PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Carlos Cartier (ranked 4494 p4p, 5593 weight class) and John Thompson (ranked 468 p4p, 523 weight class). John Thompson will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Cartier
vs
Thompson

174 cm
18
185
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
185
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Carlos Cartier!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, John Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Percy O'Donnell and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cartier misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Thompson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cartier looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
It seemed like Thompson was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Cartier tries to clinch up.
Thompson is looking to clinch.
Thompson ducks under a wild hook from Cartier.
Cartier moves in looking to clinch but Thompson pushes him off.
Thompson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Cartier takes one on the button.
Cartier ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thompson clobbers Cartier with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Cartier misses with a combination
enabling Thompson to counter with a crisp jab.
Thompson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Cartier manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Thompson is looking to clinch.
Cartier swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cartier changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Thompson looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Thompson is pushing Cartier's head away, looking to escape. Cartier manages to hold on to the position though.
Cartier happy to just control the position for now.

Cartier stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Cartier swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Thompson throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Cartier shoots in looking for a takedown. Thompson tries to sprawl out of it but Cartier keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Thompson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cartier darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Thompson manages to escape and get back to his feet!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Jab by Thompson.
Cartier keeps the fight on the outside.

Thompson clinches.
Thompson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cartier's face.
Thompson tries a knee to the head but Cartier blocks it.
Cartier tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Thompson smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carlos Cartier. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Cartier.
Thompson is looking for a sweep.
Thompson is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Cartier working the ground and pound from side control.
Cartier working the head with strikes.

Thompson bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Cartier doesn't manage to clinch there - Thompson circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch but Cartier swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cartier keeps the fight on the outside.
Thompson has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Cartier tries to close the distance and clinch up but Thompson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Thompson scores with a jab to the head.

Thompson has managed to clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cartier is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Thompson is defending well.
Cartier is trying to pull guard but Thompson turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Cartier is looking to break free of the clinch but Thompson has double underhooks.
Cartier tries to pull guard but Thompson holds him up against the cage and eventually Cartier drops back down to his feet.
Thompson throws a knee to the head but misses.
Thompson looking to throw knees to the head but Cartier is blocking nicely.
Thompson tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Thompson tries a knee to the head but Cartier blocks it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

John Thompson dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Cartier throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Thompson was covering up waiting for the punch and Cartier finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Cartier looking to pass the guard.
Thompson wants to get back to his feet but Cartier passes into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cartier working the head and body with strikes.
Cartier controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Cartier seems to be looking for submissions.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Cartier in particular looking to stall.
Thompson scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Cartier manages to mount him!
Cartier fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cartier controlling his opponent.
Thompson is trying to stand.
Cartier controlling the position easily from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cartier lands with some strikes.
Cartier controlling the position easily from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cartier lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cartier working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Cartier content just to control the position here.
Cartier 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cartier with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Cartier controlling his opponent.

Cartier has control of Thompson's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Thompson regains control of the situation pretty easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Carlos Cartier dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Cartier swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cartier closes the distance looking to clinch
and Thompson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Cartier swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Cartier tries to keep at a distance but Thompson has taken the fight into the clinch.
Thompson tries a knee to the head but Cartier blocks it.
Cartier has Thompson pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Thompson manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Thompson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Thompson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Thompson is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Thompson doesn't manage to clinch there - Cartier circles away.
Cartier throws a quick counter kick to the body but Thompson avoids it.
Cartier swats away the attempt to clinch by Thompson.
John Thompson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch but Cartier swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Carlos Cartier is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Cartier keeps the fight on the outside.
Thompson wants to clinch up but Cartier keeps it at a distance.
John Thompson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cartier fails with the takedown.
Cartier fails with an attempt to clinch.

Cartier drives through with a takedown into Thompson's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Cartier engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cartier wants to stand but Thompson has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Thompson is looking to stand up but Cartier isn't so interested in that idea.
Cartier scoring with some ground and pound.
Cartier is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson is looking to clinch.
Cartier doesn't manage to clinch there - Thompson circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Thompson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A head kick misses from Cartier.

Cartier gets the takedown into side control.
Thompson is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Cartier is controlling him well.

Cartier tries for a kimura but Thompson is defending well.
The referee asks Cartier politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Cartier prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Cartier working the ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on Thompson's face as Cartier controls the position.
Cartier connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Thompson some visible discomfort.
Cartier taking a breather here.
Carlos Cartier overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cartier'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.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Carlos Cartier showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Cartier has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Carlos Cartier!