PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Jacob Parker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gabe Gardener (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Parker
vs
Gardener

167 cm
25
144 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

177 cm
24
140 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jacob Parker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Gabe Gardener!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Eliza Hachem and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Parker scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Gardener gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Parker leaves Gardener with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Parker throws a right hand that misses
and Gardener counters with a solid body kick.
Parker swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Gardener has taken the fight to the clinch.
A short body shot lands from Gardener as the two fighters clinch.
The referee is keeping an eye on Gardener - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Gardener tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Parker just stands there and leans against the cage.

Gardener manages to break the clinch.
Parker lands with an uppercut that bounces Gardener off the cage and back into range.
Parker rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Gardener counters with a good, hard body kick but Parker shrugs it off.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gardener lands with a cross.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Parker throws a series of punches but Gardener avoids them all with ease.
Gardener fails with a takedown attempt.
Jacob Parker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gabe Gardener.
Gardener uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Parker.
Gardener slips under a jab.
Parker looks to score with a jab to the body but Gardener is just out of range.
Gardener moves out of range of the strikes.
Parker misses with a left hand

and Gardener holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
A right hand to the body from Gardener.
Gardener tries to pull guard but Parker holds him up against the cage and eventually Gardener drops back down to his feet.

Gardener has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Parker uses from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Gardener is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Parker is controlling him.
Parker throwing strikes but missing.
Parker postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Gardener not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Parker avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Gardener looks gassed!
Parker throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gardener works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gardener avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Parker working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Parker stops Gardener from standing up.
Parker works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Parker working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Parker not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Gardener wants to get back to his feet.

Parker is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gardener defends it well.

Gardener is defending against the submission attempts here by Parker.
Parker has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Parker landing shots from mount.

Parker looking for a guillotine from mount but Gardener is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Parker has hold of Gardener's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Gardener manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Gardener tries to reverse the position but Parker maintains control.
Gardener is bucking up trying to escape but Parker cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Parker punching from mount but Gardener doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Gardener working to try and regain half guard.
Parker misses with a head shot.
Parker throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Gardener because Parker loaded up on that one.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Parker looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Parker throws some wild stikes that Gardener manages to avoid easily.
Gardener holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Parker tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Gardener tries to get back to half guard but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacob Parker 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.

Gardener bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Gardener motions for Parker to come forward. Gardener throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Gardener throws a right hand that Parker ducks under and follows up with a left that Parker also avoids with ease.
Parker swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Parker is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Gardener's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Gardener fails with a takedown attempt.
Parker is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Parker connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Parker throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Gardener looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Parker lands with an overhand left.
Gardener is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gardener tries to clinch but Parker moves out of range.
Gardener shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Parker defends it nicely.
Jacob Parker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gabe Gardener.
Parker paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Parker misses with a left hand

and Gardener counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Gardener.
Parker tries to break the clinch but Gardener is controlling the position.
Gardener stalling in the clinch.
Gardener is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Parker wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Gardener has Parker pressed against the cage, preventing Parker from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Parker has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gardener manages to break the clinch.
Gardener throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Parker's waist but Parker gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gardener off to one side.
Parker misses with a hook. Gardener ducked under it nicely.
Parker with a nice cross.
Gardener takes one to the side of the head.
Jacob Parker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Parker swings widly with a right hand

and Gardener counters by moving into the clinch.
Gardener tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Gardener pulls guard effortlessly.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Parker trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Parker passes Gardener's left leg - he's now in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gardener throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Parker is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Parker stops Gardener from getting back to his feet.

Parker is working for a kimura but Gardener is defending it quite comfortably.
Parker throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Gardener is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Parker scores with a couple of nice shots.

Gardener is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Parker pulls his head out easily.
Parker throwing shots but Gardener is blocking nicely.
Parker missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Gardener really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Parker. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Parker is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Jacob Parker overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gardener tries to roll over but Parker keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Parker looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Gardener with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Parker thows a huge punch but Gardener dodges it nicely.
Parker wants to pass the guard but Gardener is defending well.
Parker looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Parker missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Parker prevents Gardener from standing back up.
Gardener is in trouble now - Parker has advanced to mount!
Parker working away from the top, dropping strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Parker with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Parker lands a nice shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jacob Parker dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Parker misses the jab.

Gardener closes the distance and clinches.
Gardener jumps guard but Parker stands there with Gardener around his waist. Gardener gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Gardener successfully pulls guard.
Parker stops Gardener from standing up.
Parker with a flurry of punches that miss.
Parker throwing strikes but missing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Parker accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Gardener takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gardener utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Gardener working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Parker.
Gardener avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Parker throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Parker postures up in Gardener's guard and throws a big left but Gardener blocks it.
Gardener not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Parker postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Parker thows a big elbow that misses.
Parker postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Parker working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gardener working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Parker.
Parker postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Gardener utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Parker loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Gardener avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Parker throwing strikes from guard but Gardener blocks nicely.
Parker in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gardener is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Parker is controlling him.
Parker 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.

Parker drops back for a leg here. A bit of a high risk move... He's looking for a kneebar by the looks of things. Now both of them are looking for submissions. Parker seems to have locked his on tight now - Gardener screams in pain and taps out furiously! It certainly was a high risk move but it's paid off for Parker, as he picks up the win!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:28 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kneebar). Jacob Parker!