PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ricky Thompson (ranked 1159 p4p, 1248 weight class) and Lee Tassen (ranked 153 p4p, 168 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Thompson
vs
Tassen

190 cm
27
280
10 - 9 - 0

190 cm
27
280
8 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ricky Thompson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Lee Tassen!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, James Atkins and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thompson throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Thompson gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Jab from Tassen.
A looping hook to the body misses from Tassen. Thompson does a little dance to reset his feet.

Thompson fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Tassen to the ground. Thompson is now in Tassen's guard.
Tassen wants to get back to his feet but Thompson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Thompson throws a big right hand that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thompson postures up in Tassen's guard and throws a big left but Tassen blocks it.
Thompson trying to control but Tassen is working from the bottom.
Thompson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Thompson postures up and lands a big shot to Tassen's brow.
Thompson postures up in Tassen's guard and throws a big left but Tassen blocks it.
Thompson trying to control but Tassen is working from the bottom.
Thompson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Thompson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thompson is in close to Tassen's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Thompson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Thompson cracks Tassen with a solid left hand.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Tassen can do anything to dispel that myth.
Thompson throwing strikes from guard but Tassen blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Tassen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Tassen keeping moving, preventing Thompson from controlling successfully.
Thompson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Tassen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Thompson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Thompson throwing strikes but missing.
Thompson postures up in Tassen's guard and throws a big left but Tassen blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tassen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Thompson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Thompson works over Tassen with some ground and pound from guard.
Thompson lands a couple of digs.
Thompson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Thompson is looking to work some ground and pound but Tassen has wrist control.
Thompson scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Thompson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Thompson stopping the sweep attempt from Tassen.
Thompson with a nice head shot there.
Thompson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson throws a big right hand that misses.
Thompson throws a big elbow that misses.
Thompson controls from within his opponent's guard.
Thompson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Thompson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Thompson trying to control but Tassen is working from the bottom.
Thompson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tassen working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Thompson.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Thompson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Thompson dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Thompson throws a head kick but Tassen moves out of range.
Tassen changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Thompson seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Thompson shoots in for a double leg but Tassen sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Tassen has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Thompson is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Thompson fails with the takedown.
Thompson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Tassen as he avoids it easily.
Tassen changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ricky Thompson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Tassen fails to land the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thompson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Thompson attempts a counter takedown but Tassen avoids it well and moves away.
Thompson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson shoots in and drives through. Tassen sprawls well.
Thompson takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Thompson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Thompson throws a series of punches but Tassen moves out of range.
A nice side step and Tassen releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
A slow jab from Tassen misses its intended target.
Thompson shoots in for a takedown but Tassen shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Thompson drives through with a takedown into Tassen's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tassen wants to sweep but no luck.
Thompson keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Tassen's head.
Thompson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Thompson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Thompson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Thompson works over Tassen with some ground and pound from guard.
Tassen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Tassen really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Thompson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Tassen has momentary wrist control but Thompson slips an elbow through the middle.
Thompson wants to control from the top but Tassen keeps moving.
Thompson 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.
Thompson postures up in Tassen's guard and throws a big left but Tassen blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson throwing strikes but missing.
Thompson is looking to work some ground and pound but Tassen has wrist control.
Thompson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Tassen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Thompson throwing strikes from guard but Tassen blocks nicely.
Thompson distracts Tassen with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Ricky Thompson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thompson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Thompson working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Tassen's head.
Thompson throwing strikes from guard but Tassen blocks nicely.
Thompson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tassen keeping moving, preventing Thompson from controlling successfully.
Thompson is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Tassen is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Thompson is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

It looks like Lee Tassen has been cut.
Thompson wants to control from the top but Tassen keeps moving.
Tassen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Thompson controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thompson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Thompson dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Lee Tassen's cut.
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. This is the final round!

Thompson shoots in looking for a takedown. Tassen tries to sprawl out of it but Thompson keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Tassen manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Thompson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thompson 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.

Tassen scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tassen lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Thompson down.
Thompson manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Tassen blocking the ground and pound attempt from Thompson.
Thompson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Still in half guard, Thompson seems content to control.
Tassen gets full guard.
Thompson is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Thompson is working Tassen over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Thompson landing with the ground and pound.
Tassen 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tassen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Tassen keeping full guard, as Thompson tries to pass.
Thompson throwing strikes from guard but Tassen blocks nicely.
Tassen keeping moving, preventing Thompson from controlling successfully.
Thompson cracks Tassen with a solid left hand.
Thompson won't allow Tassen to get back to his feet.
Thompson lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Thompson is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Thompson postures up in Tassen's guard and throws a big left but Tassen blocks it.
Thompson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Thompson is working Tassen over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Thompson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Thompson postures up and lands a big shot to Tassen's brow.
Thompson throws a big elbow that misses.
Thompson wants to control from the top but Tassen keeps moving.
Thompson lands a couple of digs.

Tassen is rocked!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson postures up, still in guard. A huge hammer fist lands that bounces Tassen's head off the mat! Tassen is out! He's out! Thompson jumps to his feet and celebrates with his corner!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:21 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Ricky Thompson!