PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Greg Southridge (ranked 24062 p4p, 24210 weight class) and Melvin Tate (ranked 455 p4p, 463 weight class). Melvin Tate is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Southridge
vs
Tate

178 cm
24
171
0 - 2 - 0

165 cm
21
167
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Greg Southridge!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Melvin Tate!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Steve Smith and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Southridge uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tate.
Tate throws a right and a left that Southridge avoids nicely.
Tate ducks under a wild hook from Southridge.
Tate misses with the combination.
A counter left hand to the body from Southridge misses its target.
Tate connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Southridge definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Southridge throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Tate.

Southridge has closed the distance and engaged Tate in a clinch.

Southridge breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Tate swinging wildly here.
Tate swinging wildly here.
Melvin Tate seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Southridge takes a jab right on the kisser.
Southridge tries to clinch up but Tate circles away and keeps his distance.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Tate! But no joy.
Melvin Tate is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Southridge scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Tate dodges the ground and pound from Southridge.
Tate tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.

Southridge has hold of Tate's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Tate manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Southridge working the ground and pound effectively.

Southridge stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Tate throws a series of punches but Southridge moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tate throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Southridge shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Tate's guard.
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!
Southridge sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Tate's guard.
Southridge thows a huge punch but Tate dodges it nicely.
Southridge controlling the action here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Southridge works his way into full mount!

Southridge looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Southridge 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Southridge landing strikes from the mount.
Southridge will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Southridge with a couple of short strikes.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Tate can do anything to dispel that myth.
Southridge sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Southridge'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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Southridge is working for a guillotine from mount but Tate frees his head quite easily.
Southridge trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Tate really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Southridge. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Southridge stands up from mount. Strange move.
Tate tries to bum rush Southridge with a series of wild strikes but Southridge uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Tate loads up on a big right hand but Southridge slips the punch.
Southridge shoots in but Tate avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Tate throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Southridge.
The fight stays on the outside here - Southridge looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A combination from Tate does no damage.

Southridge fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Tate sprawls well initially but Southridge persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Southridge perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Southridge throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Southridge content to control rather than advance.

That's six minutes gone in the round.

Tate pushes Southridge off and gets back to his feet.
Tate throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Southridge feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Southridge controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Southridge throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Southridge pushing down on Tate's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Southridge controlling the action here.
Southridge moves into full mount! Tate won't be happy about that!

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Southridge scoring with strikes but Tate is staying in there.
Southridge scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Southridge landing strikes from the mount and Tate is in trouble!

Southridge gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Tate throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
The fight stays on the outside here - Southridge looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Tate is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Southridge.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Southridge showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Tate.
Tate looks to land a combination but Southridge avoids it well.

Southridge shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Tate's guard.
Southridge pushes down on Tate's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Southridge controlling the action here.
Southridge missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Greg Southridge dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Southridge darts in and clinches Tate up against the cage.
Tate looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Southridge breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Tate swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Southridge counters with a three punch combo that has Tate backing up. Tate nods at Southridge to acknowledge the strikes.
Southridge closes this distance looking for a takedown but Tate circles away.
Jab, jab by Tate - just one landing.
Southridge slips a jab and a cross from Tate.
Tate just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromSouthridge.
Southridge slips a jab and a cross from Tate.
Southridge seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Southridge shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Tate as he jumps to the side.
Greg Southridge is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Southridge dodges the punch combination from Tate.
Southridge tries to close the distance and clinch but Tate swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Tate keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Greg Southridge. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The fight stays on the outside here - Southridge looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tate avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Southridge misses with a takedown attempt - Tate sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Tate circles away from the clinch attempt.
Tate throws a right and a left that Southridge avoids nicely.
Southridge looks to land a combination but Tate avoids it well.
Tate rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Southridge moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Southridge darts in and clinches Tate up against the cage.
Tate wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Southridge has him pressed against the cage.
Tate wants to break free but Southridge has control.
Tate wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Southridge has him pressed against the cage.

Southridge breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Southridge is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tate can do to turn this around?
Tate throws a series of punches but Southridge avoids them all with ease.
As Tate tries to get set, Southridge tries to push him back and clinch up but Tate manages to avoid the attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tate throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Southridge.
Southridge dodges the punch combination from Tate.
Tate throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Southridge counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Tate is breathing heavily.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Tate enables Southridge to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Tate manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Greg Southridge overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Southridge stays in close to Tate's body and controls the position.
Southridge with a flurry of punches that miss.
Southridge slips nicely into half guard.

