PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rei Bourke (ranked 1351 p4p, 93 weight class) and Tommy Walcott (ranked 1140 p4p, 75 weight class). Bourke comes to the cage accompanied by Champion. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Bourke
vs
Walcott

170 cm
31
146 lbs
22 - 4 - 0

170 cm
28
140 lbs
19 - 14 - 1

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

VanDam Clothing

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 22 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rei Bourke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tommy Walcott!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Wagner Zegers and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Walcott bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Bourke swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rei Bourke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Walcott closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Walcott lands a slapping body shot.
Bourke is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Walcott.
Walcott tries to counter with a clinch but Bourke shakes him off and moves away.
Bourke will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Walcott misses the shot to the body.
Bourke looks to throw the jab but Walcott is out of range.
Bourke pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Walcott moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Walcott connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A right-left combo lands from Bourke.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Walcott throws a quick inside leg kick.
Bourke takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Walcott throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Bourke on the side of the head.
Walcott scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Walcott attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
A shot to the liver by Walcott. Beautiful body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bourke will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Bourke misses with a right hand
and Walcott counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Walcott connects with a leg kick. Bourke looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
A slapping leg kick lands for Walcott.
Walcott is looking to slow Bourke down with leg kicks.

Walcott gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Walcott tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Bourke's elbow.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bourke.
Walcott can't find room to land a body shot as Bourke controls the action.
Walcott misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Bourke working aggressively here.
Walcott fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Walcott working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Bourke tries to circle away but Walcott has him pinned against the cage.
Walcott keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Bourke's efforts to push away.
Walcott lands a right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bourke prevents a body shot from Walcott.

Bourke breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bourke lands a nice shot that snaps Walcott's head back.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Walcott slips a jab from Bourke.
Rei Bourke is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bourke sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Walcott chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Walcott lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

Walcott pushes Bourke up against the cage in a clinch.

Bourke's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bourke misses with a lunging right hand
and Walcott counters with an inside leg kick.
Bourke avoids the head kick by Walcott.

Walcott closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Walcott prevents Bourke from breaking the clinch.
Walcott struggles to land a body shot inside as Bourke controls his hands.
Walcott has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Bourke seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Walcott can turn it around.
Bourke wants to break the clinch but can't.
Walcott misses with a short punch on the inside.
Bourke wants to break the clinch but can't.
Walcott tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walcott has a couple of punches blocked by Bourke.
Bourke wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Bourke tries to break the clinch but Walcott is controlling the position.
Walcott jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bourke walks away with a smile on his face. Walcott gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Walcott jabs Bourke right on the nose. Bourke blinks but takes it well.
Walcott slips a jab and a cross from Bourke.
Bourke throws an overhand right that lands on Walcott's shoulder, as Walcott tries to avoid the shot.
Walcott walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Walcott defending well as Bourke loads up on a big left hand.
Walcott only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Bourke loads up on a big right hand but Walcott slips the punch.
Bourke throws a lazy uppercut
and Walcott counters with a good low kick that Bourke was not able to check.
Walcott avoids a punch combination nicely.
Walcott scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Bourke misses with a left hand
and Walcott counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Walcott is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Bourke rather than just go for the knockout.
Good leg kick by Walcott there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Walcott uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bourke.
Walcott steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walcott jabs at Bourke's body.
Walcott ducks under a wild hook from Bourke.
A combination from Bourke does no damage.
Bourke lands a right hook to the body.
Walcott is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Bourke.
A left lands for Walcott.
Bourke scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Sloppy strikes from Bourke. Those never looked like landing.
Bourke throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Bourke has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Walcott.
Walcott lands a leg kick that knocks Bourke off balance momentarily.
Walcott slips a straight right by Bourke.
Walcott throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Bourke's head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Walcott lands with a shot to the body.
Walcott throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
A jab from Walcott does it's job there.
Bourke stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Walcott.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tommy Walcott dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Bourke slips under a jab from Walcott.
Bourke swats away the attempt to clinch by Walcott.
Bourke throws out a loose jab but Walcott uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bourke misses with a looping left.
Walcott motions for Bourke to come forward. Walcott throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Walcott looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Bourke tries to bum rush Walcott with a series of wild strikes but Walcott uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Bourke is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Walcott throws a nice inside leg kick.
Walcott moves out of range of the strikes.
Sloppy strikes from Bourke. Those never looked like landing.
Walcott lands a really nice looking cross but Bourke seems unphased.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bourke is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Bourke throws a hook to the side of Walcott's head but Walcott sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Walcott bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Walcott now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Bourke swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Bourke falls off balance throwing a combination

and Walcott holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Walcott.
Walcott jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bourke walks away with a smile on his face. Walcott gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Bourke misses with a few strikes there.
Walcott ducks under a wild hook from Bourke.
Bourke throws a combination that misses
and Walcott makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
A jab from Bourke misses.
Bourke rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Walcott counters with a leg kick.
Walcott throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Walcott.
Walcott misses with a body kick.
Rei Bourke is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Walcott.
Bourke keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Bourke is looking to counter punch.
Some wild striking there from Bourke.
Walcott lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bourke takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bourke throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

Walcott has closed the distance and engaged Bourke in a clinch.
Walcott lands a hook that snaps the head of Bourke backwards.
Bourke is trying to force a seperation but Walcott has the dominant position.
Walcott throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Bourkes head.
A head punch on the inside from Walcott fails to land.
Walcott scores with a nice hook to the head.
Bourke scores with a shot to the side of Walcott's head.
Bourke is trying to break free.

