PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gilbert Grape (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Larry Bishop (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bishop has chosen Skatalites - James Bond as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Grape
vs
Bishop

187 cm
24
228 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

201 cm
24
256 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Gilbert Grape!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Larry Bishop!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Saam Ante and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bishop takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

Grape shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Bishop working a defensive guard here.
Grape pushing down on Bishop's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Grape not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Grape connects with a nice short shot to Bishop's temple.
Grape thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grape looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bishop with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Grape lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Grape working Bishop over with strikes.
Bishop pushes Grape off looking to stand but Grape dives back in and keeps control.
Bishop wants to control but Grape is keeping busy.
Bishop really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Grape. 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 one minute gone in the round.
Grape scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Grape sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Bishop defending well though.
Grape takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Grape winds up and cracks Bishop with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Grape thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Bishop's head.
Grape is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Grape throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Bishop is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grape scores with a couple of nice shots.
Bishop blocking the ground and pound attempt from Grape.
Grape 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 two minutes gone in the round.
Grape scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Grape thows a huge punch but Bishop dodges it nicely.
Grape is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Grape slips a nice elbow through Bishop's hands, connecting with Bishop's forehead.

Grape is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Bishop has managed to free his arm - good work.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Grape is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Grape thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Bishop's head.
Grape wants to take a breather but Bishop is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bishop is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grape scores with a couple of nice shots.

Grape looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Bishop wants to control but Grape is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Bishop is refusing to be controlled, as Grape sits in half guard.
Grape looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bishop with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grape looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bishop with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Grape missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bishop taking some punishment here, with Grape in his half guard.
Grape seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Bishop does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Grape missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Grape drops an elbow to the side of Bishop's head.

Bishop actively working from the bottom here.
Bishop avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Grape.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Grape thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grape drops an elbow to the side of Bishop's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gilbert Grape dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Grape closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Grape seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Bishop tries to kick Grape off but Grape keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Grape takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Grape is nestled in close to Bishop, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Grape lands strikes from half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Grape in particular looking to stall.
Grape working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Grape looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Grape is looking to take a break and control but Bishop is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grape lands with a punch from half guard.
Grape thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Grape not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Grape is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bishop can do to turn this around?
Bishop gets full guard.
Bishop wants to get back to his feet but Grape is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Grape connects with a couple of short punches.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Grape accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Grape makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Grape might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Grape lands a couple of elbows.

Bishop is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Grape defends well.
Bishop is breathing heavily.
Grape throwing strikes but missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grape postures up in Bishop's guard and throws a big left but Bishop blocks it.
Bishop is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Grape slips nicely into half guard.
Grape lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Bishop looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Grape looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bishop with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bishop is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grape scores with a couple of nice shots.
Grape lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Gilbert Grape overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Grape lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bishop is looking to escape.
Grape trying to control from Bishop's half guard. Bishop has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Grape passes Bishop's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Bishop taking some punishment here, with Grape in his half guard.
Bishop is not content to let Grape control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bishop is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grape scores with a couple of nice shots.
Grape lands strikes from half guard.
Grape thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Bishop's head.
Grape content to control rather than advance.
Grape drops an elbow to the side of Bishop's head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Grape is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Grape not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Bishop is staying active underneath Grape, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Grape working Bishop over with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gilbert Grape dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Grape misses with the combination.
Grape misses with a straight right.
Nice shot by Grape.
Bishop slips under a jab from Grape.
Bishop misses with a takedown

and Grape counters with a nice double leg into side control. Bishop won't be happy with that.
Bishop sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Grape is nestled in close to Bishop, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Bishop tries to get to full guard but Grape has control of the leg.
Grape scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Bishop trying to hold on to Grape's head to control him but Grape postures up.
Bishop takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Grape is nestled in close to Bishop, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grape wants to take a breather but Bishop is having none of it.
Grape seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Grape lands a nice short elbow.
Bishop is not content to let Grape control the position.
Bishop pushes Grape off looking to stand but Grape dives back in and keeps control.
Still in half guard, Grape seems content to control.

Grape is actively looking for submissions here but good counter grappling here from Bishop as he works his way to full guard.
Grape keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Bishop's head.
Grape wants to control from the top but Bishop keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bishop wants to stand up but Grape is controlling him.
Grape is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Grape postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Grape forces his way into half guard.
Grape lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Grape takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Grape is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Grape is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Bishop doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Grape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grape is trying to control the action in half guard but Bishop is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Grape is really struggling to control Bishop but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Grape thows a huge punch but Bishop dodges it nicely.
Grape scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Grape looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Bishop pushes Grape off looking to stand but Grape dives back in and keeps control.
Grape throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bishop is looking to control Grape's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Bishop avoid being mounted?
Grape scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Grape lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bishop is not content to let Grape control the position.
Grape takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Bishop is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Grape scores with a couple of nice shots.
Gilbert Grape is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Grape missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Grape performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Larry Bishop has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bishop has hold of Grape's hands but Grape slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gilbert Grape showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Grape 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 30:25
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 30:25
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gilbert Grape!