Southridge is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Southridge is taking a breather. Tate says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Nice strikes from Southridge there.
Southridge missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Southridge controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Further stalling from Southridge.
Southridge sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tate defending well though.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Southridge controlling the pace.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Tate tries to bum rush Southridge with a series of wild strikes but Southridge uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Southridge changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
No joy there for Tate, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Southridge lands with a thumping leg kick.
A combination from Tate does no damage.
It looked like Southridge wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Southridge goes for a double leg but Tate avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Tate continues to drive forward.

Southridge lands a takedown into guard.
Southridge is stalling in the full guard.
Southridge trying to control the position from guard on top but Tate is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Southridge showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Southridge drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Southridge jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Tate is working an open guard so Southridge takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Tate tries to sprawl but Southridge drives through with a takedown into half guard.

Southridge decides to stand up.

Southridge closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Tate to the mat! Tate manages to get full guard.
Tate is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Southridge dives into side control.

Southridge has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Southridge uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tate.
Southridge avoids a punch combination nicely.
Tate throws a series of punches but Southridge moves out of range.
Tate throws a right hand that Southridge ducks under and follows up with a left that Southridge also avoids with ease.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tate chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Southridge can pounce on him.
Southridge fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Tate avoids it really well and circles away.
Tate fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Southridge shoots for a double leg takedown but Tate sprawls well. He's pushed Southridge's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Tate will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Southridge explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Tate throws a nice looking combination but Southridge bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Southridge feinted with a counter takedown.

Southridge closes the distance and pushes Tate back into the cage.
Southridge lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

It looks like Melvin Tate has been cut.
Southridge has Tate pressed against the cage, preventing Tate from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Southridge stalls.

Tate escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Tate tries to bum rush Southridge with a series of wild strikes but Southridge uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Southridge pushes Tate up against the cage in a clinch.
Tate is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Tate has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Southridge has Tate pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Tate manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Southridge goes for a takedown attempt but Tate pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Tate throws a lazy right hand but Southridge sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Southridge tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Tate manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Tate throws a series of punches but Southridge avoids them all with ease.
Tate fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Greg Southridge will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Melvin Tate's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Southridge dives in and scores a takedown into Tate's guard.

Southridge gets to his feet - Tate follows without any prompting.
Tate stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Tate wants it to stay on the feet.
Tate misses with a two punch combination.
Tate will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Southridge instigates a clinch.
Southridge scores with a knee to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tate breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Southridge is defended easily by Tate.
Southridge looks for a takedown but Tate sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Greg Southridge. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Southridge shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Tate as he jumps to the side.
Tate throws a poor cross that misses

so Southridge counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Southridge working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Tate is looking to stand back up but Southridge counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Tate.
Tate tries to kick Southridge off in order to stand up. Southridge Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Southridge controlling from side mount.
Southridge lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Southridge content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Southridge lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Southridge content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Southridge wants to lay and pray for a moment but Tate keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tate taking punishment in the form of punches.
Southridge controls the position from side control.
Tate managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Southridge.
Southridge creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Tate sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Southridge is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

Southridge thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Tate wants to get back to his feet but Southridge drags him back down.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Southridge controlling the position.

Southridge is trying to get an arm triangle but Tate is defending well.
Southridge lands a few punches from side control.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Southridge lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Tate down.
Tate is trying to buck Southridge off.
Southridge takes a little break here. Tate wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Southridge moves into full mount!
Tate in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Southridge tries to control but Tate wriggling away.

Southridge get's back to his feet.
Tate fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Southridge gets a clinch.
A short body shot lands from Southridge as the two fighters clinch.

Southridge breaks the clinch.
Tate throws a series of punches but Southridge avoids them all with ease.
Southridge closes this distance looking for a takedown but Tate circles away.
Tate swats away the attempt to clinch by Southridge.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Tate rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Southridge moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Southridge swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Melvin Tate seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Southridge looking to land some kicks to the body here.
It seemed like Tate was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Southridge shoots in but Tate avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Southridge shoots in but Tate avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Southridge tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Tate bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Southridge's head.
Tate throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Tate gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Southridge slips nicely into half guard.
Southridge prevents Tate from standing back up.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Southridge is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Southridge trying to control the action but Tate is working from the bottom.
Southridge thows a huge punch but Tate dodges it nicely.
Melvin Tate has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Greg Southridge 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!
Southridge passes the guard and advances to mount!

And that's the end of the fight!
Greg Southridge showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Southridge, 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Greg Southridge!
After winning the bout, Greg Southridge thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.