PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jean Claude Van Damme (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Martin O Neill (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). O Neill has chosen Sing for the moment - Eminem as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Claude Van Damme
vs
O Neill

175 cm
24
178 lbs
15 - 5 - 1

180 cm
24
180 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 15 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Jean Claude Van Damme!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Martin O Neill!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Joseph Jones and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Damme throws a looping overhand right but O Neill ducks down to avoid it.
Van Damme takes a swing at O Neill's ribcage but misses.
O Neill takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Van Damme misses with a hook to the body
and O Neill counters with a right hand to the body.
Van Damme misses with a lunging right hand
and O Neill counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
O Neill takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Van Damme throws a lazy uppercut

and O Neill counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Van Damme keeping full guard, as O Neill tries to pass.
O Neill loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
O Neill tries to free his leg and advance position but Van Damme is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Neill landing with the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as O Neill accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
O Neill wants to control from the top but Van Damme keeps moving.
O Neill stops Van Damme from standing up.
O Neill loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
O Neill loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Van Damme knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for O Neill on the ground.

That's two 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.
O Neill stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Van Damme swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Van Damme wants to sweep here but O Neill controlling him for the moment.
O Neill advances to half guard.
O Neill looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Van Damme keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
O Neill wants to free his trapped foot but Van Damme is holding on for dear life with his legs.
O Neill prevents Van Damme from standing back up.
O Neill is trying to control. Van Damme wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Neill working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Van Damme's thigh. Van Damme counters though and makes it back to full guard.
O Neill wants to control from the top but Van Damme keeps moving.
O Neill postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
O Neill pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Van Damme is keeping the position for now.
Van Damme working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from O Neill.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
O Neill thows a big elbow that misses.
Van Damme wants to stand and escape but O Neill is having none of it.
O Neill throwing strikes from guard but Van Damme blocks nicely.
Van Damme preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

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.
O Neill passes easily into side control. Nice work.
O Neill has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
O Neill tries to score with some ground and pound. Van Damme controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Van Damme defending against the ground and pound.
Van Damme stops O Neill from passing to mount.
Van Damme can't do much from the bottom here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

O Neill is trying to get an arm triangle but Van Damme is defending well.

O Neill is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Van Damme has escaped the position, nice work there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martin O Neill dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Van Damme throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Jean Claude Van Damme seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Van Damme swings and misses with a hook to the body.
O Neill misses with a right hand
and Van Damme counters with a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

O Neill dives in and scores a takedown into Van Damme's guard.
O Neill prevents Van Damme from getting back to his feet.
O Neill missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Neill in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
O Neill postures up.
O Neill is looking to advance position but Van Damme has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
O Neill is desperately trying to improve his position but Van Damme has a good base and remains in mount.
O Neill is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
O Neill manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Neill is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Van Damme's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Van Damme's back!
O Neill misses with an elbow to the head.
O Neill throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Even with his hooks in, O Neill manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Van Damme wriggles onto his back under a barage of strikes.
O Neill postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Van Damme looks a forlorn figure.
O Neill with shots to the head and body - Van Damme looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Neill looking to ground and pound but Van Damme is blocking nicely.
O Neill lands a heavy elbow.
Van Damme taking shots to the head.
Van Damme wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by O Neill.
O Neill sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
O Neill unloads with some shots from mount but Van Damme bucks and avoids them well.
Poor strikes thrown by O Neill there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
O Neill landing strikes from the mount and Van Damme is in trouble!
O Neill unloads with some shots from mount but Van Damme bucks and avoids them well.
O Neill landing strikes, looking to finish!
Poor strikes thrown by O Neill there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Damme taking shots to the head.
O Neill throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
O Neill looking to ground and pound but Van Damme is blocking nicely.
O Neill dominating with strikes here.
Van Damme avoids a series of strikes thrown by O Neill.
O Neill breaks from Van Damme's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Van Damme avoids a series of strikes thrown by O Neill.
O Neill working the ground and pound effectively.
Van Damme wants to try and get back to his feet.
Martin O Neill has got the better of the ground game so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Van Damme blocking the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martin O Neill showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

O Neill works over Van Damme's head and body with a nice combination.

Van Damme is rocked!
O Neill misses with a hook. Van Damme ducked under it nicely.
Van Damme does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
A jab from Van Damme misses.
O Neill uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Van Damme.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Damme swings and misses with a shot to the body

and O Neill counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Van Damme's guard now.
O Neill missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Van Damme pushes O Neill off and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Neill jabbing away but nothing is landing.
O Neill on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Van Damme. Van Damme obviously looking to wear him down.
O Neill takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Van Damme misses with a telegraphed body shot

and O Neill counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by O Neill.
O Neill looking to pass the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Neill postures up in Van Damme's guard and throws a big left but Van Damme blocks it.
Van Damme can't keep his opponent in guard - O Neill advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Van Damme tries to roll over but O Neill keeps him under control.
O Neill is stalling here. Van Damme is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! O Neill seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Van Damme has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
O Neill manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Martin O Neill is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Neill trying to control from the bottom.
It looks like Van Damme is going to stand back up.
O Neill tries to roll over but Van Damme keeps him under control.
O Neill wants to sweep but Van Damme has passed to side control!
O Neill is looking for a sweep.
O Neill gets back to half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. O Neill manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

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.
O Neill wants to sweep here but Van Damme controlling him for the moment.
O Neill is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
O Neill tries to land a sweep but no joy.
O Neill is trying to keep Van Damme in close.

O Neill has his foot on Van Damme's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Van Damme works his way back into a safe position though.
Van Damme has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
O Neill takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
O Neill looking to hit a scissor sweep but Van Damme is one step ahead there.
Jean Claude Van Damme has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
O Neill controls Van Damme momentarily but Van Damme frees himself.

And that's the end of the fight!
Martin O Neill comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got O Neill 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 Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Martin O Neill!