PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Wayne Gilmore (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Niedermayer James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Gilmore
vs
James

170 cm
22
150 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
147 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Wayne Gilmore!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Niedermayer James!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Frank Dennis and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gilmore fails with the takedown.
Gilmore avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Gilmore fakes high and swings low for a body shot but James manages to avoid it.
James moves out of range of the body kick.
James tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Gilmore paws at him with a jab and circles away.
James wants to clinch.
James avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
James looks to clinch

and Gilmore counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Gilmore wants to control from the top but James keeps moving.

James looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Gilmore passes into half guard.
Gilmore trying to control the action but James is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gilmore takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

James makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
James misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Gilmore drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
James taking a bit of punishment here - Gilmore scoring with strikes.
Gilmore trying to control the position but James is working away.
Gilmore tries to score with some ground and pound. James controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gilmore throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Gilmore wants to lay and pray for a moment but James keeps working.
Gilmore postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

Gilmore is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but James is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Gilmore decides to stand up, so the ref orders James to his feet.
James looks gassed!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gilmore avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Gilmore throws a head kick that misses.
James is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
James tries to close the distance and clinch but Gilmore swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Gilmore fails with the takedown.
James fails in his attempt to clinch.
Gilmore shoots in but James avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wayne Gilmore. That's going to take a lot out of him.
James is looking to clinch.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
James shoots for a double leg takedown but Gilmore sprawls well. He's pushed James's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Gilmore looks to land a combination. James sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
James clinches but Gilmore breaks the clinch

and Gilmore counters with a single leg into guard. James didn't expect that.
James really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gilmore. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Gilmore trying to control but James is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James can't keep his opponent in guard - Gilmore advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Gilmore shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with James but James pushes him off and we're back to square one.
James is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
James tries to clinch

and Gilmore counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for James!
Gilmore looking to control but James is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Gilmore unloads with some shots from mount but James bucks and avoids them well.
Gilmore landing punches.
James is squirming around, avoiding Gilmore's attempts to control the action.
James is breathing heavily.
Gilmore looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
A nice elbow there by Gilmore.
Wayne Gilmore overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gilmore can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as James is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Wayne Gilmore just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Gilmore has closed the distance and engaged James in a clinch.
James misses with a knee strike.
James stops a takedown attempt from Gilmore.
James prevents Gilmore from breaking the clinch.
James using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Gilmore fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wayne Gilmore. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gilmore tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. James smiles and moves away.
Gilmore wants to clinch but James slips to the side

and James holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
James prevents Gilmore from breaking the clinch.
Gilmore wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
James goes for a takedown in the clinch but Gilmore prevents it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James prevents the takedown attempt.
Gilmore tries to pull guard but James holds him up against the cage and eventually Gilmore drops back down to his feet.
Gilmore tries a body shot but James blocks it.
Gilmore misses with a punch on the inside.
James tries for a takedown but Gilmore manages to get underhooks.
Gilmore is trying to break the clinch but James has him pressed against the cage.
James blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Gilmore ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Gilmore no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

Gilmore looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Gilmore is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Gilmore has a closed guard, preventing James from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gilmore not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gilmore controlling James's posture.
Gilmore is trying to control the position but James postures up.

Gilmore manages to escape and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wayne Gilmore dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Gilmore shoots in for a double leg but James sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
James tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Gilmore counters with a nice uppercut.
Wayne Gilmore is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
James is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
James wants to clinch up but Gilmore keeps it at a distance.

James closes the distance and clinches.
James with a knee to the head.
James prevents a takedown attempt there.
James with a knee to the head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
James using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Gilmore has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Gilmore.
Gilmore tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Wayne Gilmore. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gilmore wants a takedown.

Gilmore has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics James uses from the top position.
Gilmore manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. James manages to get himself to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James is looking to stand up but Gilmore isn't so interested in that idea.
Gilmore might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Gilmore wants to control from the top but James keeps moving.
James is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Gilmore is controlling him.
Gilmore stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. James swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Gilmore drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Gilmore jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Gilmore pushes down on James's leg and manages to get into half guard.
James missing with punches from the bottom.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gilmore looks for the body kick but James saw that one coming.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James moves out of range as Gilmore throws a body kick.
Niedermayer James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gilmore avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Gilmore misses with a kick to the body.

Gilmore bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

Gilmore decides to stand back up. Gilmore steps back and let's James get back to his feet.

James instigates a clinch.
Gilmore is working for takedown but James is calmly controlling the position for now.
A short left from James.
Gilmore wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but James has him pressed against the cage.
James landing knees to the head.
Gilmore wants a takedown.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

James pulls guard successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gilmore is standing up over James. James looks to escape but Gilmore dives into side control.
James is looking to reverse the position.
Niedermayer James has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gilmore prevents James from escaping the position.

Gilmore decides to stand up, so the ref orders James to his feet.
Gilmore throws a leg kick that is checked

and James holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Gilmore changes levels and goes for a takedown here. James fights it off and pushes away nicely.

James rushes Gilmore and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Wayne Gilmore is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gilmore has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. James is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

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 Wayne Gilmore.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gilmore, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Wayne Gilmore!