PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tyquanvious Banks (ranked 2932 p4p, 4183 weight class) and Muhammed Ali Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Banks
vs
Ali Jr

160 cm
23
162
0 - 0 - 0

191 cm
18
182
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tyquanvious Banks!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Muhammed Ali Jr!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Russell Pearce and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Banks is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Banks blocks a head kick by Ali Jr.
Banks tries to counter with a takedown but Ali Jr is quick to defend against it.
Tyquanvious Banks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ali Jr forces Banks back against the cage and clinches.
Ali Jr blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Banks taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

Banks pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Banks closes the distance and clinches.

Banks breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Banks pushes Ali Jr up against the cage in a clinch.
Banks drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Banks breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali Jr shoots in looking for a takedown but Banks manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ali Jr's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Banks wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Banks misses with a few strikes there.

Ali Jr tries to keep at a distance but Banks has taken the fight into the clinch.
Ali Jr is trying to pull guard but Banks has him pressed against the cage.
Banks with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Banks gets control of Ali Jr's arms and successfully pulls guard. Banks will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Banks is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Ali Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Banks is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banks wants to sweep here but Ali Jr controlling him for the moment.
Banks pulls Ali Jr in close to his closed guard and prevents Ali Jr from doing any damage or advancing position.

Banks has his feet on Ali Jr's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Ali Jr fails with a takedown attempt.
Tyquanvious Banks has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Muhammed Ali Jr.
Banks shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Ali Jr pinned against the cage. Ali Jr gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Banks closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Ali Jr did well to prevent Banks getting side control.

Ali Jr kicks off Banks and gets to his feet.
Banks throws a hook but Ali Jr blocks it.
Banks tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ali Jr swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Ali Jr rushes Banks and presses him up against the cage.
Ali Jr stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

Banks breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Banks looks to land a right hand but Ali Jr moved out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Banks fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Ali Jr, pushing him back against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Banks manages to break the clinch.

Ali Jr gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Ali Jr tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Banks smiles and moves away.
Banks pulls out of a head kick attempt.
As Banks backs off Ali Jr throws a huge counter combo but Banks manages to avoid it all.
Ali Jr has a takedown stuffed.
Banks fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ali Jr avoids it really well and circles away.
Banks is breathing heavily.
Banks with the inside leg kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tyquanvious Banks dominated that 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.

A punch combination from Banks misses.
Ali Jr misses with a jab, cross combination.
Banks tries to close the distance and clinch but Ali Jr swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ali Jr is looking for the big counter here.
Ali Jr tries a head kick but it misses.

Banks fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Ali Jr sprawls well initially but Banks persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Banks working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Banks looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Ali Jr with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Banks really is a fat lump.
Ali Jr wants to control but Banks is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Banks 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Banks stands up from half guard.
Banks is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ali Jr can do to turn this around?
Ali Jr throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.

Banks fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Ali Jr, pushing him back against the cage.
Banks misses with a knee strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali Jr wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Banks has him pressed against the cage.
Banks tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Ali Jr drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ali Jr gets underhooks to prevent Banks's takedown attempt.

Banks breaks the clinch.
Banks walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Ali Jr checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

Banks fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Ali Jr, pushing him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banks keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Ali Jr's efforts to push away.

Banks escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Ali Jr scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Banks pushes Ali Jr off but Ali Jr dives into side control.
Banks is not content to let Ali Jr control the position.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Banks here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Banks is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banks sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Banks is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Ali Jr's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Ali Jr's back!
Ali Jr covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Banks is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Banks scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Banks keeps control of the position as Ali Jr tries to break free.
Ali Jr really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Banks. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ali Jr is covering up but some of the strikes from Banks are getting through and doing damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Banks keeps control of the position easily here as Ali Jr tries to buck him off.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Banks is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Ali Jr manages to escape to his feet.
Banks takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tyquanvious Banks dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Banks misses with an uppercut. Ali Jr saw that one coming.

Ali Jr tries to keep at a distance but Banks has taken the fight into the clinch.
Ali Jr will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Banks up against the cage.
Ali Jr managing to block the knees to the body from Banks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Banks has Ali Jr pushed against the cage.
Banks is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Ali Jr pulls him back up using the underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali Jr dodges an elbow strike from Banks.
Banks looking to throw knees to the head but Ali Jr is blocking nicely.

Banks breaks from the clinch.
Banks misses with a straight right.
Tyquanvious Banks is winning the standup battle so far.

Ali Jr has taken the fight to the clinch.
Tyquanvious Banks has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ali Jr tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Ali Jr wants to get back to striking at distance but Banks won't allow it.
Banks tries to land a knee to the head but Ali Jr blocks with his arms.
Ali Jr tries to pull guard but Banks holds him up against the cage and eventually Ali Jr drops back down to his feet.
Banks jumps guard but Ali Jr stands there with Banks around his waist. Banks gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Banks prevents a body shot from Ali Jr.
Ali Jr wants to get back to striking at distance but Banks won't allow it.
Ali Jr is trying to pull guard but Banks turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Tyquanvious Banks has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Muhammed Ali Jr.
Ali Jr is trying to break the clinch but Banks has him pressed against the cage.
Banks is pushing Ali Jr up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Banks prevents a body shot from Ali Jr.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ali Jr is looking to control Banks's arms but Banks gets an underhook and turns him. Now Ali Jr has his back to the cage.
Ali Jr tries for a takedown. No joy.

Banks escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Banks with a lazy takedown attempt
and Ali Jr counters with a one-two to the body.
Ali Jr throws a head kick but Banks moves out of range.
Banks wants to clinch.
Banks throws a half hearted mid kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Banks has Ali Jr up against the cage in a clinch.
Ali Jr has Banks pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Banks manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Ali Jr dodges an elbow strike from Banks.
Ali Jr is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Banks tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ali Jr avoids it.
Muhammed Ali Jr has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tyquanvious Banks is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Banks breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tyquanvious Banks showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Banks 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 John Roberts scores the fight for Tyquanvious Banks!
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight for Tyquanvious Banks!
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight for Tyquanvious Banks!

Tyquanvious Banks wins by unanimous decision!