PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sam Driver (ranked 4485 p4p, 3131 weight class) and Ian Wade (ranked 0 p4p, 0 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.

Driver
vs
Wade

185 cm
25
205
0 - 0 - 0

189 cm
23
199
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Sam Driver!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Ian Wade!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Colin Fotheringham and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Driver looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Wade is fending him off so far but Driver persists. Nope, Wade circles away and we're back to standing.
Wade finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Driver misses with a double jab.

Driver pushes Wade up against the cage in a clinch.

Driver escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Wade leaves Driver with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Driver scores with a head kick.
Driver shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Wade defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sam Driver. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Driver will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Wade shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Driver but Driver pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Driver fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Driver closes the distance and clinches.

Driver manages to break the clinch.

Wade drives through and clinches with Driver against the cage.

Wade has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Driver uses from the top position.
Wade is pulling down on Driver's head. It's preventing any offense from Driver, at least for the moment.
Wade is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Wade tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Wade looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Wade wants to sweep but no luck.
Driver trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Wade is trying to keep Driver in close.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Nice takedown defense from Driver. No joy for Wade on that attempt.

Driver fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Wade, pushing him back against the cage.
Driver changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Wade fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Driver goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Driver clinches up against the cage.

Driver pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Wade fails in his attempt to clinch.

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

Driver manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Wade stuffs the takedown attempt from Driver. Driver gets slowly back to his feet.
Wade dives in and grabs Driver's left leg, looking for a takedown. Driver pushes down on Wade's head and hops out.
Driver shoots in but no luck this time.

Wade gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Driver is breathing heavily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Driver throws a big elbow that misses.
Driver 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Driver is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Driver trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Wade looking to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Driver preventing the sweep.

Driver decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Driver shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Wade pinned against the cage. Wade gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Driver dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Wade closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Driver did well to prevent Wade getting side control.
Wade prevents Driver from improving his position.
Wade tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Driver.
Driver trying to control from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Wade is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Driver preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Driver slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Wade wants to control from the top but Driver keeps moving.
Driver working a defensive guard here.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Driver is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two 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.

Wade with the active half guard here but Driver passes nicely into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wade misses with an elbow from the bottom.
Driver trying to control the action but Wade is working from the bottom.
Driver slows the pace down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Driver decides to stand back up. Driver steps back and let's Wade get back to his feet.
Wade tries to score with a low kick but Driver moves his leg out of the way.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Driver has Wade pushed against the cage.

Driver manages to pull guard.
Driver is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Wade is looking to stand up but Driver won't let him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wade gets to his feet. Driver looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Driver misses with a double jab.
Wade tries to clinch there but Driver circles away.
Driver defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Wade.

Wade feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Driver uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Wade is breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Driver avoids the head kick by Wade.
Driver shoots in for a takedown but Wade shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Wade is defended easily by Driver.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Driver 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!

Wade tries to clinch up but Driver circles away and keeps his distance.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Wade.
Wade tries to clinch but Driver is having none of it.
Wade shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Driver as he jumps to the side.
Driver dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Wade. That did some damage!
Driver looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Driver avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Driver fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Wade avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

Driver has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Wade has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Driver jumps guard but Wade turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sam Driver. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Driver is trying to drag Wade to the mat but Wade just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Driver jumps guard and drags Wade to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Wade avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Driver pushes Wade off and gets back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Driver throws out a loose jab but Wade uses good head movement to avoid it.

Wade has managed to clinch.
Driver has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Wade after a bit of a struggle.
A frustrated look appears on Wade's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Wade changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Driver fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Good standup being displayed there by Driver as he connects with a hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Driver is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Wade's half guard.

Wade has one foot on Driver's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Sam Driver is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Driver is defended easily by Wade.
Driver keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Driver moves into the clinch.
Driver is looking for a takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Driver is pressed up against the cage. Wade has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Driver down to the mat. Driver avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Driver fails to land the takedown.
Wade throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Driver drops down looking for a counter takedown but Wade sprawls and moves away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Driver blocks the body kick.
Driver shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Wade counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Wade looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Driver has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Wade is working away from the top position though.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Sam Driver.
Well Driver has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Edwards scores the fight 29:28
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sam Driver!