PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Oscar Gage (ranked 540 p4p, 719 weight class) and Lou Higgins (ranked 89 p4p, 112 weight class). Lou Higgins will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Gage
vs
Higgins

180 cm
31
206
23 - 14 - 0

193 cm
36
210
26 - 18 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Shadow Realm Apparel

Shadow Realm Apparel
NARCOS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Oscar Gage!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Lou Higgins!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Colin Fotheringham and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Higgins avoids the body shot from Gage.
Oscar Gage seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gage swings for the body but Higgins moves out of range.
Higgins misses the jab.
Higgins bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Gage's head backwards.
Gage has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Higgins misses with an uppercut.
Gage misses with a combination
and Higgins counters with a nice uppercut.

It looks like Oscar Gage has been cut.
Higgins works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Gage moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Higgins fails to land with a series of punches.
Gage's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Gage duly obliges.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gage blocks a head kick by Higgins.
Gage throws an overhand right that lands on Higgins's shoulder, as Higgins tries to avoid the shot.
A nice inside leg kick there by Higgins. That's going to slow Gage down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gage swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gage uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Higgins.
Gage misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Higgins misses with a kick to the body

and Gage counters with a shoot takedown. Higgins fights it but they end up in guard.
Gage wants to control from the top but Higgins keeps moving.
Gage wants to pass the guard but Higgins is keeping the position.
Higgins utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Gage postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Gage stands and throws Higgins's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Higgins stops Gage from passing to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gage tries to score with some ground and pound. Higgins controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Higgins prevents Gage from moving into mount.
Gage misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Higgins gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Gage landing strikes from the mount.
Gage sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gage looking to ground and pound but Higgins is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gage working Higgins over with strikes here.
Gage 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.
Gage throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gage misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gage looking to finish with strikes here!
Higgins blocking the ground and pound.
Gage landing shots from mount.
Gage unloads with some shots from mount but Higgins bucks and avoids them well.
Gage throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gage trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Higgins's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gage sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Higgins is trying to stand.
Gage unloading with bombs!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Higgins is trying to stand.

Gage is working for a guillotine from mount but Higgins frees his head quite easily.
Gage unloads with some shots from mount but Higgins bucks and avoids them well.
Gage controlling from mount.
Gage sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Higgins is squirming around, avoiding Gage's attempts to control the action.
Gage throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Oscar Gage dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Oscar Gage's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Danga de danga de dang - Gage scores with a four punch combination!
Gage is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Higgins can do to turn this around?
Gage cracks Higgins with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Gage misses with a straight left.
Gage misses with an uppercut
and Higgins connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Gage on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Gage misses with a straight left.
Higgins avoids a punch combination nicely.
Higgins swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Gage throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Higgins cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Higgins moves out of range as Gage strikes.
A lazy left from Higgins finds it's target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Higgins connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Gage slips a straight right by Higgins.
Horrible takedown attempt by Gage or perhaps it was just good defense by Higgins, which made it look bad.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gage looks to throw the jab but Higgins is out of range.
Gage misses with a jab, cross combination.
Higgins on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Lou Higgins is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gage checks the leg kick.
Gage goes for a double leg but Higgins avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Higgins continues to drive forward.
Higgins throws out a counter right but Gage avoids it with no problem.
Higgins lands a body punch.
Higgins lands a right hand that snaps the head of Gage backwards.
Gage digs a right hand into Higgins's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Higgins's gas tank.
Higgins misses with some punches.
Higgins is leaning against Gage and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Higgins pushes Gage back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Higgins stops a takedown attempt from Gage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Oscar Gage. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gage wants to take the fight to the mat but Higgins manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Gage blocking some punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Higgins misses with some punches.
Gage has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Higgins is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Higgins throws a head punch that misses.
Higgins lands a left hand that snaps the head of Gage backwards.
Higgins is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Higgins misses with a short punch on the inside.
Gage can't find room to land a body shot as Higgins controls the action.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gage prevents a body shot from Higgins.
Higgins throws a head punch that misses.
Gage has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Higgins after a bit of a struggle.
Gage tries to score a body lock takedown but Higgins shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Gage blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Higgins throws a punch but it's blocked by Gage.
Higgins misses with the head strike.
Gage can't get the takedown.
Gage blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Gage is trying to pull guard but Higgins has him pressed against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Higgins tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gage's elbow.
Gage tries to score a body lock takedown but Higgins shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Higgins misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Gage's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Higgins lands a nice shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Higgins lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gage drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Higgins lands a body punch.
Higgins works on Gage's body with a couple of short punches.
Gage prevents a body shot from Higgins.
Gage changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Higgins fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Higgins has taken the fight to the clinch.
Higgins lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A shot in the inside from Higgins.
Lou Higgins seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A short left from Higgins.
Gage blocking some punches.
Higgins misses with a punch on the inside.
Higgins misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Nice body punch from Higgins.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Higgins lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Gage misses with a hook to the ribs.
Gage tries to pull guard but Higgins holds him up against the cage and eventually Gage drops back down to his feet.
Higgins has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Higgins lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Gage misses with a hook to the ribs.
Higgins struggles to land a body shot inside as Gage controls his hands.
Higgins swings wildly with an uppercut but Gage uses good head movement to avoid it.
Higgins lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Higgins misses with a hook from the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Lou Higgins showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Oscar Gage's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get 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.

Higgins lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Gage is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Higgins.
Higgins looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Lou Higgins seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Higgins tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Higgins - that will leave a mark!
Gage scores with a hook to the body. Higgins takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Gage ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Gage thuds his right hand into Higgins's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Gage throws a right and a left that both miss.
Higgins only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Gage has a takedown stuffed.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Decent striking displayed by Higgins there.
Higgins throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gage connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Higgins's hands.
Higgins with a nice calf kick.
Higgins blocks a jab.
Gage moves forwards but Higgins connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Higgins scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Gage is rocked!
A lazy left from Gage finds it's target.
Oh Gage is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Gage shoots and misses
and Higgins scores with a counter punch that sends Gage to the canvas! Higgins smells blood - he's punishing Gage with more strikes and the ref has stopped it! Gage has no idea where he is - he's tackled the ref... oh dear, poor guy, the crowd is in hysterics!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:37 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Lou Higgins!
A relieved looking Lou Higgins thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.