PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Matthew (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Carv Great (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matthew's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, fight like this. Thomas Matthew had real problems making weight for this fight. After initially coming in at 186.1lbs, he had two hours to make the official fight weight. He made it but it will have taken a lot out of him to cut those extra few pounds. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Matthew
vs
Great

184 cm
19
195 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
22
188 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good in bed

Good takedowns
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Thomas Matthew!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Carv Great!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Elvis Blanc and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Matthew, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Great stuffs the takedown attempt from Matthew. Matthew gets slowly back to his feet.
Matthew changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Great tries to avoid it but Matthew manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Great to the ground. Great escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Great wants to clinch.
Great gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

so Matthew counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Great wants to sweep here but Matthew controlling him for the moment.
Matthew pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Great is keeping the position for now.

Great is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Matthew has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Great trying to control the position.
Great throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matthew prevents Great from getting back to his feet.
Matthew postures up and lands a big shot to Great's brow.
Great manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Matthew manages to get himself to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Great slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Great throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Great connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Matthew some visible discomfort.
Matthew wants to control but Great postures up.
The ground and pound from Great seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Matthew knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Great on the ground.
Matthew is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Great in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Matthew is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Great asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Great tries to advance to mount but can't.

Great tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Great has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Great has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Great has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Great throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Matthew because Great loaded up on that one.
Matthew is trying to get back to his feet but can't.

Great has hold of Matthew's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Matthew manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Matthew is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four 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.
Matthew is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Matthew'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.
Great trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Great is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Matthew to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Matthew shrugs it off.

Great swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Matthew is now in Great's guard. A big mistake from Great there, giving up the dominant position!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carv Great dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Matthew lands a high kick!
Great falls off balance throwing a combination

and Matthew counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Matthew.
Matthew looking for a takedown.
Great prevents a takedown attempt there.
Great has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Matthew avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Matthew jumps guard but Great stands there with Matthew around his waist. Matthew gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Matthew. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Matthew tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Great just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Great goes for a takedown in the clinch but Matthew prevents it.
Great tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Matthew avoids it.
Great is pressed up against the cage. Matthew has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Great down to the mat. Great avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Matthew tries to bum rush Great with a series of wild strikes but Great uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Great throws a head kick that misses.

Matthew gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Matthew is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Great is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Great slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Matthew gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Matthew taking shots to the head.

Great looking for a guillotine from mount but Matthew is having none of it.

Great with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Great throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Carv Great has got the better of the ground game so far.
Matthew is desperately trying to improve his position but Great has a good base and remains in mount.
Great avoids the attempt from Matthew to control.
Great throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Great swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Matthew is now in Great's guard. A big mistake from Great there, giving up the dominant position!

Great pushes Matthew off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Great tries for a takedown but Matthew circles away easily
and Matthew counters with a nice kick to the body.

Great shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Matthew napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Matthew is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Matthew dodges the ground and pound from Great.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carv Great showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Great shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Matthew counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Great lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Matthew!
Matthew is wriggling around trying to escape.
Matthew in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Matthew is looking to improve his position but Great isn't that keen on the idea.
Matthew tries to lock up and control but Great gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Great is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Matthew to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Matthew shrugs it off.

Matthew is flailing around, obviously not happy about being mounted. Great locks hold of one of his arms and spins for an armbar. He's got it! Matthew is forced to tap!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:30 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Carv Great!