PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Charles Pierce (ranked 24533 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicholas Rice (ranked 5262 p4p, 0 weight class). Charles Pierce has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Pierce
vs
Rice

207 cm
19
140 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

186 cm
18
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite 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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Charles Pierce!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nicholas Rice!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Bruno Lombardi and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rice slaps away a takedown attempt from Pierce, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Pierce changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Rice tries to avoid it but Pierce manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Rice to the ground. Rice escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Pierce looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Rice!
Rice is looking to reverse the position.
Pierce working the head with strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rice tries to improve position but can't.

Pierce decides to stand back up.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Pierce.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rice is looking to reverse the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rice is still trying to improve position.
Pierce controlling the position from side mount.
Pierce will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rice takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Rice tries to bench press Pierce off him but Pierce keeps the position.
Pierce connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Rice some visible discomfort.

Pierce decides to stand up, so the ref orders Rice to his feet.

Pierce looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Ground and pound from Pierce.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rice is looking for a sweep. Pierce is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Pierce decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Nicholas Rice seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Rice scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Pierce tries to escape but Rice is in control.
Rice tries to move into full mount but can't pass Pierce's legs.
Rice tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Pierce regains half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rice prevents Pierce from standing back up.
Rice wants to take a breather but Pierce is having none of it.
Rice looks winded!
Pierce tries to get to full guard but Rice has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierce wants to get back to his feet.

Rice is looking for a kimura here.
Pierce is pressing down on Rice's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Pierce managing to control the position.
Rice wants to stand but Pierce is controlling his posture from full guard.
Pierce wants to stand up but Rice is controlling him.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's four 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.

Rice changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Pierce looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

Pierce sneaks out the side door and pushes Rice away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Pierce is defended easily by Rice.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Charles Pierce. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rice rushes Pierce and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Rice pulls Pierce into guard.
Pierce lands a couple of decent looking shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charles Pierce dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Rice drives through with a takedown into guard.
Pierce wants to stand but Rice is controlling the position.
Pierce looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rice is one step ahead there.
Rice trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Pierce looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rice is one step ahead there.
Pierce pulls Rice in to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pierce manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Rice manages to get himself to full guard.

Pierce is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Pierce postures up in Rice's guard and throws a big left but Rice blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rice looking for a sweep. Not yet Rice, not yet.

Pierce decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Pierce throws a leg kick that misses.
Rice with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

Rice looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Rice is breathing heavily.
Pierce wants to get back to full guard.
Rice is keen to just control but Pierce is a slippery customer.
Rice wants to pass to mount but Pierce is defending the position.

Pierce makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rice tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rice paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Rice looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Pierce!

Pierce explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pierce shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rice sprawls well. Rice wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Pierce gets slowly back to his feet.

Rice closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Pierce quickly recovers to half guard.

Pierce manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Rice keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pierce drags the fight down to the ground.
Pierce has Rice pulled in close to control his posture.
Pierce is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rice is controlling him.
Rice trying to control but Pierce is working from the bottom.
Pierce wants to stand but Rice is controlling the position.

Pierce wriggles free and stands up.
Rice takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pierce drives through with a takedown into guard.
Rice is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Pierce really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Rice has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Pierce can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Charles Pierce overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pierce wants to stand but Rice is controlling his posture from full guard.
Rice really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pierce. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Rice is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pierce has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Rice is proving hard to escape from.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charles Pierce dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Rice takes the fight into the clinch.
Rice dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Pierce fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Pierce tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Rice just stands there and leans against the cage.

Rice pulls guard effortlessly.
Rice working a defensive guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pierce is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Pierce stands up over Rice, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

Rice looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Pierce has picked Rice up and slammed him! Rice can't keep hold of the triangle and Pierce manages to pass to side control!
Rice takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pierce decides to stand back up.
Rice throws a leg kick
and Rice takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Charles Pierce is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Pierce 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.
Pierce would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Rice controls Pierce momentarily but Pierce frees himself.
Rice trying to control the position here.
Rice looking to hit a scissor sweep but Pierce is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pierce working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rice's head.

Pierce stands and steps away. Rice gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Rice misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pierce throws a quick counter head kick but Rice was just out of range.

Rice clinches up with Pierce and pushes him back against the cage.

Pierce ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Pierce no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Pierce is adopting a defensive guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierce strikes from his own guard.
Pierce has his hands on Rice's head, controlling the position.
Rice stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pierce swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Pierce is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Rice trying to get back to full guard but Pierce takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Pierce is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rice can do to turn this around?
Pierce in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Pierce scoring with strikes but Rice is staying in there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierce lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Rice hang on?
Rice is in a horrible position here. Pierce smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Pierce lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Pierce has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Rice's face.
Rice taking shots to the head.
Pierce scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Rice?
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pierce with good strikes from the mount here!
Rice is in a horrible position here. Pierce smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Pierce cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Nicholas Rice has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Charles Pierce is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pierce looking to control and managing it successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Charles Pierce showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Pierce, 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:27
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Charles Pierce!