PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Theron Bird (ranked 24990 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raul Frank (ranked 6362 p4p, 0 weight class). Raul Frank has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Bird
vs
Frank

204 cm
18
177 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

182 cm
18
160 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Theron Bird!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Raul Frank!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Nard Betker and Wagner Zegers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bird dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Frank. That did some damage!
Frank looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Bird will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Bird!
Bird misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Bird throws a right and a left that Frank avoids nicely.
Bird wants to slow Frank down by chopping away at his legs.
Frank goes for a double leg but Bird avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Bird continues to drive forward.

Bird clinches with his opponent.

Bird turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Frank taking a bit of punishment here - Bird scoring with strikes.
Frank takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Frank is trying to escape the position but Bird is controlling the position.
Bird has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Bird gets to mount! Frank was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bird takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Frank is trying to escape the mount.

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.
Bird controlling from the full mount.
Frank felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bird seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Frank for as long as he can get away with.
Bird really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bird continues to stall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Theron Bird dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Bird clinches.
Frank goes for a takedown in the clinch but Bird prevents it.
Frank tries for a takedown but Bird manages to get underhooks.

Bird gets control of Frank's arms and successfully pulls guard. Bird will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Bird pulls Frank in to control the position.
Bird manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Frank manages to get himself to full guard.

Frank is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bird showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Bird gets to his feet - Frank follows without any prompting.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bird has Frank up against the cage in a clinch.

Bird has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Frank uses from the top position.
Bird looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

Frank is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Bird is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Bird has escaped and now he's on top!

Bird gets to his feet - Frank follows without any prompting.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bird clinches up against the cage.

Bird is trying to trip Frank. He has hold of a leg but Frank is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Bird persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Theron Bird overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Bird stands and steps away. Frank gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Bird gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Bird is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Frank can do to turn this around?

Bird has clasped his hands together around Frank's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Frank is letting Bird control him for a moment.

Bird decides to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bird gets the takedown into side control.

Bird decides to stand back up.
Bird tries to land a leg kick but Frank saw it coming and moves away.

Bird moves into the clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Bird.

Bird jumps guard.
Bird manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Frank manages to get himself to full guard.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bird showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Frank is working an open guard so Bird takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Bird closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Bird turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Theron Bird dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Bird drives through and clinches with Frank against the cage.
Frank has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Bird after a bit of a struggle.

Bird pulls guard.
Bird trying to control the position here.
Bird is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Bird perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Frank takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Bird lands a nice short elbow.
Bird looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Frank with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Bird lands strikes from half guard.
Bird seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ground and pound from Bird.
Bird keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Bird will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Bird moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Frank.

Bird stands up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bird darts in and clinches Frank up against the cage.

Bird gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Frank regains guard.

Bird decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Raul Frank seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Bird shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Bird landing with the ground and pound.
Bird cracks Frank with a solid left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Frank looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Bird has picked Frank up and slammed him! Frank can't keep hold of the triangle and Bird manages to pass to side control!
Frank trying to remain calm as Bird controls from the top position.
Bird working the ground and pound.

Bird decides to stand back up. Bird steps back and let's Frank get back to his feet.

Bird gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Bird gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Frank regains guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bird is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Raul Frank has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Theron Bird is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Frank has an active guard here but Bird has managed to pass into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Theron Bird showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bird has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:24
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 30:24
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Theron Bird!