PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Andy Tate (ranked 5580 p4p, 5032 weight class) and Gao Long (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Gao Long was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Tate
vs
Long

190 cm
24
198
0 - 2 - 0

187 cm
25
200
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Andy Tate!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Gao Long!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, William Gold and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Long fails to land with a series of punches.
Tate looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Long scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Long throws a right and a left that Tate avoids nicely.
Tate moves out of range as Long throws a body kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Tate tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Long just stands there and leans against the cage.
Long tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tate avoids it.
Long lands a left hand that snaps the head of Tate backwards.
A shot in the inside from Long.
Long tries to work over Tate's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short body shot lands from Long as the two fighters clinch.
Long lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Tate.
A nice left hand lands by Long.
Long scores with a knee to the head.
Long connects with a nasty looking knee right to Tate's face.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Long tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tate avoids it.
Tate blocking some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Long tries to land knees in the clinch but Tate avoids the damage to the body.
Still in the clinch, Long scores with a nice short uppercut.
Long lands a left hand.
A right hook to the body lands for Long.
Long misses with a hook to the ribs.
Knees to the body from Long.
Long lands a right hand that snaps the head of Tate backwards.
Long working aggressively here.

Tate breaks from the clinch.
Tate thuds his shin into the meat of Long's side.
Tate dodges the punch combination from Long.
Tate is looking to counter punch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Long. Tate does a little dance to reset his feet.
Jab by Long.
Tate fails to land the takedown.
Long connects with a good right hand that stumbles Tate. Tate circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nice body kick there by Long.
Gao Long seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tate avoids a punch combination nicely.

Long darts in and clinches Tate up against the cage.
A hook to the body from Long.
Long unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Tate blocks an elbow strike.
Long lands a nice uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Long fails to land.
A nice left hand lands by Long.
Tate looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Long has Tate pressed against the cage, preventing Tate from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
A hook to the body from Long.
Long misses with a short punch on the inside.
Long scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Long throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Tates head.
Long tries a knee to the head but Tate blocks it.
Long lands with a left to the head.
Long misses with a knee to the head.
Long lands a damaging elbow.
Tate prevents a body shot from Long.
Long misses with a punch on the inside.
Long misses with a punch to the body.
Tate tries to pull guard but Long won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andy Tate. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Long misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tate is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Long gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Long swings wildly with an uppercut but Tate uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tate blocks a body shot from Long.
Long using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tate has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Long makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Long lands a nice shot to the body.
Long scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Long lands a body shot in the clinch.
Long makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Long misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tate.
Long gets through Tate's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Long is leaning against Tate and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Long lands a body shot.
Long is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Long working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Good body shot from Long.
Long swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Long misses with a hook to the ribs.
Long lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Long pushes Tate back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Long tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tate blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Tate dodges the punch combination from Long.
Long has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Long delivers a nice body kick.
Long tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tate was well out of range. Poor timing from Long.
Long throws a body kick that misses.
Long throws a series of punches but Tate avoids them all with ease.
Long just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromTate.
Tate tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Long paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Tate ducks under a wild hook from Long.
Long will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Tate appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Long wants to clinch up but Tate keeps it at a distance.

Long clinches with his opponent.
A head punch on the inside from Long fails to land.
A right hook to the body lands for Long.
Long tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Long tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tate avoids it.
Gao Long seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Long misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tate.
Long tries to throw a body punch but Tate avoids it by throwing Long back against the cage.
Tate avoiding damage as Long throws knees to the body.
Long can't find room to land a body shot as Tate controls the action.
A short right from Long on the inside.
A short left from Long.
Long softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Long scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Long digs a right hand into Tate's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Tate's gas tank.
Tate wants to take the fight to the mat but Long manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Long doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A head punch on the inside from Long fails to land.
A head punch on the inside from Long fails to land.

Tate pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Long - that will leave a mark!
Long scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Long forces Tate back against the cage and clinches.
Long misses with the head strike.
Long lands a left hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Long misses with a knee to the head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Long.
A short body shot lands from Long as the two fighters clinch.
Long lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Long throws a head punch that misses.
Long fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Long lands a hook that snaps the head of Tate backwards.
Long lands a nice uppercut.
Long works on Tate's body with a couple of short punches.
Long tries a body shot but Tate blocks it.
Long makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Long misses with a knee strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Long lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Long throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Tates head.
Long swings wildly with an uppercut but Tate uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tate jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Long walks away with a smile on his face. Tate gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Andy Tate is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Tate on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Long is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Long gets a clinch.
A short left from Long.
Good body shot from Long.
Long pushes off an throws an elbow but Tate leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Long keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Tate's efforts to push away.
Long lands a knee to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Long trying to land knees to the body.
Long working some nice short punches in the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Long.
Tate has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Long misses with a hook from the clinch.
Long lands with a short shot to the head.
Long lands with a short shot to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Long misses with a punch on the inside.
Long misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A head punch on the inside from Long fails to land.
Long working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Long lands a nice knee to the body.
Tate blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Long pushes Tate back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Tate is trying to push Long away but Long has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Gao Long showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Long swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Long lands with an overhand left.
Tate tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Long swivels and escapes.
Long throws a half hearted mid kick.
Tate takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Long is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.

Long closes the distance and pushes Tate back into the cage.
Long tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Long tries to work over Tate's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Long lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Long goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Long makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Long misses with a punch to the body.
Long struggles to land a body shot inside as Tate controls his hands.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Long tries a body shot but Tate blocks it.
Long tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Long scores with a nice hook to the head.
Long makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Long lands with a light punch inside.
Long lands an elbow that stopped Tate in his tracks for a moment.
Tate prevents a body shot from Long.
Tate looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Long lands with a light punch inside.
Long gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Long lands with a short shot to the head.
Long lands a hook that snaps the head of Tate backwards.
Long lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Long misses with a body punch.
Long working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A short body shot lands from Long as the two fighters clinch.
Tate prevents a body shot from Long.
A right hand to the body from Long.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Long.
A hook to the body from Long.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Long just misses with a elbow thrown towards Tate's brow.
Long managing to block the knees to the body from Tate.
Tate has a couple of punches blocked by Long.
Tate takes a knee right on the jaw!
Long lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Tate.
Tate blocks an uppercut.
Long tries to work over Tate's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Long misses with some punches.
Long tries to throw a body punch but Tate avoids it by throwing Long back against the cage.
Long with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Long tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Long tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Tate's elbow.
Long lands a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A right hook to the body lands for Long.
Long digs a right hand underneath Tate's ribcage. Tate let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Long lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Long.
Long swings wildly with an uppercut but Tate uses good head movement to avoid it.

Tate breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A lazy left from Long finds it's target.
Tate fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
No joy there for Long, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Tate gets tackled into the cage by Long. Long maintains the clinch.
Long lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Tate backwards.
Long throws an elbow but it misses.
A shot in the inside from Long.
Still in the clinch, Long scores with a nice short uppercut.
Gao Long is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tate is working for takedown but Long is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andy Tate. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Long throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Tates head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Long misses with a hook to the ribs.
Long is leaning against Tate and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Tate tries for a takedown. No joy.
Long swings wildly with an uppercut but Tate uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tate takes a shot to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gao Long comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Long has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 24:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 24:30
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gao Long!