Bourke breaks the clinch.
Some wild striking there from Bourke.
Walcott on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Walcott walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Walcott scores with a spinning back kick!
Walcott connects with a body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good standup being displayed there by Walcott as he connects with a hook.
Bourke falls off balance throwing a combination
and Walcott counters with a good low kick that Bourke was not able to check.
Bourke on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Bourke lands a body shot.
Walcott tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Bourke was well out of range. Poor timing from Walcott.
Bourke seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Bourke looks to throw the jab but Walcott is out of range.
Walcott jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Bourke throws a poor cross that misses
and Walcott counters with a good low kick that Bourke was not able to check.
Walcott thuds a left hand into Bourke's body.
Walcott takes one on the button.
Walcott slips under a jab.
Bourke takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bourke uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Walcott.
Bourke is looking for a counter combo.
Walcott tests Bourke's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Bourke misses with a left hand
and Walcott counters with an outside leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bourke lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Walcott, right into the meat.
Bourke fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Walcott takes a swing at Bourke's ribcage but misses.
Bourke went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Bourke stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Walcott.
Walcott looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Walcott looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Walcott swings for the body but Bourke moves out of range.
Walcott plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Bourke throws a jab but it's blocked by Walcott.
Walcott lands a right hook to the body.
Walcott throws a nice inside leg kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bourke is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Walcott fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Bourke stalks Walcott and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Walcott's face. Walcott staggers backwards, shaken.
A head kick misses from Walcott.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tommy Walcott showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Bourke thows a left - swing and a miss!
Bourke looks to land a left hand but Walcott moved out of range nicely.
Walcott showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bourke.
Walcott let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Bourke takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Bourke rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Walcott moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A little jabbing left from Walcott on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Walcott scores with a leg kick.
A slow jab from Bourke misses its intended target.
Bourke misses with a looping right.
Bourke throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Walcott is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A slow jab from Bourke misses its intended target.
Walcott throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Bourke stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Walcott scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Walcott ducks under a wild hook from Bourke.
Bourke closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Bourke swings widly with a right hand
and Walcott counters with a good low kick that Bourke was not able to check.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walcott slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Sloppy strikes from Bourke. Those never looked like landing.
A slow jab from Bourke misses its intended target.
Walcott lands a jab to the nose.
Walcott throws a sloppy head kick and Bourke moves out of range easily.
Walcott connects with a leg kick. Bourke looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Walcott misses with a hook to the body
and Bourke connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Bourke swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Walcott counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Walcott cracks the inside of Bourke's front leg.
Bourke throws a poor cross that misses
and Walcott counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A chopping leg kick lands by Walcott.
Bourke walks into a stiff left hand from Walcott.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Walcott slips a jab and a cross from Bourke.
Walcott steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Bourke.
Bourke throws a right and a left that Walcott avoids nicely.
Walcott let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Walcott has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Walcott throws a body shot but no joy.
Tommy Walcott seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Walcott uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Bourke.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bourke throws a right and a left that both miss.
Walcott looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Walcott jabs at Bourke's body.
Bourke throws a right hand that Walcott ducks under and follows up with a left that Walcott also avoids with ease.
Bourke misses the body punch

and Walcott counters by moving into the clinch.
Bourke takes a shot to the head.
A left hand lands to the body for Walcott.
Walcott misses with a punch on the inside.
Walcott jumps guard but Bourke stands there with Walcott around his waist. Walcott gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Bourke is trying to break free.
Bourke prevents a body shot from Walcott.
Walcott swings wildly with an uppercut but Bourke uses good head movement to avoid it.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Walcott.
Walcott lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Bourke wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Walcott digs a right hand into Bourke's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Bourke's gas tank.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short body shot lands from Walcott as the two fighters clinch.
A short body shot lands from Walcott as the two fighters clinch.
Walcott works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Walcott keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Bourke's efforts to push away.
Bourke is looking to break free of the clinch but Walcott has double underhooks.
Walcott misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Bourke tries to break free but Walcott pushes him back against the cage.
Walcott lands a right hand that snaps the head of Bourke backwards.

Walcott manages to pull guard.
Bourke is looking to stand up but Walcott won't let him.
Walcott bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Bourke's guard.

Walcott not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Walcott advances to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walcott content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Walcott's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Tommy Walcott is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Rei Bourke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bourke punching from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tommy Walcott comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Walcott has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 27:30
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 27:30
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tommy Walcott!
Tommy Walcott gave a mention to IniTech Nutrition in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).
The defeated Rei Bourke had this to say: 'I'll be back in no time.'.