PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Himan Sym (ranked 3271 p4p, 2715 weight class) and Ali Darren (ranked 375 p4p, 322 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Sym
vs
Darren

180 cm
25
179
1 - 1 - 0

186 cm
25
178
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Himan Sym!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ali Darren!
The judges for this bout are Percy O'Donnell, Jack Bonds and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Darren fails to land with a series of punches.
Sym is looking to counter the offense by Darren and move into the clinch.
Darren throws a lazy right hand but Sym sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sym throws a lazy head kick
and Darren counters with a one-two to the body.
Sym slips a jab and a cross from Darren.
Sym fails to land the takedown.
Darren is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Darren throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Darren displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Darren tests Sym's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Sym clinches up against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Darren pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Darren throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Darren lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sym has Darren up against the cage in a clinch.

Darren manages to break the clinch.
Sym shoots in but no luck this time.
Sym shoots in and drives through. Darren sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Himan Sym. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Darren tries to land a leg kick but Sym saw it coming and moves away.
Darren moves in looking to clinch but Sym pushes him off.
Darren throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Sym.
Darren scores with a jab to the jaw.
Sym staying out of range there.
Ali Darren is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sym pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sym closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darren fails to land with a series of punches.
Darren slaps away a takedown attempt from Sym, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Sym blocks a jab.

Sym fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Darren, pushing him back against the cage.
Darren tries to break the clinch but Sym is controlling the position.

Sym pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Darren throws a right and a left that both miss.
Darren misses with an attempted mid kick.

Sym rushes Darren and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Darren tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sym avoids it.
Sym jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Darren walks away with a smile on his face. Sym gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Sym tries a head kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sym moves into the clinch successfully.
Darren can't break the clinch.
Darren lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

Sym pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Himan Sym seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sym avoids a punch combination nicely.
Darren fails to land with a series of punches.
Sym throws a wild body kick that Darren sees coming a mile off.
Sym just misses with a punch to the body.
Sym shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Darren as he jumps to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sym has Darren up against the cage in a clinch.
Sym leaning against his opponent.
Sym leaning against his opponent.
Sym blocking some punches.
Darren looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Darren misses with a punch on the inside.

Darren breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Darren takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Darren pivots, looking for a leg kick but Sym is out of range and Darren settles back down.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sym swats away the attempt to clinch by Darren.
Darren moves to clinch but Sym breaks away
letting Sym counter with a right hand.
Sym wants to clinch
and Darren counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Darren lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Darren.

Sym has managed to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Darren pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Darren misses the jab.
Darren misses with a series of wild punches.
Darren looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Darren throws a series of punches but Sym avoids them all with ease.
Darren tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Darren takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Sym fails to land the takedown.

Sym rushes Darren and presses him up against the cage.
Sym misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Darren.
Sym is trying to break the clinch but Darren is controlling him.
Sym is trying to force a seperation but Darren has the dominant position.
Darren wants to break free but Sym has control.

Darren breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sym dodges the punch combination from Darren.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Darren. Those never looked like landing.
Sym tries to close the distance and clinch up but Darren swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sym throws a head kick but Darren moves out of range.
Darren tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Darren throws a right hand that Sym ducks under and follows up with a left that Sym also avoids with ease.
A telegraphed right hand from Darren misses the target.
Sym misses with a kick to the body.
Darren misses with a double jab.
Sym closes the distance and clinches up with Darren, looking for a takedown. Sym pushes Darren against the cage but Darren circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Sym throws a head kick that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Darren clinches with his opponent.
Darren is trying to maintain a safe position but Sym gets an underhook and turns Darren into the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Sym throws an elbow but misses.
Sym has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Darren after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Himan Sym. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Darren tries to circle away but Sym has him pinned against the cage.
Darren tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sym avoids it.
Sym looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sym tries to score a body lock takedown but Darren shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Sym effectively controlling the action here.
Darren tries to land a knee to the head but Sym blocks with his arms.
Sym blocks an uppercut.
Darren stalling the fight.

Darren breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Darren as Sym shoots in.
Sym shoots in for a double leg but Darren sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Darren scores with a one two! Sym had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Himan Sym is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Darren misses with a wild combination.
Darren is breathing heavily.

Sym moves into range and clinches up with Darren.
Sym avoiding damage as Darren throws knees to the body.
Darren swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Darren blocks the elbow strike.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sym fails to pull guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sym is trying to break the clinch but Darren is controlling him.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ali Darren showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Darren misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Darren lands a really nice looking cross but Sym seems unphased.
Darren throws a jab when Sym was well out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Sym looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Sym shoots and misses
and Sym takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Darren slaps away a takedown attempt from Sym, before circling back to the center of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sym is looking to clinch.
Darren works the jab nicely.
Sym fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Darren avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Himan Sym. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Darren scores with a jab to the body.
Darren fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sym fails with the takedown
and Darren counters with a lovely straight right hand!
No joy there for Darren, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Darren has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Darren looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sym thinks about countering with a head kick.
Sym tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Darren defends well and Sym ends up having to push Darren into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Darren is trying to break free.
Darren prevents a takedown attempt there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darren can't break the clinch.

Darren breaks from the clinch.
Darren misses with a few strikes there.
Sym fails in his attempt to clinch.
Sym gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Darren counters with a straight right hand.
Sym blocks a leg kick.
Sym scores with a jab to the head.
The crowd cheers as Darren lands an impressive looking overhand right. Sym doesn't seem phased though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sym shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Darren counters with a stiff right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sym throws a head kick but Darren moves out of range.
Darren tries to clinch up.

Sym closes the distance and clinches.

Darren breaks from the clinch.
Sym tries a head kick but it misses.
Sym is trying hard to land a takedown here. Darren sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Sym moves out of range of the body kick.
Darren misses with a two punch combination.
Darren misses with a jab, cross combination.
Darren misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sym has his takedown stuffed
and Darren connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Darren throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
It appears Sym was looking to counter with a kick there.
A big left from Darren misses.
Darren doesn't manage to clinch there - Sym circles away.
Sym jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.

Sym closes the distance and pushes Darren back into the cage.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Sym. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Sym is looking to break free of the clinch but Darren has double underhooks.
Sym is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Darren swings wildly with an uppercut but Sym uses good head movement to avoid it.
Himan Sym has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ali Darren is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
Ali Darren comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Darren winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 27:30
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ali Darren!