PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Vincent Marchessault (ranked 2814 p4p, 4169 weight class) and Dennis Renolds (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Marchessault
vs
Renolds

166 cm
25
170
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
180
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Intelligent

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Vincent Marchessault!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dennis Renolds!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Jonathan Paton and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Renolds wants to clinch up but Marchessault keeps it at a distance.
Renolds is trying hard to land a takedown here. Marchessault sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Renolds uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Marchessault.
Renolds fails with a takedown attempt.
Renolds shoots in looking for a takedown but Marchessault manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Renolds's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Vincent Marchessault has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dennis Renolds.

Renolds pushes Marchessault up against the cage in a clinch.
Renolds holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Renolds holding his opponent close, against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marchessault wants to get back to striking at distance but Renolds won't allow it.
Renolds manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Marchessault wants a takedown but no success here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Renolds lands with a left to the head.
Renolds gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Marchessault.
Renolds is trying to break the clinch but Marchessault has him pressed against the cage.
Marchessault is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Renolds is defending well.
Renolds with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Marchessault tries to score a body lock takedown but Renolds shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Marchessault takes an elbow to the forehead.
Marchessault gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Renolds.
Renolds is trying to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Marchessault gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Marchessault throwing strikes but missing.
Marchessault slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Marchessault trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Marchessault might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Marchessault missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Marchessault content to stall in guard here.
Renolds not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Marchessault content to stall in guard here.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Marchessault drives through with a takedown into Renolds's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Marchessault accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marchessault is stalling in the full guard.
Marchessault wants to stand but Renolds is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marchessault postures up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Marchessault wants to get up but he can't break Renolds's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Marchessault stays in close to Renolds's body and controls the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vincent Marchessault dominated that round.
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.

Renolds fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Marchessault avoids it really well and circles away.
Marchessault wants to clinch.
Renolds throws a nice head kick!
Marchessault shoots in for a takedown but Renolds shows good takedown defense.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marchessault moves in looking to clinch but Renolds pushes him off.

Marchessault looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Renolds manages to escape and get back to his feet!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Marchessault shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Marchessault in particular looking to stall.
Marchessault throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Marchessault perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Marchessault wants to pass the guard but Renolds is defending well.

Marchessault is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Marchessault is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Marchessault 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.
Renolds is looking to control Marchessault's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Renolds avoid being mounted?
Marchessault with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Marchessault is looking to advance position but Renolds won't allow it.
Renolds is staying active underneath Marchessault, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Marchessault seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Renolds for as long as he can get away with.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Marchessault fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A head kick from Renolds lands but Marchessault takes it in his stride.
Renolds lands a nice leg kick that just misses Marchessault's sensitive parts.

Marchessault closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Renolds did well to prevent Marchessault getting side control.
Marchessault throwing shots but Renolds is blocking nicely.
Marchessault controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Renolds gets full guard.
Marchessault advances position into side control!

Marchessault is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Renolds knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Marchessault tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
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 Vincent Marchessault will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Marchessault avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Crunch! Renolds slams his shin into Marchessault's torso.
Renolds fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Renolds stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Renolds wants it to stay on the feet.
Marchessault closes this distance looking for a takedown but Renolds circles away.

Renolds gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Renolds struggles to land a body shot inside as Marchessault controls his hands.
Renolds is looking for a takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marchessault is pressed up against the cage. Renolds has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Marchessault down to the mat. Marchessault avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Vincent Marchessault has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dennis Renolds.
Renolds tries a head kick but it misses.
Marchessault fails in his attempt to clinch.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Marchessault is defended easily by Renolds.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Renolds moves into range and clinches up with Marchessault.
Marchessault tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Renolds just stands there and leans against the cage.

Renolds manages to break the clinch.
Renolds misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Renolds will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Renolds takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Renolds throws a head kick but Marchessault moves out of range.
As Renolds looks to move away, Marchessault throws a big counter combo but Renolds just gets out of the way.
Marchessault tries to close the distance and clinch but Renolds swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Renolds shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Marchessault but Marchessault pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Vincent Marchessault is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault loads up on a big right hand but Renolds slips the punch.
Marchessault takes a swing at Renolds's ribcage but misses.
Marchessault tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
As Marchessault backs off Renolds throws a huge counter combo but Marchessault manages to avoid it all.
Marchessault shoots in but Renolds avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Renolds gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Marchessault to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Marchessault advances position into side control!
Renolds being controlled for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marchessault cracks Renolds with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Marchessault content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Renolds gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Vincent Marchessault overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Renolds tries to reverse the position but Marchessault maintains control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Renolds tries to buck Marchessault off but he can't manage it.
Marchessault controlling the pace for now.
Renolds is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Marchessault throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Renolds because Marchessault loaded up on that one.
Renolds wants to control but Marchessault is having none of it.
Marchessault controlling the pace for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Marchessault throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Vincent Marchessault.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Marchessault, 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vincent Marchessault!