PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Taisto Thai (ranked 2183 p4p, 2645 weight class) and Jackson Hopson (ranked 276 p4p, 326 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Thai
vs
Hopson

169 cm
19
177
3 - 1 - 0

192 cm
25
184
5 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Taisto Thai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jackson Hopson!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Sergei Dronov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thai tries to clinch there but Hopson circles away.

Hopson drives through and clinches with Thai against the cage.
Thai blocking some punches.
Hopson swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Thai tries a knee to the head but Hopson blocks it.
Thai trying to stall but Hopson improves his position.
Thai definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Hopson lands with a right to the head.
Hopson lands a shot to the body.
Thai lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Jackson Hopson has been cut.
Thai is struggling to control the position.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thai.
Hopson misses with a shot to the kidneys.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thai lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Hopson.
A short uppercut from Hopson.
Thai misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hopson.
Hopson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Thai blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hopson has a couple of punches blocked by Thai.
Hopson's coach down at Combat Wombat Burrow was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Hopson's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
A shot in the inside from Hopson.
Thai takes a shot to the head.
Hopson lands a right hand.
Hopson digs a right hand underneath Thai's ribcage. Thai let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Thai tries to land knees in the clinch but Hopson avoids the damage to the body.
Thai is trying to force a seperation but Hopson has the dominant position.
Hopson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Thai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hopson scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Hopson working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Thai is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Hopson pushes Thai back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hopson avoiding damage as Thai throws knees to the body.
Hopson lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Thai blocks an uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hopson lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Hopson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Hopson.
Hopson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Thai with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Hopson lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Hopson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Thai blocking some punches.
Hopson managing to block the knees to the body from Thai.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hopson.
Thai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hopson avoids it.
A head punch on the inside from Hopson fails to land.
Hopson lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Thai.
Hopson presses Thai against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Thai blocks an uppercut.
Thai lands a body shot in the clinch.
Thai utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Hopson scores with a shoulder strike.
Thai is trying to pull guard but Hopson turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Hopson lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Hopson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thai with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Thai's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Hopson pushes Thai back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hopson managing to block the knees to the body from Thai.
Hopson throws a head punch that misses.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Hopson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Thai tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hopson avoids it.
Hopson throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Thais head.
Thai tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hopson throws a head punch that misses.
Thai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Thai with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Hopson scores with a shot to the side of Thai's head.
Thai blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Hopson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Thai misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Hopson digs a right hand into Thai's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Thai's gas tank.
Thai tries to stall but Hopson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thai.
Thai wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Hopson has him pressed against the cage.
Hopson lands with a short shot to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head punch on the inside from Hopson fails to land.
Hopson gets through Thai's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Hopson misses with some punches.
Hopson lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thai.
Hopson managing to block the knees to the body from Thai.
A head punch on the inside from Hopson fails to land.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Thai misses with a knee strike.
Thai tries a body shot but Hopson blocks it.
Thai looking to slow down the pace here.
Hopson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Thai backwards.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thai doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Hopson working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Hopson lands with a short shot to the head.
Hopson stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jackson Hopson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jackson Hopson's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Hopson clinches with his opponent.
Hopson scores with a nice hook to the head.
Hopson lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Thai unloads a knee to the mid-section. Hopson lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Hopson scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A head punch on the inside from Hopson fails to land.
Hopson misses with some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Hopson fails to land.
Hopson lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Hopson working aggressively here.
Hopson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Hopson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Thai misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hopson.
Hopson misses with a punch to the body.
Hopson avoiding damage as Thai throws knees to the body.
A hook to the body from Hopson.
Thai tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hopson lands with a short shot to the head.
Hopson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hopson lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Hopson throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Thais head.

Thai is rocked!
Hopson misses with a punch on the inside.
Oh Thai is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Hopson has a couple of punches blocked by Thai.
Thai seems to have got his legs back now.
Hopson tries a body shot but Thai blocks it.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Thai just misses with a elbow thrown towards Hopson's brow.
Hopson lands a body shot in the clinch.
Hopson working aggressively here.
Thai blocking some punches.
Hopson lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hopson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Thai blocking some punches.
Thai tries to land a knee to the head but Hopson blocks with his arms.
Thai blocking some punches.
Hopson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Hopson has a couple of punches blocked by Thai.
Hopson throws a punch but it's blocked by Thai.
Thai pressing his opponent against the cage.
Hopson lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thai swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Thai misses with an elbow over the top.
Hopson lands with a light punch inside.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hopson working aggressively here.
Thai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Hopson pushes Thai back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hopson swings wildly with an uppercut but Thai uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hopson misses with a short punch on the inside.
Thai's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Hopson as Thai tries to tie him up.
Hopson throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Thais head.
Thai blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Hopson swings wildly with an uppercut but Thai uses good head movement to avoid it.
Jackson Hopson seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Thai tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hopson smiles and moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thai throws a sloppy head kick and Hopson moves out of range easily.
Hopson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Thai moves in looking to clinch but Hopson pushes him off.
Thai tries to clinch there but Hopson circles away.
Thai tries to clinch but Hopson moves out of range.
Hopson wants to counter the offense by Thai and move into the clinch position.
Thai tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hopson wants to counter with a clinch but Thai pushes him away.
Thai misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Hopson closes the distance and clinches.
Hopson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Thai backwards.
Hopson lands a nice uppercut.
Hopson misses with the head strike.
Hopson throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Thais head.
Hopson lands with a short shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thai prevents a body shot from Hopson.
A short right from Hopson on the inside.
Hopson lands with a light punch inside.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hopson has a couple of punches blocked by Thai.
Hopson scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A shot in the inside from Hopson.
Still in the clinch, Thai scores with a nice short uppercut.
Thai tries to throw a body punch but Hopson avoids it by throwing Thai back against the cage.
Hopson lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hopson throws a punch but it's blocked by Thai.
Hopson fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hopson misses with a punch on the inside.
Hopson misses with a body punch.
Thai pushes off an throws an elbow but Hopson leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Hopson lands a nice uppercut.
Hopson misses with some punches.
Hopson lands a body punch.
Hopson working aggressively here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jackson Hopson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Jackson Hopson's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Sloppy strikes from Thai. Those never looked like landing.

Hopson clinches.
Hopson lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hopson softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Hopson avoiding damage as Thai throws knees to the body.
Hopson lands a hook that snaps the head of Thai backwards.
Hopson lands a right hand.
Hopson lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Hopson creates some distance for himself and unleashes a massive uppercut that sends Thai's eyes rolling into the back of his head! Thai drops to his knees and Hopson pours it on with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:26 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jackson Hopson!
An out of breath Jackson Hopson thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
Taisto Thai was interviewed post fight and said 'Back To the gym.. '.