PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Walter Mason (ranked 3034 p4p, 3738 weight class) and Titus Wilder (ranked 415 p4p, 489 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Mason
vs
Wilder

185 cm
19
185
2 - 1 - 0

185 cm
19
190
2 - 1 - 1

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Walter Mason!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 1, fighting out of New York, Titus Wilder!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Valeri Chadov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mason with a poor takedown
and Wilder counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Mason thinking.
Mason tries for a takedown but Wilder circles away easily
and Wilder makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Mason tries to close the distance and clinch up but Wilder swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Wilder looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

Mason fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Wilder to the ground. Mason is now in Wilder's guard.
Wilder is wriggling around but Mason manages to pass to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Mason thows a huge punch but Wilder dodges it nicely.
Mason sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Wilder defending well though.
Mason takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Wilder is looking to improve his position.
Mason wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wilder keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Wilder is looking for a sweep. Mason is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Mason throwing shots but Wilder is blocking nicely.
Mason is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Mason is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Wilder is trying to control but can't.
Mason content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Wilder blocking the ground and pound attempt from Mason.
Mason wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wilder keeps working.

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

Mason scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Wilder is trying to control Mason's posture but Mason avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wilder seems a little lost for a moment, as Mason dominates the positioning.
Mason throws a strike aimed at the side of Wilder's head but Wilder avoids it well.
A control attempt from Wilder but he's now mounted!
Mason is landing with some decent strikes but Wilder is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Mason throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A nice elbow there by Mason.
Wilder really wants to buck Mason off and get back to his feet.
Mason has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Wilder's face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Mason lands a big elbow.
Wilder is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mason looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Mason looking to control but Wilder is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mason scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Wilder?
Mason is in the full mount, landing strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Walter Mason dominated that round.
That's time! Mason's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Mason has taken the fight to the clinch.

Mason turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Mason tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Wilder felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Mason working the head and body with strikes.
Mason lands a decent elbow from side control.
Mason wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wilder keeps working.
Walter Mason overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mason working the body and head with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Mason throws an elbow but Wilder slips to the side and avoids it well.
An elbow from Mason crashes against the mat.
Mason scoring with punches and elbows.
Wilder really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Mason. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The strikes coming from Mason are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Mason wants to control but Wilder is keeping him busy.
Mason fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Mason working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wilder managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Mason.
Mason is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Wilder can do to turn this around?
Mason scores with a couple of short elbows.
Mason looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Wilder is avoiding damage well.
The ground and pound from Mason seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Wilder is working to avoid the ground and pound but Mason connects with a decent elbow.
Mason is working Wilder over with some ground and pound from side control.
Mason landing a few strikes.
Check out the look on Mason's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mason controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wilder takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Check out the look on Mason's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Mason lands some shots froms side control.
Mason in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Mason works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Mason lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Mason is looking to take a break and control but Wilder is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mason is working Wilder over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason trying to control the action but Wilder is working from the bottom.
Mason cracks Wilder with a big elbow.
Mason working the ground and pound from side control.
Mason misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Mason lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Wilder down.
Mason misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Mason lands an elbow.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A lull in the action here as Mason stalls from top position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Walter Mason dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Mason fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Wilder looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

Mason drives through and clinches with Wilder against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Mason's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Wilder throws a punch but it's blocked by Mason.
Mason is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Wilder is defending well.
Wilder misses with the head strike.

Mason gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Wilder is looking to get back to is feet but Mason passes into side control.
Wilder is not content to let Mason control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mason landing strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wilder seems a little lost for a moment, as Mason dominates the positioning.
Mason in side control, throwing shots but Wilder defends.
Wilder defending against the ground and pound.
Mason tries to score with some ground and pound. Wilder controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Mason has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Mason sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Wilder is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Mason cracks Wilder with an elbow. That is naaassty.
The strikes coming from Mason are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Mason looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Wilder is avoiding damage well.
Titus Wilder has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Walter Mason is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.
Mason throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Mason lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Mason creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Wilder sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Mason working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Mason has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
An elbow from Mason crashes against the mat.
Mason controls the position.

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

Mason fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Wilder to the ground. Mason is now in Wilder's guard.
Wilder being controlled here, momentarily.
Wilder is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason landing with the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mason accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mason looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Walter Mason showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Mason, 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:26
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Walter Mason!
During a confident post fight interview, Walter Mason thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.