PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cyrus Great (ranked 660 p4p, 78 weight class) and Damien Thorn (ranked 614 p4p, 72 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Great
vs
Thorn

200 cm
34
280 lbs
17 - 12 - 0

196 cm
33
267 lbs
23 - 11 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Bee Krazy

Urban Fighter

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 17 - 12 - 0, fighting out of New York, Cyrus Great!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Damien Thorn!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Sam Margolis and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thorn uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Great.
Great digs a good body shot into Thorn's ribs.
Thorn tries to clinch there but Great circles away.
Thorn throws a nice outside leg kick.
Thorn misses with a body shot
and Great counters with a stiff right hand.
Thorn pivots, looking for a leg kick but Great is out of range and Thorn settles back down.

Great tries to keep at a distance but Thorn has taken the fight into the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Great's face as he tries to break the clinch.
A right hand to the body from Thorn.
Great takes a knee to the side of the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorn changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Great fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Some bone on bone action there as Great checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
A jab from Thorn misses.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Great checks a leg kick.
Damien Thorn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Great blocks a low kick nicely.
Great appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Great definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Great lands a jab to the nose.
Great misses with a hook.
Thorn tries to clinch but Great is having none of it.
Great went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Great takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Great checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Thorn attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Thorn lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Thorn throws a hook to the side of Great's head but Great sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Great lands a slapping body shot.
Thorn closes the distance looking to clinch
and Great counters with a nice uppercut.
Thorn fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Great is out of range.
Thorn lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorn scores with a decent looking hook.
Great walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thorn swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Great swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Thorn lands with a nice combination. Great backs away looking to recover.
Thorn lands a leg kick that knocks Great off balance momentarily.
Thorn throws a jab when Great was well out of range.
Great is looking to counter punch.
Thorn ducks right into an uppercut from Great.

It looks like Damien Thorn has been cut.
Thorn connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Thorn works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
A swing and a miss from Thorn.
Thorn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Great.
Thorn pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Thorn moves into range and clinches up with Great.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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

Thorn has Great up against the cage in a clinch.

Great's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Thorn is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Great.
Great is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Thorn will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Great throwing a counter right hand but Thorn manages to avoid it.
Thorn throws a big shot that misses.
Thorn lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Great on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Thorn throws a leg kick but Great checks it.
Thorn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Great connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Thorn throws a leg kick
and Great counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Thorn thinking.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A decent looking cross lands there for Great.
Great misses with a hook. Thorn ducked under it nicely.
Thorn throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Great counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A swing and a miss from Great.
Great fails to land with a series of punches.
Great lands a body shot.
Thorn misses with an uppercut. Great saw that one coming.

Thorn closes the distance and clinches.

Great breaks from the clinch.
Good leg kick by Thorn there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Thorn looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Great throws a hook but Thorn avoids it easily.
Thorn lands a jab to Great's midsection.
Thorn connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damien Thorn dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Damien Thorn's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Thorn moves in looking to clinch but Great pushes him off.
Great ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Thorn lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Thorn lands a jab to Great's midsection.
Thorn fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Great manages to avoid it.
Thorn connects with a nice looking jab.
Great throws a body punch but Thorn moves out of range.
Thorn misses with a double jab
and Great cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Thorn throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Thorn throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Thorn throws a solid leg kick but Great takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Thorn.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Thorn lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Great has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Great and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thorn ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A head kick misses from Thorn.
Thorn thows a left - swing and a miss!
Great rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thorn moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Great walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Great takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Thorn walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Great checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Thorn throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Great throwing a counter right hand but Thorn manages to avoid it.
Great takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Thorn tries to clinch up.
Nice jab there from Thorn.
Great misses with a double jab.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Thorn, right into the meat.
Thorn looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A bone on bone clash there as Great blocks the leg kick.
Thorn misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Great counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Thorn has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thorn fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Great checks it well.
Thorn with a nice cross.
Thorn throws a leg kick which misses Great's front leg but catches the back leg as Great tries to avoid it.
Nice jab there from Thorn.
Thorn shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Thorn feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Great's calf.
Thorn throws out a loose jab but Great uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thorn takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Thorn ducks under a wild hook from Great.
Thorn misses with an uppercut. Great saw that one coming.
Great misses with a straight right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Great lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Great misses with a straight left.
Great throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Thorn.
Thorn connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Great's hands.
Great scores with a jab to the body.
Thorn misses with a few strikes there.
Great has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Thorn.
Thorn moves away from the strike by Great.
Great misses the jab.
Thorn lands a right hook to the body.
Great avoids the body shot from Thorn.
Thorn has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Great finds it's way round the side to connect with Thorn's head.
Thorn connects with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A jab from Great misses.
Great is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Thorn.
Thorn digs a good hook to Great's body.
Thorn lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Great scores with a hook.
Thorn throws a body punch but Great moves out of range.
Thorn connects with a high kick.

