PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jake Bird (ranked 274 p4p, 518 weight class) and Bill Brown (ranked 36 p4p, 76 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Bill Brown was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Bird
vs
Brown

170 cm
27
195
15 - 8 - 0

183 cm
29
189
13 - 8 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Conviction

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing
Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jake Bird!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bill Brown!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Sam Margolis and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Bird swings for the body but Brown moves out of range.
Brown is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Bird with a body shot.
Brown keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Brown scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bird staying out of range there.
Bird tries to counter with a takedown but Brown is quick to defend against it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brown displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bird.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Bird avoids the head kick by Brown.

Bird forces Brown back against the cage and clinches.
Bird tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Brown just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jake Bird. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bird tries to pull guard but Brown holds him up against the cage and eventually Bird drops back down to his feet.
Still in the clinch, Bird scores with a nice short uppercut.

Brown breaks the clinch.
Brown has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Bird fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bird gets the takedown into side control.
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.
Brown is pushing Bird's head away, looking to escape. Bird manages to hold on to the position though.
Bird is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Brown is trying to buck Bird off.
Bird remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Brown is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Bird asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Bird is trying to get an arm triangle but Brown is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brown wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Bird wants to lay and pray for a moment but Brown keeps working.
Bird prevents Brown from escaping the position.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Bird takes a little break here. Brown wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Brown is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Bird has just dragged him back down to the mat.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's four 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.
Brown misses with a looping left.
Bird attempts a counter takedown but Brown avoids it well and moves away.
Bird has his takedown stuffed
and Brown counters with a straight right hand.
Brown misses the jab.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bird uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Brown.
Bird feinted with a counter takedown.

Bird shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Bill Brown will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

No luck for Bird with that takedown attempt.
Brown missing with a left hand there. Bird was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Brown displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bird.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brown walks into a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bird decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Bird controlling the action here.
Brown wants to get back to his feet.
Brown is trying to escape back to his feet but Bird uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Brown tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Jake Bird overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bird looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brown is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Bird trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Brown trying desperately to get to his feet.
Brown stops Bird from taking his back. Still, being mounted isn't any better.
Brown is trying to stand.
Bird trying to control but Brown is having none of it.
Brown is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Brown bucks up and throws Bird to the side - he's got back to his feet. Great escape!
Brown misses with an uppercut

and Bird decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Brown's guard.

Brown manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Bird looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Bird doesn't manage to clinch there - Brown circles away.
Brown throws a big counter head kick but Bird avoids it with no problem.
Brown throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Bird counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Brown is refusing to be controlled, as Bird sits in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Brown is looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brown is staying active underneath Bird, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Bird prevents Brown from standing back up.
Bird sitting and controlling from the half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Bird throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Brown on the side of the head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jake Bird dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Bird scores with a nice strike.
Bird throws a lazy uppercut
and Brown counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Bill Brown seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Brown leaves Bird with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bird shoots for a double leg takedown but Brown sprawls well. He's pushed Bird's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Bird misses with a body shot
and Brown counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bird closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Bird lands in his opponent's guard.
Brown wants to get back to his feet but Bird is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Bird might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Bird pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Brown is keeping the position for now.
Brown is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Bird is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bird wants to control from the top but Brown keeps moving.
Brown wants to stand but Bird is controlling the position.
Bird pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Brown is keeping the position for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bird gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Bird takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jake Bird. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Brown throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brown misses with a straight left.
Bird tries to counter with a takedown but Brown is quick to defend against it.
Brown throws a looping overhand right but Bird ducks down to avoid it.
Bird clobbers Brown with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Bill Brown is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Brown throws a big shot that misses.
An attempted straight right counter from Bird misses the target.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Bird is defended easily by Brown.
Brown looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A decent looking cross lands there for Brown.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Brown scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bill Brown comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Brown has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Bill Brown!
A relieved looking Bill Brown thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.