PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joseph Futeran (ranked 2185 p4p, 24520 weight class) and Harve Spalding (ranked 222 p4p, 350 weight class). Joseph Futeran has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Futeran
vs
Spalding

176 cm
21
146
5 - 3 - 0

176 cm
21
134
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Intelligent

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 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Joseph Futeran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Harve Spalding!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Spalding misses with a jab to the body
and Futeran counters with an outside leg kick.
Spalding throws a jab but it's blocked by Futeran.
Spalding throws a hook but Futeran blocks it.
Futeran takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Spalding throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Futeran seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Futeran scores with a leg kick.
Nice uppercut lands for Spalding. That snapped Futeran's head back.
Spalding loads up on a big right hand but Futeran slips the punch.
Spalding misses with a lunging right hand

and Futeran counters with a takedown into side control.

Futeran tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Futeran is looking to take a break and control but Spalding is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spalding seems a little lost for a moment, as Futeran dominates the positioning.
Futeran seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Spalding for as long as he can get away with.
Spalding is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Futeran working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for 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.
Futeran fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Futeran advances to full mount.
Futeran wants to control the pace but Spalding is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Futeran jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Spalding manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Spalding tries to escape but Futeran is in control.
Spalding wants to get back to his feet but Futeran is dominant here and he's now got Spalding's back!
Spalding has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Futeran.
Futeran is hanging on to Spalding's back as he tries to escape.

Futeran patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spalding wants to get back to his feet.

Spalding showing good submission defense here.

Spalding showing good submission defense here.
Futeran biding his time, controlling Spalding.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Futeran working for the choke.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Joseph Futeran dominated that round.
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.

Spalding with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Spalding throws a right hand that misses

and Futeran counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Futeran.
Futeran keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Spalding's efforts to push away.
Spalding working hard to break the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Futeran.
Futeran scores with a nice hook to the head.
Spalding is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Futeran lands with a right to the head.

Futeran lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Futeran wants to take a breather but Spalding is having none of it.
Futeran not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Futeran is trying to control the action in half guard but Spalding is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Futeran is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Futeran is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Spalding has managed to free his arm - good work.
Futeran lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Futeran sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Futeran has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Futeran tries to take his opponent's back but Spalding turns with him and manages to move into guard on the top. Nice work.

Futeran looking for a guillotine here but Spalding defends easily.

Futeran looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Futeran working for submissions but it's allowed Spalding to get to half guard.
Futeran slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Futeran keeping moving, preventing Spalding from controlling successfully.
Futeran is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Futeran thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Spalding's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spalding has hold of Futeran's hands but Futeran slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Futeran is working for a submission of some sort.
Futeran working the head and body with strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Futeran is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Spalding is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Joseph Futeran 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!

Futeran on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

Futeran drives through with a takedown into Spalding's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Futeran controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Futeran is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Spalding can do to turn this around?
Futeran slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Spalding is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Futeran is controlling him well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Futeran wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Spalding, who protects the arm well.
Futeran wants to lay and pray for a moment but Spalding keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spalding is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Futeran is controlling him well.
Spalding wants to get back to his feet but Futeran is dominant here and he's now got Spalding's back!
Futeran misses with punches from the back.

Futeran is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Spalding has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

Futeran has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Joseph Futeran is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Futeran working for the choke.
Futeran missing with strikes.

Futeran is looking for the choke from the back position but Spalding is controlling his hands well.
Spalding is trying to remain composed but Futeran is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Good control from Futeran.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Futeran'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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Spalding is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Futeran gets his way!
Futeran slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Further stalling from Futeran.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Harve Spalding has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Joseph Futeran showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Futeran, 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight for Joseph Futeran!
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight for Joseph Futeran!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Joseph Futeran!

Joseph Futeran wins by unanimous decision!
Joseph Futeran was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.