PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Brian Mathews (ranked 4742 p4p, 4834 weight class) and Joe Murdusa (ranked 0 p4p, 579 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Mathews
vs
Murdusa

188 cm
19
170
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
180
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Brian Mathews!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Joe Murdusa!
The judges for this bout are Chris Dean, Eliza Hachem and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Murdusa lands a two punch combo.

Mathews dives in and scores a takedown into Murdusa's guard.

Murdusa kicks Mathews off and gets to his feet.

Mathews throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Murdusa was covering up waiting for the punch and Mathews finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Murdusa wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Mathews manages to pass to side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Mathews content to control rather than advance.
Murdusa gets full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murdusa wants to get back to his feet but Mathews is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Mathews is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Mathews seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Murdusa for as long as he can get away with.
Mathews trying to stand up but can't free himself from Murdusa's guard.
Mathews landing with the ground and pound.
Mathews postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mathews engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Mathews has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Mathews is looking to work some ground and pound but Murdusa has wrist control.
Mathews is pushing down on Murdusa's leg trying to pass to half guard. Murdusa is fighting to maintain full guard but Mathews has managed to sneak the leg through.
Murdusa wants to improve his position but Mathews is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Mathews scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Still in half guard, Mathews seems content to control.
Mathews is nestled in close to Murdusa, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Murdusa wants to control but Mathews is keeping busy.
Mathews performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Murdusa trying to hold on to Mathews's head to control him but Mathews postures up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Murdusa closes the distance and clinches up with Mathews, looking for a takedown. Murdusa pushes Mathews against the cage but Mathews circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Mathews seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Murdusa tries to clinch up.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Murdusa enables Mathews to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Murdusa manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Murdusa has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Mathews has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Murdusa is trying to force a seperation but Mathews has the dominant position.

Mathews successfully pulls guard.
Mathews pulls Murdusa in close to prevent any damage.
Murdusa advances to half guard.
Mathews controlling the position for now.
Mathews wants to control but Murdusa is keeping busy and won't allow it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Brian Mathews will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Mathews drives through with a takedown into Murdusa's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Mathews is working Murdusa over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Mathews with a nice head shot there.
Brian Mathews overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mathews is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murdusa keeping moving, preventing Mathews from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murdusa wants to stand but Mathews is controlling the position.
Mathews slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Mathews wants to get up but he can't break Murdusa's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Murdusa digs a good body shot into Mathews's ribs.
Murdusa shoots in but no luck this time.
Murdusa fails with a takedown attempt.
As Murdusa looks to move away, Mathews throws a big counter combo but Murdusa just gets out of the way.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mathews will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

Mathews closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Murdusa's guard.
Mathews stays in close to Murdusa's body and controls the position.
Mathews lands a couple of digs.
Murdusa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Mathews stands up over Murdusa, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Mathews has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Murdusa is proving hard to escape from.
Mathews slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Murdusa is looking for a triangle here but Mathews uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Murdusa is breathing heavily.

Mathews stands up.
A head kick from Murdusa lands but Mathews takes it in his stride.

Mathews closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Murdusa did well to prevent Mathews getting side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murdusa has hold of Mathews's hands but Mathews slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Mathews is thwarting Murdusa's attempts to control the position.
Murdusa taking some punishment here, with Mathews in his half guard.
Mathews stalling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Brian Mathews dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Mathews darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Murdusa has hold of Mathews's hands but Mathews slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Mathews looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Mathews tries to stand but can't do so whilst Murdusa controls his leg.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mathews trying to control from half guard but Murdusa is working away.

Mathews seems to be looking for submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathews looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Murdusa wants to improve his position but Mathews is controlling well.
Murdusa wants to control but Mathews is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Mathews tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Mathews is figuring out what he wants to do next.

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

Mathews clinches with his opponent.
Mathews misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Murdusa.
Murdusa drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Mathews gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Murdusa is trying to pull guard but Mathews turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Mathews ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Mathews no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Mathews striking off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mathews looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Murdusa stands up from Mathews's guard - Murdusa perhaps looking for a knockout.
Murdusa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Brian Mathews has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joe Murdusa.
Murdusa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Mathews moves into range and clinches up with Murdusa.
Mathews jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Murdusa walks away with a smile on his face. Mathews gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Mathews throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Murdusa tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Mathews is in Murdusa's guard.
Mathews sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Mathews's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Mathews is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Murdusa can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mathews continues to stall.

Murdusa isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Mathews stacks Murdusa on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Mathews!

Mathews wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Murdusa, who protects the arm well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Mathews is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Murdusa has escaped the position, nice work there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Brian Mathews showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Mathews, 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 Chris Dean scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:28
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brian Mathews!