PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Mark St James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Samm Mah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). St James comes to the cage accompanied by On the Eve of War - Jedi Mind Tricks. Mah has chosen Fuck You Lucy - Atmosphere as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

St James
vs
Mah

169 cm
24
163 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

178 cm
25
167 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Mark St James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Samm Mah!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Robert Douchet and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
St James lands an overhand right.
Mah tries to score with a low kick but St James moves his leg out of the way.
Mah scores with a jab to the body.
Mah ducks down and throws a hook to the body but St James moves away.
St James swings widly with a right hand
letting Mah counter with a right hand.
St James misses with a right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
St James misses with a right hand
and Mah counters with a nice leg kick.
St James throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mah counters with a nice low kick that buckles St James's knee momentarily.
A left and a right from St James both land. Nice combination.
Mah is looking to slow St James down with leg kicks.

Mah closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
St James tries to kick Mah off but Mah keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Mah is working for a kimura but St James is defending it quite comfortably.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mah is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
St James on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if St James tries to get out of the position.
Mah is trying to control the action in half guard but St James is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mah stalling.
Mah missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mah looks to land a strike but St James avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St James wants to stand and escape but Mah is having none of it.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Samm Mah hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
St James throws a lazy uppercut
and Mah counters with a stiff right hand.

Mah moves into the clinch.
Mah presses St James against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Mah blocking some punches.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Mah.
St James doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
St James tries to throw a body punch but Mah avoids it by throwing St James back against the cage.
Mah blocking some punches.
Mah taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
A right hand to the body from Mah.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Mah.
St James can't find room to land a body shot as Mah controls the action.
A nice left hand lands by St James.
St James misses with the head strike.
Mah holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Mah blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for St James.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Mah.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mah avoiding damage.
Mah blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
St James misses with some punches.
St James misses with some punches.
St James tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
St James has a couple of punches blocked by Mah.
Mah blocks an uppercut.
St James misses with a short punch on the inside.
St James prevents a body shot from Mah.
St James working some nice short punches in the clinch.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, St James creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
St James working aggressively here.
St James swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Mah lands a body punch.
Mah scores with a shoulder strike.
St James is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Mah's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
St James misses with a punch on the inside.
St James doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
St James misses with some punches.
St James lands a body punch.
St James lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Mah or not.
St James working aggressively here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samm Mah dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

St James fails in his attempt to clinch.
Mah fakes high and swings low for a body shot but St James manages to avoid it.
St James rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mah moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
St James falls off balance throwing a combination
and Mah connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
St James misses with a hook

and Mah counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
St James wants to get back to his feet.

Mah stands up and beckons St James to join him on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A good leg kick by Mah.
St James swings widly with a right hand

and Mah counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
St James knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mah on the ground.
Mah is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for St James!
Mah throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for St James because Mah loaded up on that one.
Mah unloading with bombs!
St James is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
The referee warns St James that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
St James is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mah throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Mah misses with a head shot.
Mah with the ground and pound from mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mah postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. St James looks a forlorn figure.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mah scoring with strikes but St James is staying in there.
Mah punching from mount but St James doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mah working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Mah looking to control and managing it successfully.
St James tries to buck Mah off but he can't manage it.
Mah looking to control and managing it successfully.
Mah looking to control but St James is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four 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.
Mah putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
St James holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Mah tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mah wants to control the pace but St James is squirming around nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samm Mah showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Mah fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt St James.
St James rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Mah makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Mah tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but St James was well out of range. Poor timing from Mah.
St James misses with a wild body shot.
Mark St James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
St James throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mah counters with a left to the body.
St James misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Mah counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
St James tries to clinch but Mah moves away
and Mah counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Mah uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from St James.
St James throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mah counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Mah swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
St James rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Mah counters with a nice double leg into guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mah accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
St James wants to stand and escape but Mah is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mah wants to pass the guard but St James is keeping the position.
Mah prevents St James from getting back to his feet.
Mah in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Mah controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Samm Mah.
Mah with a hook.
St James swings widly with a right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Mah displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Mark St James has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mark St James is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St James throws a poor cross that misses

and Mah holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
St James misses with a shot to the kidneys.
St James working aggressively here.
St James throws a punch but it's blocked by Mah.
St James swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Mah blocks an uppercut.
St James misses with a punch on the inside.
St James tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
St James misses with a hook from the clinch.
St James throws a punch but it's blocked by Mah.

Mah has St James pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Mah pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending St James tumbling to the mat - Mah dives into St James's guard.
Mah trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mah wants to control from the top but St James keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St James avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Mah trying to control but St James is working from the bottom.
Mah has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Mah is standing up over St James. St James looks to escape but Mah dives into side control.
Samm Mah is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
St James is being controlled here.

That's four 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.
Mah cracks St James with a big right hand but St James just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Mah tries to move into full mount but can't pass St James's legs.
St James wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.
Mah working the ground and pound but St James is defending the strikes.
Mah tries to move to mount but St James blocks the move with his legs.

And that's the end of the fight!
Samm Mah comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Mah winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 25:30
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 25:30
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Samm Mah!