PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Holmes (ranked 21388 p4p, 0 weight class) and Oisin Mac Cumhaill (ranked 23472 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Holmes
vs
Mac Cumhaill

185 cm
20
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
24
200 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Determined

King Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, James Holmes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Oisin Mac Cumhaill !
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Robert Douchet and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mac Cumhaill has a takedown stuffed.

Holmes drives through and clinches with Mac Cumhaill against the cage.

Holmes breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Holmes has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Mac Cumhaill shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Holmes as he avoids it easily.

Holmes 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.
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.
Holmes showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Holmes tries to free his leg and advance position but Mac Cumhaill is retaining full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holmes is working hard here to advance position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mac Cumhaill pulls Holmes in close to prevent any damage.
Mac Cumhaill is trying to control the position but Holmes postures up.
Holmes is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Mac Cumhaill closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Mac Cumhaill wants to pass the guard but Holmes is defending well.
Holmes is looking for a sweep. Mac Cumhaill is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Mac Cumhaill seems to be looking for submissions.
Holmes slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Mac Cumhaill trying to control but Holmes is working from the bottom.
Holmes pulls Mac Cumhaill in to control the position.
Holmes wants to sweep here but Mac Cumhaill controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holmes pulls Mac Cumhaill in close to prevent any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
James Holmes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Holmes clinches with his opponent.
The referee calls for Holmes to work.

Holmes manages to break the clinch.
Mac Cumhaill fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
James Holmes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Oisin Mac Cumhaill .

Holmes gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Holmes manages to break the clinch.

Holmes moves into range and clinches up with Mac Cumhaill .

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

Holmes drives through and clinches with Mac Cumhaill against the cage.

Holmes escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Holmes darts in and clinches Mac Cumhaill up against the cage.

Holmes pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Mac Cumhaill fails with the takedown.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Holmes takes the fight into the clinch.
Mac Cumhaill drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Holmes dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Holmes has closed the distance and engaged Mac Cumhaill in a clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Holmes.
Holmes gets underhooks to prevent Mac Cumhaill 's takedown attempt.
Mac Cumhaill tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Holmes just stands there and leans against the cage.
Holmes lands with a short shot to the head.
Holmes content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Holmes breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Holmes rushes Mac Cumhaill and presses him up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A hook to the body from Holmes.
Mac Cumhaill has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Holmes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
James Holmes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Oisin Mac Cumhaill .
Holmes stalling against the cage.

Holmes gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmes slows the pace down in half guard.
Holmes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mac Cumhaill can do to turn this around?
Mac Cumhaill trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Holmes manages to pass to mount!
Holmes takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
James Holmes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mac Cumhaill is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's two 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.
Holmes controlling from the full mount.
Mac Cumhaill tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Mac Cumhaill is breathing heavily.
Mac Cumhaill wants to control but Holmes is having none of it.
Holmes controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mac Cumhaill tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Mac Cumhaill tries to hold on but Holmes pushes him away.
Holmes landing punches.
Holmes controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mac Cumhaill is desperately trying to improve his position but Holmes has a good base and remains in mount.
Holmes controlling his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mac Cumhaill tries to hold on but Holmes postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Holmes dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Nice straight punches there by Holmes. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Holmes.
Holmes lands a leg kick that knocks Mac Cumhaill off balance momentarily.

Holmes drives through and clinches with Mac Cumhaill against the cage.
Holmes presses Mac Cumhaill against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Holmes lands on the inside with an uppercut.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Holmes lands with a right to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Holmes works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Mac Cumhaill keeping full guard, as Holmes tries to pass.
Holmes not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmes seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Mac Cumhaill for as long as he can get away with.
Holmes works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Holmes trying to pass the guard but Mac Cumhaill defending well.
Holmes controlling the pace.

That's two 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.
Holmes has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Mac Cumhaill wants to get back to full guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Mac Cumhaill closes this distance looking for a takedown but Holmes circles away.
Holmes is looking to counter with a body kick.
Mac Cumhaill takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Mac Cumhaill gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Holmes counters with a nice body shot.

Holmes moves into the clinch successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holmes scores with a shoulder strike.
Holmes crunches a lovely knee into Mac Cumhaill 's ribcage.
Mac Cumhaill being controlled against the cage.

Holmes manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Holmes controlling Mac Cumhaill 's posture.
Holmes tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Holmes is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holmes is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Holmes manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Mac Cumhaill manages to get himself to full guard.

Holmes is stalling in the full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mac Cumhaill is trying to keep Holmes in close.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Holmes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Holmes 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 William Peck scores the fight 30:26
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:26
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Holmes!
After winning the bout, James Holmes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.