PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between paul hedger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Romulus Man (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.

hedger
vs
Man

180 cm
23
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
18
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, paul hedger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Romulus Man!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, James Ackerman and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
hedger keeps the fight on the outside.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from hedger.
hedger misses with a head kick.
Man wants to clinch.

hedger bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
hedger in side control lands a decent elbow.
Man manages to work his way to half guard, despite hedger's best efforts.
hedger winds up and cracks Man with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
hedger tries to pass the half guard into mount. Man knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
hedger working Man over with strikes.
Man is looking to get back to is feet but hedger passes into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

hedger goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Man rolls with the submission and now he's on top in hedger's guard! Nice work there by Man!
Man stopping the sweep attempt from hedger.

That's one minute gone in the round.
hedger is working hard here to advance position.
hedger manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Man working to try and regain half guard.
hedger landing strikes, looking to finish!

It looks like Romulus Man has been cut.
hedger with good strikes from the mount here!

hedger goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Man is on top in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Man chips away with some ground and pound.
Man trying to control but hedger is working from the bottom.
hedger wants to stand but Man is controlling the position.
hedger wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Man looking to pass the guard.
hedger manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Man manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
hedger prevents Man from getting back to his feet.
hedger postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
hedger lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
hedger wants to control from the top but Man keeps moving.

hedger stands up from guard. Let's bang!
hedger throws a right hand that Man ducks under and follows up with a left that Man also avoids with ease.

hedger closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Man quickly recovers to half guard.
hedger not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Man wants to get back to his feet.
Man looks gassed!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
hedger is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
hedger is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Man!
Man is trying to escape the mount.
hedger in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
hedger breaks from Man's wrist control and lands an elbow.
hedger content just to control the position here.

hedger looking to secure an arm triangle but Man defends it well.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
hedger with shots to the head and body - Man looks very uncomfortable down there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

paul hedger dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Romulus Man's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

hedger clinches up with Man and pushes him back against the cage.
Man working hard to break the clinch.
hedger looking for a takedown.
Man prevents the takedown attempt.

hedger pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Man wants to clinch

and hedger counters with a nice double leg into guard.
hedger slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Man can't keep his opponent in guard - hedger advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
hedger trying to control the pace.

Man actively working from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Man is trying to escape back to his feet but hedger uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Man is breathing heavily.
hedger trying to control the action but Man is working from the bottom.
Man on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
hedger grinds an elbow into Man's temple.
Man is not content to let hedger control the position.
Man taking a bit of punishment here - hedger scoring with strikes.

hedger decides to stand back up. hedger steps back and let's Man get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from hedger.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for paul hedger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Man moves to clinch but hedger breaks away

and hedger counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by hedger.
hedger is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Man wants to stand but hedger is controlling the position.
hedger trying to control but Man is working from the bottom.
hedger's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Man is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
hedger is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

paul hedger has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
hedger shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Man as he jumps to the side.
hedger shoots for a double leg takedown but Man sprawls well. He's pushed hedger's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Man forces hedger back against the cage and clinches.
Man tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

hedger is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Man can't fight it off and eventually hedger manages to take the fight to the floor. Man looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Man controls hedger momentarily but hedger frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
hedger is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
hedger lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
hedger sitting in guard here, content to control.
hedger postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
hedger trying to control but Man is working from the bottom.

hedger drops back looking for a leg! Man is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Man manages to kick hedger off! hedger jumps back into Man's guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
hedger stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Man swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

paul hedger dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Romulus Man's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

hedger misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A head kick misses from Man.
hedger blocks a head kick by Man.

hedger shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Man's guard.
Man keeping moving, preventing hedger from controlling successfully.

Man working for submissions but it's allowed hedger to get to half guard.
Man is trying to escape back to his feet but hedger uses the scramble to pass into side control.
hedger trying to control the position but Man is working away.
hedger 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.
Man takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

hedger wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Man, who protects the arm well.
paul hedger overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
hedger taking a breather here.

hedger tries for a kimura but Man is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

hedger is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Man has escaped the position, nice work there.
hedger controls the position from side control.
hedger cracks Man with a big right hand but Man just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

hedger tries for a kimura but Man is defending well.
hedger is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Man can do to turn this around?
Man being controlled for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Man takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
hedger prevents Man from escaping the position.
paul hedger is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
hedger is staying tight to Man's torso, preventing him from escaping.
hedger lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Man down.

hedger tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no hedger has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Man is letting hedger control him for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Man wants to get back to his feet.
hedger tries to move to mount but Man blocks the move with his legs.
A lull in the action here.
Romulus Man has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Man is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
paul hedger showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for hedger, 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... paul hedger!