PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Thufir Hawat (ranked 1613 p4p, 1968 weight class) and Benjamin Walton (ranked 204 p4p, 242 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Hawat
vs
Walton

185 cm
30
178
18 - 20 - 0

185 cm
23
174
7 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

LEIKO CLOTHING (+ Laundry Services, 20% fee)

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 18 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Thufir Hawat!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Benjamin Walton!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Darius Henderson and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hawat connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Walton momentarily.
Hawat cracks Walton with an open hand slap.
Walton cracks Hawat with an open hand slap.

It looks like Thufir Hawat has been cut.
Hawat avoids the head kick by Walton.
Hawat has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Animal Fight Club in the buildup to the fight.

Walton darts in and clinches Hawat up against the cage.
Walton fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hawat wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Walton has him pressed against the cage.
Hawat stalls.

Hawat manages to break the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hawat looks to score with a jab to the body but Walton is just out of range.
Hawat misses with a body kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for Hawat.
Hawat throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
enabling Walton to counter with a crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walton pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Walton tried to score with a low kick but Hawat checks it.
Thufir Hawat seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Walton slips a jab from Hawat.
A little jabbing left from Walton on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Hawat misses with an uppercut
and Walton counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hawat scores with a sloppy right hand. Walton should have avoided that one.
Walton takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

Walton gets a clinch.
Hawat pushes Walton back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hawat lands a nice shot to the body.
Hawat doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Walton tries to work over Hawat's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Walton lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Hawat.
Stalling in the clinch from Walton.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Walton.
Walton scores with a nice hook to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Walton misses with a short punch on the inside.
Walton is pushing Hawat up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Hawat.
Hawat blocking some punches.
Walton throws a punch but it's blocked by Hawat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is keeping an eye on Walton - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Hawat creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Hawat misses with a short punch on the inside.
Walton blocking some punches.
Walton swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The referee calls for Walton to work.
A head punch on the inside from Hawat fails to land.
Walton stalling the fight.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walton has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Walton there as he acknowledges the shot.
Walton misses with a left hand
and Hawat counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Hawat lands with a nice body punch.
Walton throws an off balance right hand
letting Hawat counter with a right hand.
Hawat misses with a body shot.
Hawat moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromWalton.

Walton takes the fight into the clinch.
Good body shot from Walton.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Walton lands a nice shot to the body.

Hawat pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A cross from Hawat lands.
Hawat jabbing away but nothing is landing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Thufir Hawat will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Thufir Hawat's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hawat throws a wild body kick that Walton sees coming a mile off.
Hawat looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Hawat ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Walton moves away.
Walton fails with an attempt to clinch.
Hawat bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Hawat scoring well with a low kick there.
Hawat is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Walton can do to turn this around?
Hawat connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Hawat works over Walton's head and body with a nice combination.
Hawat tries to land a leg kick but Walton saw it coming and moves away.
Walton appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hawat throws a wild body kick that Walton sees coming a mile off.

Walton clinches up against the cage.
Walton lands a right hand.
Hawat is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawat blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Walton throws a punch but it's blocked by Hawat.
Walton avoiding damage.
Walton trying to land knees to the body.
Walton avoiding damage.
Hawat doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Walton throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Hawats head.
Walton tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hawat's elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walton lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Hawat throws a punch but it's blocked by Walton.
Hawat takes a shot to the head.
Benjamin Walton seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Walton lands a left hand that snaps the head of Hawat backwards.
Walton content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Walton lands with a left to the head.
Hawat blocks an uppercut.
Walton lands a nice uppercut.
Hawat blocks a body shot from Walton.
Walton letting Hawat take a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walton slowing the pace effectively.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Walton.
A nice left hand lands by Walton.
Walton swings wildly with an uppercut but Hawat uses good head movement to avoid it.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Walton doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Good body shot from Hawat.
Walton fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Walton blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Walton swings wildly with an uppercut but Hawat uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walton pressing his opponent against the cage.
Walton effectively controlling the action here.
Walton throws a head punch that misses.
Hawat wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Walton lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Hawat or not.
Hawat leaning against his opponent.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Walton takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Benjamin Walton showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Thufir Hawat's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Walton keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hawat.
Hawat misses with a wild body shot.
Hawat throws a leg kick but Walton sees it coming and moves out of range.
Hawat throws a hook to the side of Walton's head but Walton sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A jab from Walton misses.
Walton has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Walton there as he acknowledges the shot.
A jab from Hawat misses.
Hawat misses with a leg kick.
Hawat scores with a jab. Walton acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hawat keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Walton ducks right into an uppercut from Hawat.
Hawat throws a body kick that misses
and Walton connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Walton wants to clinch up but Hawat keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walton moves away from the strike by Hawat.
Hawat lands with a shot to the body.
Hawat misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Walton.
Walton steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hawat.
A chopping leg kick lands by Hawat.
Hawat is looking to score with low kicks.
Hawat sizes up Walton with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Walton blocks a jab.
Hawat with a hook.

Walton darts in and clinches Hawat up against the cage.
Hawat wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Walton has him pressed against the cage.
Walton working aggressively here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walton throws a punch but it's blocked by Hawat.

Hawat breaks from the clinch.
Walton uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hawat.
That kick from Hawat tenderised Walton's leg. Walton is trying to keep his angry face on.
Thufir Hawat is winning the standup battle so far.
Walton bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
It seemed like Walton was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Hawat throws a sloppy head kick and Walton moves out of range easily.
Walton flicks out a counter leg kick but Hawat steps away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hawat throws a right hand that misses
and Walton counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Hawat tries a low kick but Walton avoids it.
Hawat waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Walton.
Good standup being displayed there by Walton as he connects with a hook.
Hawat dips to his left and cracks Walton with an uppercut!
Walton tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walton slips under a jab from Hawat.
Walton looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
A shot to the body from Hawat misses
and Walton counters with an outside leg kick.
Walton closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Walton has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Walton staying out of range there.
Hawat misses with a body kick.
Walton looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Jab from Walton.
Hawat tries to move into range but Walton moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
A low kick from Hawat is predictable there
and Hawat takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Walton darts in and clinches Hawat up against the cage.
Hawat is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Walton is keeping busy.
Nice body punch from Walton.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawat misses with a knee strike.
Walton swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hawat being controlled against the cage.
Walton keeps control of Hawat as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A short uppercut from Walton.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Walton goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Hawat misses with a punch to the body.
Walton content to slow the pace in the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thufir Hawat showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hawat 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Darius Henderson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Thufir Hawat!
Thufir Hawat spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.