PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bill Blackburn (ranked 5287 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Mitchell (ranked 6139 p4p, 0 weight class). John Mitchell acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Blackburn
vs
Mitchell

212 cm
24
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

160 cm
25
142 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Bill Blackburn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, John Mitchell!
The judges for this bout are Patrick Alders, Aafke Stam and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mitchell pushes Blackburn up against the cage in a clinch.
Blackburn is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Blackburn wants a takedown.
Mitchell working hard to break the clinch.

Blackburn jumps guard and drags Mitchell to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Blackburn is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Mitchell is aware though and is defending well.
Mitchell wants to stand but Blackburn is controlling his posture from full guard.
Blackburn really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mitchell is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

Blackburn is working an open guard so Mitchell takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackburn avoiding damage as Mitchell throws knees to the body.

Mitchell breaks from the clinch.

Mitchell moves into the clinch.
Mitchell is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Blackburn tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Blackburn. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Blackburn gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Blackburn thows a huge punch but Mitchell dodges it nicely.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Blackburn lands a nice short elbow.
Blackburn thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Blackburn thows a huge punch but Mitchell dodges it nicely.
Blackburn lands strikes from half guard.

Mitchell looking for submissions off his back.
Mitchell is trying to stand up here but Blackburn is controlling him well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Blackburn is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Mitchell sees it coming and defends easily.

Blackburn is looking for a kimura here.

Blackburn seems to be working for a kimura but Mitchell defends the submission attempt.

Blackburn 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell has hold of Blackburn's hands but Blackburn slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The fighters are battling for position here. Mitchell manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Mitchell is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Blackburn stands up over Mitchell, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Blackburn stops Mitchell from standing up.
Blackburn loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Blackburn won't allow Mitchell to get back to his feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Mitchell closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Mitchell looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Mitchell lands with a right to the head.

Mitchell escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Blackburn shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Mitchell but Mitchell pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Mitchell moves into the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blackburn manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Mitchell dominated that round.
That's time! Blackburn's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Mitchell misses with a few strikes there.
Blackburn throws a big counter combination but Mitchell scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.

Blackburn gets tackled into the cage by Mitchell. Mitchell maintains the clinch.
Mitchell gets underhooks to prevent Blackburn's takedown attempt.
Mitchell is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Blackburn successfully pulls guard.
Mitchell wants to stand and escape but instead Blackburn has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Blackburn with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mitchell trying to keep a closed guard but Blackburn is proving a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blackburn throws a big right hand that misses.
Blackburn throws a big right hand that misses.
Blackburn lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackburn is looking to work some ground and pound but Mitchell has wrist control.
Mitchell trying to keep a closed guard but Blackburn is proving a slippery customer.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Blackburn accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Blackburn working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Blackburn throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Mitchell works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Blackburn throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mitchell really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Blackburn. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Mitchell trying to control the position here.
Mitchell utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Blackburn decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Mitchell, up you get!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mitchell throws a low kick but Blackburn avoids it.

Mitchell clinches up against the cage.
Blackburn stalls.
Blackburn is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Blackburn is trying to drag Mitchell to the mat but Mitchell just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Blackburn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mitchell has Blackburn pressed against the cage, preventing Blackburn from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Blackburn pulls guard.
Blackburn has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Blackburn is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Blackburn thows a huge punch but Mitchell dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blackburn winds up and cracks Mitchell with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Mitchell blocking the ground and pound attempt from Blackburn.
Blackburn seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Mitchell looks like he's trying to stand up.

Blackburn is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Mitchell has hold of Blackburn's hands but Blackburn slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Blackburn not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Blackburn thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Mitchell's head.
Blackburn working Mitchell over with strikes.
Blackburn seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Blackburn is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Mitchell is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Blackburn scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mitchell is trying to stand back up but Blackburn is controlling him
Bill Blackburn overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Blackburn connects with a nice short shot to Mitchell's temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bill Blackburn dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Mitchell clinches up against the cage.
Mitchell pushes Blackburn back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Blackburn blocks an elbow strike.

Blackburn pulls Mitchell into guard.
Blackburn is trying to control the position but Mitchell postures up.
Blackburn looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mitchell wants to stand but Blackburn has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Blackburn looking for a sweep. Not yet Blackburn, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blackburn working a defensive guard here.
Mitchell wants to stand but Blackburn is controlling his posture from full guard.
Blackburn doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mitchell has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Blackburn is proving hard to escape from.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Mitchell pushes Blackburn up against the cage in a clinch.

Mitchell breaks from the clinch.

Mitchell clinches up against the cage.
Mitchell lands a shoulder strike.

Blackburn is rocked!
Mitchell has the Thai clinch. He lands a big knee to the head that stumbles Blackburn - he's in trouble! Another big knee to the head from Mitchell, and another! Blackburn is out on his feet - the ref jumps in to save him and ends the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:44 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Knees). John Mitchell!