PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Daryl Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Theis Hovgaard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Ward
vs
Hovgaard

170 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
19
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Daryl Ward!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Theis Hovgaard!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, James Ackerman and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ward is looking to clinch.
Ward lands with a kick to the temple. Hovgaard shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Ward tries to clinch up.
Ward fails with an attempt to clinch.
Hovgaard dives in and grabs Ward's left leg, looking for a takedown. Ward pushes down on Hovgaard's head and hops out.
Hovgaard throws a head kick that misses.
Hovgaard misses with a takedown attempt - Ward sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Hovgaard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hovgaard throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Hovgaard shoots in but Ward avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Daryl Ward has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Theis Hovgaard.
Hovgaard shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Ward as he jumps to the side.
Hovgaard shoots for a takedown but Ward saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Ward darts in and clinches Hovgaard up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Hovgaard pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ward tries a head kick but it misses.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hovgaard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Daryl Ward is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Hovgaard is defended easily by Ward.
Ward moves in looking to clinch but Hovgaard pushes him off.
Ward stuns Hovgaard with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Ward tries to clinch there but Hovgaard circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ward looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ward misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hovgaard shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Ward as he jumps to the side.
Ward tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hovgaard swats away the attempt to clinch by Ward.
No luck for Hovgaard with that takedown attempt.
Hovgaard looks gassed!
Ward stuffs the takedown attempt from Hovgaard. Hovgaard gets slowly back to his feet.
Ward tries to clinch up but Hovgaard circles away and keeps his distance.

Ward forces Hovgaard back against the cage and clinches.
Ward taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Ward gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.

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

Hovgaard shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Ward lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hovgaard!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward unloads with some shots from mount but Hovgaard bucks and avoids them well.
Ward tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ward throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Hovgaard is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ward controlling from mount.
Hovgaard wants to hold on but Ward pushes him away.
Ward looking to ground and pound but Hovgaard is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daryl Ward dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Ward rushes Hovgaard and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hovgaard stops a takedown attempt from Ward.

Ward manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Hovgaard loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ward looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ward keeping moving, preventing Hovgaard from controlling successfully.
Hovgaard missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ward looking to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hovgaard looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ward keeping moving, preventing Hovgaard from controlling successfully.
Hovgaard is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Hovgaard controls the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Hovgaard throws a head kick that misses

and Ward counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Ward lands an elbow inside that Hovgaard shrugs off.
Hovgaard goes for a takedown attempt but Ward pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Hovgaard swats away the attempt to clinch by Ward.
Hovgaard shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ward defends it nicely.
Ward pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's two 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.

Ward has Hovgaard up against the cage in a clinch.
A short body shot lands from Ward as the two fighters clinch.
Ward presses Hovgaard against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A knee to the head by Ward.
A bit of stalling here from Ward.

Ward breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ward goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Ward wants to clinch up but Hovgaard keeps it at a distance.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch but Hovgaard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ward misses with a series of wild punches.
Hovgaard keeps the fight on the outside.
A head kick from Hovgaard lands but Ward takes it in his stride.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hovgaard circles away quickly and effectively.
Ward doesn't manage to clinch there - Hovgaard circles away.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hovgaard paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Ward darts in and clinches Hovgaard up against the cage.

Hovgaard's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hovgaard misses with a wild combination.
Ward moves in looking to clinch but Hovgaard pushes him off.
Hovgaard shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Ward as he avoids it easily.
Daryl Ward has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Theis Hovgaard.
Ward lands with a slapping head kick.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hovgaard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ward fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward wants to clinch.
Ward wants to clinch.
Ward tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Ward clinches up against the cage.
Hovgaard is working for takedown but Ward is calmly controlling the position for now.

Ward breaks the clinch.
Ward tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hovgaard swats him away and circles back towards the center.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Ward lands an elbow just above Hovgaard 's eye.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daryl Ward dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Hovgaard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ward moves in looking to clinch but Hovgaard pushes him off.
Hovgaard lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Ward circles away quickly and effectively.
Ward tries to clinch but Hovgaard is having none of it.
Ward keeps the fight on the outside.
Hovgaard throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hovgaard thuds his right hand into Ward's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Hovgaard is looking to clinch.
Hovgaard circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head kick misses from Ward.
Hovgaard throws a head kick that misses

and Ward counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Ward.
Ward tries a knee to the head but Hovgaard blocks it.
Hovgaard is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Hovgaard has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Ward avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Hovgaard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Ward.
Ward tries to score a body lock takedown but Hovgaard shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Ward gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Ward tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Hovgaard tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ward avoids it.

Ward has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Hovgaard uses from the top position.
Hovgaard throws a big right hand that misses.
Hovgaard wants to control from the top but Ward keeps moving.
Hovgaard missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ward looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Ward working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hovgaard.

That's two 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.
Ward is looking to stand up but Hovgaard isn't so interested in that idea.
Ward looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hovgaard lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Ward clinches but Hovgaard breaks the clinch

and Hovgaard counters by clinching up.
Hovgaard wants to break the clinch but can't.
Ward pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

Ward pulls Hovgaard into guard.
Ward keeping moving, preventing Hovgaard from controlling successfully.
Hovgaard looking to sit in guard and control but Ward gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hovgaard being controlled here, momentarily.
Hovgaard has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ward working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ward controls from within his opponent's guard.
Ward wants to stand and escape but instead Hovgaard has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Ward wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Hovgaard wants to pass the guard but Ward is keeping the position.
Hovgaard won't allow Ward to sweep him here.
Theis Hovgaard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Ward throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Daryl Ward is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ward not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Daryl Ward showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ward has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 James Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Daryl Ward!