PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ace Freeman (ranked 5782 p4p, 585 weight class) and Thabo Thunder (ranked 24851 p4p, 664 weight class). Thunder has chosen Calvin Harris - This Is What You Came For as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Freeman
vs
Thunder

194 cm
25
218 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

188 cm
24
210 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Ace Freeman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Thabo Thunder!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Frank Dennis and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Freeman closes the distance and clinches.
Thunder looking to throw knees to the head but Freeman is blocking nicely.
Thunder misses with a knee to the head.

Thunder escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Thunder jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Freeman throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Thunder counters with a shoot takedown. Freeman fights it but they end up in guard.
Thunder tries to free his leg and advance position but Freeman is retaining full guard.
Thunder is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thunder trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Freeman working a defensive guard here.
Thunder has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Rabid Reindeer Training. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
Thunder is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Thunder must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Thunder trying to control the position from guard on top but Freeman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Freeman doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunder trying to control but Freeman is working from the bottom.

Thunder 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.
Thunder passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Thunder lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Check out the look on Thunder's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

Freeman is rocked!
Thunder is working Freeman over with some ground and pound from side control.
Oh Freeman is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

Thunder looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Freeman seems to have got his legs back now.

Thunder wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Freeman, who protects the arm well.
Freeman is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Thunder is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Freeman knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Thunder stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Freeman misses with the combination.

Thunder tries to keep at a distance but Freeman has taken the fight into the clinch.

Freeman manages to pull guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thunder chips away with some ground and pound.
Thunder trying to control but Freeman is working from the bottom.

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

Thunder working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Freeman doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Freeman manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Freeman trying to control the position from guard on top but Thunder is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Thunder has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Freeman can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Thunder wants to sweep here but Freeman controlling him for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thunder is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Freeman is aware though and is defending well.

Freeman drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Freeman jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Thunder trying to keep a closed guard but Freeman is proving a slippery customer.
Freeman slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Thunder is looking to regain half guard here but Freeman keeps moving and retains side control.
Thunder is trying to control Freeman's posture but Freeman avoids it.

Freeman tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Freeman is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Thunder is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Thabo Thunder will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Jab, jab by Thunder - just one landing.
Freeman fails with the takedown.
Freeman fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Thunder scores with a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Freeman rushes Thunder and presses him up against the cage.
Freeman jumps guard but Thunder turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ace Freeman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A short uppercut from Thunder.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thunder escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Thunder throws a head kick that misses.
Freeman shoots for a takedown but Thunder saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Thunder throws a big counter head kick but Freeman avoids it with no problem.

Freeman gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Thunder using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

Thunder escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Freeman takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Freeman will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Thunder looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Freeman shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Thunder pinned against the cage. Thunder gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Thunder replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Freeman blocks it well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Freeman shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Thunder but Thunder pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Ace Freeman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Freeman on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Thunder. Thunder obviously looking to wear him down.
Thunder has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Thunder.
Thunder catches Freeman with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Freeman falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Thunder counter with a right hand.
Freeman misses with a head kick.
Thunder lands with a good body shot.
Thunder tries a head kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Freeman closes the distance and clinches.

Thunder escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ace Freeman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

A head kick lands from Thunder that sends Freeman to the canvas. Freeman tries to scramble back to his feet but Thunder brings him back down into side control.

Thunder is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Freeman knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Thunder tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Thunder has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Freeman manages to work his way to half guard, despite Thunder's best efforts.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thunder scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Freeman on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thunder is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Thunder looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Freeman looking for submissions off his back.
Thabo Thunder has got the better of the ground game so far.

Thunder seems to be working for a kimura but Freeman defends the submission attempt.
Freeman wants to control but Thunder is keeping busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thabo Thunder showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Thunder darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Thunder is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Thunder is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Freeman defends it well.
Thunder is thwarting Freeman's attempts to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Thunder is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Freeman throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thunder seems to be working for a kimura but Freeman defends the submission attempt.

Thunder wants to work for an arm triangle but Freeman is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Thunder is working for a submission of some sort.
Thunder takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Freeman looking for submissions off his back.
Thunder winds up and cracks Freeman with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

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.
Freeman is refusing to be controlled, as Thunder sits in half guard.

Thunder is working for a kimura but Freeman is defending it quite comfortably.

Thunder is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Freeman defends it well.
Freeman wants to get back to full guard.
Thunder sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Freeman defending well though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Freeman flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

Thunder wants to work for an arm triangle but Freeman is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The fighters are battling for position here. Freeman manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Thunder pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Freeman is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thunder got a little sloppy there for a moment and Freeman has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Thunder has managed to get both his arms back between Freeman's legs - danger averted.

Freeman has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Thunder doesn't defend quickly enough and Freeman has managed to lock this one up! Can Thunder escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Freeman on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:29 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Ace Freeman!
The defeated Thabo Thunder had this to say: 'It was a great fight, and I will just have to train harder.'.