes Borealis back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Stalling in the clinch from Hopkins.
Hopkins works on Borealis's body with a couple of short punches.
Hopkins tries to work over Borealis's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Borealis wants the takedown. Hopkins is fighting it off but Borealis persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Hopkins's guard against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hopkins tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Borealis is working Hopkins over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Borealis throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hopkins is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Borealis is looking for a sweep. Hopkins is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hopkins is looking to advance position but Borealis won't allow it.

Borealis actively working from the bottom here.
Borealis told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hopkins content to control rather than advance.
Borealis wants to control but Hopkins is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Borealis tries to roll over but Hopkins keeps him under control.
Hopkins lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Hopkins perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Hopkins passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Borealis!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Borealis working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hopkins controlling the pace for now.
Borealis keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Borealis is squirming around, avoiding Hopkins's attempts to control the action.
Borealis wants to hold on but Hopkins pushes him away.
Borealis can't escape the position.
Hopkins looking to control and managing it successfully.
Borealis is in all sorts of trouble here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Hopkins dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Borealis throws a right hand that Hopkins ducks under and follows up with a left that Hopkins also avoids with ease.
Horrible takedown attempt by Borealis or perhaps it was just good defense by Hopkins, which made it look bad.
Borealis moves out of range as Hopkins throws a body kick.
Hopkins dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Borealis. That did some damage!
Hopkins looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Borealis fails to land with a series of punches.
Nice cross by Hopkins.
Borealis shoots in for a double leg but Hopkins sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Hopkins throws a body punch but Borealis moves out of range.
Hopkins looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Borealis misses with a hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Borealis closes the distance and clinches up with Hopkins, looking for a takedown. Borealis pushes Hopkins against the cage but Hopkins circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Jimmy Hopkins has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aurora Borealis.
Hopkins scores with a jab to the head.
Borealis fails with a takedown attempt.
Hopkins cracks the inside of Borealis's front leg.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borealis throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Hopkins sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Hopkins tried to counter with a leg kick but Borealis avoided it.
Borealis fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hopkins avoids it really well and circles away.
Borealis fails with the takedown.
Hopkins lands a leg kick that knocks Borealis off balance momentarily.
Borealis fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hopkins avoids it really well and circles away.
Hopkins misses with a body kick.

Borealis shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Hopkins napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Borealis working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hopkins trying to remain calm as Borealis controls from the top position.
Borealis in side control, throwing shots but Hopkins defends.
Hopkins is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Borealis can do to turn this around?
Borealis throwing strikes but Hopkins manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Borealis is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Borealis is not content to let Hopkins control the position.
Borealis regains half guard.
Borealis is looking to improve his position.
Hopkins is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Borealis is staying active underneath Hopkins, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Borealis throws a strike from the bottom but Hopkins passes into side control!
Borealis sneaks back into half guard.

Borealis with the active half guard here but Hopkins passes nicely into side control.
Jimmy Hopkins overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Borealis is looking for a sweep.
A lull in the action here as Hopkins stalls from top position.
Borealis is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Hopkins's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Hopkins perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Borealis trying to control from the bottom.
Hopkins seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Borealis is looking to control Hopkins's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Borealis avoid being mounted?
Borealis is staying active underneath Hopkins, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Borealis regains full guard. Nicely done.

Borealis has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hopkins can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Borealis tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Hopkins dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Hopkins pushes Borealis away with a front kick.
A jab from Hopkins finds it's way through Borealis's defenses.
Borealis is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Hopkins.

It looks like Aurora Borealis has been cut.
Hopkins feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Borealis's calf.
Nice takedown defense from Hopkins. No joy for Borealis on that attempt.
Borealis shoots and misses
and Hopkins counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Borealis shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Hopkins eats them both and turns towards Borealis to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Borealis goes for a double leg but Hopkins avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Hopkins continues to drive forward.
Jimmy Hopkins has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aurora Borealis.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hopkins scores with a crisp jab that stopped Borealis in his tracks.

Borealis is rocked!
Hopkins's jab looks to have found its range, popping Borealis under the eye.
Borealis is still on wobbly legs! Can Hopkins finish him?
Hopkins drops Borealis with a straight right hand, right on the button! Hopkins follows him down to the mat and pounds him out with hammerfists until the referee jumps in to end the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:44 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jimmy Hopkins!
Our winner, Jimmy Hopkins, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.