PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Charlie Hardy (ranked 24965 p4p, 0 weight class) and Saenose Maealdo (ranked 5566 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Hardy
vs
Maealdo

168 cm
23
134 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

170 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Charlie Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Saenose Maealdo!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Phil Schofield and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maealdo lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Maealdo scores with a head kick. Hardy tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

Hardy scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
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.
Maealdo is trying to control but Hardy manages to pass to mount!
Hardy looking to control and managing it successfully.
Hardy has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Maealdo is working to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy content just to control the position here.
Maealdo tries to hold on but Hardy pushes him away.

That's two 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.
Hardy controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hardy stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.

Hardy looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hardy content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Maealdo for as long as he can get away with.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charlie Hardy dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hardy throws the left hand but Maealdo avoids the punch easily.
Maealdo tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Maealdo throws a sloppy head kick and Hardy moves out of range easily.
Maealdo lands a high kick!

Hardy feints and as Maealdo raises his hands in defense, Hardy changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Maealdo wants to control but Hardy passes easily into half guard.
Maealdo has a hand on Hardy's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Hardy takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Hardy controlling the position easily from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy scoring with strikes but Maealdo is staying in there.
Hardy controlling the pace for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maealdo is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Hardy sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Maealdo wants to hold on but Hardy pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Hardy tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Hardy gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Maealdo throws a head kick that misses

and Hardy decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Maealdo's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charlie Hardy dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Maealdo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Hardy feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hardy tries to free his leg and advance position but Maealdo is retaining full guard.
Hardy slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Hardy advances to mount.
Hardy controlling from the full mount.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Maealdo is in all sorts of trouble here.
Hardy looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Further stalling from Hardy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Hardy is stinking the place up with his stalling.

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.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Charlie Hardy showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hardy, 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:26
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 30:26
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Charlie Hardy!