PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sydney Pace (ranked 7092 p4p, 0 weight class) and Isaiah Grant (ranked 4719 p4p, 0 weight class). Sydney Pace has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Pace
vs
Grant

195 cm
20
177 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

187 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sydney Pace!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Isaiah Grant!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Yuuki Gou and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Grant looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Pace is looking for a sweep. Grant is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Pace really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Pace is trying to stand.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Grant stalling away here and it's allowed Pace to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Pace wants to control but Grant passes easily into half guard.
Pace wants to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Grant not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Pace is trying to get back to full guard.

Grant seems to be looking for submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Grant is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Pace wants to get back to his feet.
Pace is looking for a sweep. Grant is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Grant stalling.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Pace has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Grant is working away from the top position though.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

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.

Grant scores with a takedown into Pace's guard.
Pace pulls Grant in close to his closed guard and prevents Grant from doing any damage or advancing position.
Grant prevents Pace from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grant trying to control but Pace is working from the bottom.

Grant stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Grant shoots in and gets a takedown into Pace's guard.

Pace wriggles free and stands up.

Grant closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Pace to the mat! Pace manages to get full guard.
Grant trying to control the position from guard on top but Pace is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Grant wants to get up but he can't break Pace's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Grant looking to sit in guard and control but Pace gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pace distracts Grant with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Pace showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Grant is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pace controls from within his opponent's guard.
Pace won't allow Grant to sweep him here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Grant has momentary wrist control but Pace slips an elbow through the middle.

Pace gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Grant looks winded!

Grant scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Isaiah Grant will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Pace is trying hard to land a takedown here. Grant sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A combination from Grant does no damage.
Pace tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Grant manages to circle out of the way.
Isaiah Grant seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pace fails with the takedown.
Pace fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sydney Pace. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Grant shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Pace napping and manages to drive through into side control!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pace dodges the ground and pound from Grant.

Grant is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Pace is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
You can see the frustration on Pace's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grant in the domination position with Pace hanging on.
Pace is trying to improve his position.
Grant is looking to take a break and control but Pace is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Grant taking a breather here.

That's two 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.
Grant trying to control the action but Pace is working from the bottom.
Pace is trying to get back to his feet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Grant gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Grant managing to block the knees to the body from Pace.

Grant gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Grant has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pace is doing well to control the position and prevent Grant from advancing to side control.
Grant wants to lay and pray for a moment but Pace keeps working.
Grant sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Pace defending well though.
Isaiah Grant has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pace is looking to escape.
Grant trying to control from half guard but Pace is working away.
Grant looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Pace is trying to control but can't.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Grant shoots in and bounces Pace off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Pace has a closed guard, preventing Grant from standing up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pace keeping moving, preventing Grant from controlling successfully.
Pace is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Isaiah Grant 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!

Pace throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Grant's waist but Grant gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Pace off to one side.
Pace dives in for a single leg takedown but Grant sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Pace gets caught flat footed, as Grant shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Grant is stalling in the full guard.
Pace will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pace is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Grant is controlling him.
Grant must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Pace scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pace looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sydney Pace. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Grant shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Pace manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Grant prevents Pace from getting back to his feet.
Grant trying to control but Pace is working from the bottom.
Pace seems keen to control Grant's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pace throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Pace wants to stand up but Grant is controlling him.
Pace managing to control the position.
Grant throws an elbow that misses. Pace uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Grant's guard. Nice move by Pace!

Pace postures up.
Pace is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pace wants to stand but Grant has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Grant working a defensive guard here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Pace moves out of range as Grant throws a body kick.
Pace seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

Grant fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pace, pushing him back against the cage.

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

Grant closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Pace quickly recovers to half guard.
Grant takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Grant seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Grant seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Pace does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grant is thwarting Pace's attempts to control the position.
Pace is holding on to half guard well.
Grant is looking to take a break and control but Pace is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Pace is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pace is controlling Grant's position as best he can from this difficult position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Sydney Pace has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Isaiah Grant is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Grant shoots in and bounces Pace off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

Pace has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Grant off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sydney Pace showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Grant 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Isaiah Grant!