PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Joe Mendez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Harry King (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.

Mendez
vs
King

185 cm
21
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
21
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

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 Las Vegas, Joe Mendez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Harry King!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Wesley Smith and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
King fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Mendez avoids it really well and circles away.
King misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Mendez counters with a straight right hand.
King shoots in and drives through. Mendez sprawls well.
King shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Mendez sprawls well. Mendez wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. King gets slowly back to his feet.
Joe Mendez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Harry King.

King is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Mendez's half guard.
Mendez keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Mendez has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
King wants to pass the guard but Mendez is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mendez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mendez is holding on to half guard well.
King missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
King wants to take a breather but Mendez is having none of it.
Mendez trying to control but King postures up.
King prevents Mendez from improving his position.

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.
Mendez is looking to control King's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Mendez avoid being mounted?

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
King dodges the punch combination from Mendez.
Mendez throws a leg kick

and King counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
King tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
King is looking to take a break and control but Mendez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mendez trying to control from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendez keeping hold of King's head, controlling as best he can.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Mendez misses with a telegraphed body shot
and King counters with an inside leg kick.
A slapping leg kick lands for King.
Mendez misses with a lunging right hand

and King counters with a single leg into guard. Mendez didn't expect that.
Mendez is breathing heavily.
King seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
King pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Mendez is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendez is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
King throwing strikes from guard but Mendez blocks nicely.
King trying to control the position from guard on top but Mendez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Harry King hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Mendez misses with a jab to the body
and King counters with a lovely shot to the body.
King connects with a looping right hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
King with a lazy takedown attempt
and Mendez counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

King tries to close the distance and clinch but Mendez swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mendez keeps the fight on the outside.
King shoots in and drives through. Mendez sprawls well.
King wants to clinch but Mendez slips to the side
and Mendez counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Mendez lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Mendez misses with a looping left.
Mendez misses with a hook
and King counters with a nice kick to the body.
King fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

King closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Mendez quickly recovers to half guard.
King passes into side control, despite Mendez's attempt to control the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mendez manages to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
King is keen to just control but Mendez is a slippery customer.
King wants to pass the guard but Mendez is defending well.
King misses with a head shot. Mendez uses the momentum to regain guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Mendez is on top in guard.
King lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Mendez!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mendez is squirming around, avoiding King's attempts to control the action.

King jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Mendez is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Mendez and King has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
King tries to move into full mount but can't pass Mendez's legs.
King trying to control the action but Mendez is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendez defending against the ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on Mendez's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Mendez is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but King is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
King takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Harry King has got the better of the ground game so far.

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.
King prevents Mendez from getting the reversal.
King throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Mendez tries to hold on but King postures up.

King gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Mendez shoots in for a takedown but King shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Joe Mendez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mendez lands with a cross.
Mendez just misses with a punch to the body.
King misses with a hook
and Mendez counters with a three punch combo that has King backing up. King nods at Mendez to acknowledge the strikes.
Mendez slaps away a takedown attempt from King, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Harry King showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Mendez's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

King tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mendez swats him away and circles back towards the center.
King turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
King fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
King shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Mendez pinned against the cage. Mendez gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Mendez stuffs the takedown.
Joe Mendez has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Harry King.
Mendez lunges at King with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by King's hand.
No luck for King with that takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
King with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Mendez scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Mendez lands a nice shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
King avoids the head kick by Mendez.
King looks to clinch
and Mendez counters with a straight right hand.
Nice takedown defense from King. No joy for Mendez on that attempt.
Mendez misses with a jab to the body
and King counters with a nice kick to the body.
Mendez throws an off balance right hand
and King counters with a nice body kick.
A combination from King does no damage.
King tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Mendez counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
King with a lazy takedown attempt
and Mendez counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
King throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Mendez counters with a nice uppercut.
King fails to land the takedown.
Mendez throws a hook to the side of King's head but King sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mendez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but King moves away.
A good leg kick by King.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

King looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
King trying to control but Mendez is working from the bottom.
Mendez keeping full guard, as King tries to pass.
Mendez looking to hit a scissor sweep but King is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as King accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
King wants to pass the guard but Mendez is keeping the position.

Harry King has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
King shoots in and drives through. Mendez sprawls well.
A jab lands there for Mendez.
Mendez looks to land a combination but King avoids it well.
No luck with that takedown attempt from King.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mendez throws a body punch but King moves out of range.
King on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Mendez misses with a double jab
and King counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Mendez manages to break the clinch.
A lazy left from Mendez finds it's target.
King shoots for a takedown but Mendez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mendez wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Joe Mendez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Mendez closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Mendez tries to stand but can't do so whilst King controls his leg.
Harry King is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Mendez is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Joe Mendez.
I think King has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 George Francis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Harry King!