PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between TestC Bounty (ranked 4288 p4p, 3994 weight class) and Nick Needle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Bounty
vs
Needle

160 cm
18
145
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
26
135
1 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, TestC Bounty!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Nick Needle!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Skip Squint and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bounty drives through with a takedown into Needle's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Needle looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Bounty looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bounty is pushing down on Needle's leg trying to pass to half guard. Needle is fighting to maintain full guard but Bounty has managed to sneak the leg through.
Bounty throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Still in half guard, Bounty seems content to control.
Bounty wants to free his trapped foot but Needle is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Bounty could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bounty is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Needle is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bounty perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Bounty scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Bounty keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Bounty has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Bounty is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Bounty controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bounty's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Bounty connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Bounty raining down shots from the mount!
Bounty lands a heavy elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bounty with good strikes from the mount here!
Bounty controlling the position easily from mount.
Bounty looking to finish Needle with some ground and pound. This is bad for Needle!
Bounty tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Bounty lands with some strikes.
Bounty controlling from the full mount.
Bounty with the ground and pound from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bounty controlling the pace for now.
Needle wants to hold on but Bounty pushes him away.
Bounty knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Needle on the ground.

Bounty is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Needle is surviving well by controlling Bounty's body position as best he can.
Bounty controlling the pace for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Further stalling from Bounty.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

TestC Bounty dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Bounty misses with the combination.
Needle shoots in for a takedown but Bounty shows good takedown defense.

Needle gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Bounty to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Bounty passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Bounty controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bounty grinds an elbow into Needle's temple.
TestC Bounty overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Needle is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bounty is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

Bounty stands up and beckons Needle to his feet.
Bounty throws a sloppy head kick and Needle moves out of range easily.

Bounty moves into range and clinches up with Needle.
Bounty has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Needle after a bit of a struggle.

Bounty pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Needle showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bounty.
Needle lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Needle is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Needle steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bounty.

Bounty closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Bounty is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Bounty tries to pass the half guard into mount. Needle knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Bounty performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Bounty landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Bounty performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Bounty seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Needle for as long as he can get away with.

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

Bounty bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Bounty cracks Needle with a big elbow.

Bounty is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Needle has escaped the position, nice work there.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Needle on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

TestC Bounty dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Bounty shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Needle is trying to defend but Bounty finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Bounty is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Needle can do to turn this around?
Bounty seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Bounty is working for a kimura but Needle is defending it quite comfortably.
Needle is in trouble now - Bounty has advanced to mount!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bounty controlling from the full mount.
Needle takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bounty working for a guillotine from mount but Needle is in no mood to give up.
Bounty lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Needle hang on?
Bounty sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Needle in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Bounty is looking to work his way around to Needle's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bounty content just to control the position here.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Bounty.
Bounty with shots to the head and body - Needle looks very uncomfortable down there.
Bounty lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Bounty lands a big elbow.
Bounty content just to control the position here.
Bounty lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

Needle is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bounty content just to control the position here.
Needle is still in real trouble! Can Bounty finish him?
Bounty working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Bounty tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Bounty is trying to stand up but he's being controlled by his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Bounty controlling from mount.
Needle seems to have recovered his senses.
Bounty connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Bounty is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Needle to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Needle shrugs it off.
Nick Needle has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
TestC Bounty is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Bounty sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
TestC Bounty showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bounty 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 30:25
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 30:25
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... TestC Bounty!
In his post fight interview, TestC Bounty started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.