Thorn has closed the distance and engaged Great in a clinch.
Thorn gets through Great's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Thorn is working for takedown but Great is calmly controlling the position for now.
Thorn is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Great is defending well for now.
Thorn struggles to land a body shot inside as Great controls his hands.
Still in the clinch, Thorn scores with a nice short uppercut.
Great is trying to push Thorn away but Thorn has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damien Thorn showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Damien Thorn's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Thorn lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Great takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Thorn clinches.
A short uppercut from Thorn.
Thorn tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Thorn misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Great.

Thorn breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Thorn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Great.
Thorn looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Thorn misses with a wild body shot.
Thorn does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Great throws a right hand that misses
and Thorn connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Great on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Great lands a jab.
Great looks to score with a jab to the body but Thorn is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Great waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Thorn.
Great has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Thorn.
Thorn ducks under a wild hook from Great.
Thorn takes one to the side of the head.
Thorn connects with a good right hand that stumbles Great. Great circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Thorn digs a good hook to Great's body.

Thorn closes the distance and pushes Great back into the cage.
Thorn has Great pressed against the cage, preventing Great from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Great manages to break the clinch.
An inside leg kick from Thorn misses.
Great swings for the body but Thorn moves out of range.
Great's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Thorn connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Great scrambles back to his feet.
Thorn throws a hook but Great avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Great moves away from the strike by Thorn.
Thorn tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Great manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Damien Thorn seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Great blocks a head kick by Thorn.
A cross from Thorn lands.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Great checks a low kick from Thorn.
Great throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Thorn sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Thorn motions for Great to come forward. Thorn throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Thorn misses with a low kick as Great jumps back.
Thorn throws a leg kick
and Great cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Great slips under a jab.
Thorn darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Thorn misses with a double jab
and Great counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Great checks a low kick from Thorn.
Thorn throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Great ducks under a wild hook from Thorn.
Thorn pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Great misses the jab.
Thorn throws a head kick but Great moves out of range.
Thorn throws a poor cross that misses
and Great counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Thorn takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thorn tries a low kick but Great avoids it.
Thorn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Great.
Great uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Thorn.
Great tries to move into range but Thorn moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
A swing and a miss from Great.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thorn walks into a stiff left hand from Great.
Donk. Great catches Thorn right on the button with a cross.
Thorn needs to keep his hands up - Great had a free shot at his head there.
Great bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Great lands with an overhand left.
A jab from Thorn misses.
Thorn tries a head kick but it misses.
Damien Thorn is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Thorn tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Great manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Great throwing a counter right hand but Thorn manages to avoid it.
Thorn scores with a crisp jab that stopped Great in his tracks.
Thorn swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Great counters with a beautiful punch that sends Thorn to the canvas!

Thorn is rocked!
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Thorn looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Thorn is still in real trouble! Can Great finish him?
Great wants to control from the top but Thorn keeps moving.
Cyrus Great has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thorn seems to have recovered his senses.
Thorn utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Damien Thorn.
I've got Thorn winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damien Thorn!
Our winner, Damien Thorn, 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.
In defeat, Cyrus Great stepped up to the mic, saying 'O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their empire. Do not therefore begrudge me this bit of earth that covers my bones.'.