PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Charles Bennett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Patch Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Charles Bennett has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Bennett
vs
Thomas

170 cm
26
158 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

170 cm
21
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Intelligent

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Charles Bennett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Patch Thomas!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Steve Erwin and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bennett connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Bennett throws a right hand that misses

and Thomas counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Thomas sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Thomas looking to pass the guard.
Bennett is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Thomas tries to free his leg and advance position but Bennett is retaining full guard.

Thomas drops back, looking for a kneebar! Bennett looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Bennett looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Bennett!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bennett decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Thomas falls off balance throwing a combination
and Bennett counters with a three punch combo that has Thomas backing up. Thomas nods at Bennett to acknowledge the strikes.
Bennett moves out of range of the leg kick from Thomas.
Bennett stuffs the takedown attempt from Thomas. Thomas gets slowly back to his feet.
Thomas closes this distance looking for a takedown but Bennett circles away.

Thomas scores a takedown into full mount!
Thomas controlling his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bennett really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Thomas sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Bennett tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas controlling from mount.
Bennett tries to hold on but Thomas pushes him away.
Thomas controlling from the full mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Patch Thomas has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Thomas shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Bennett is looking to control Thomas's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Bennett avoid being mounted?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thomas is looking to take a break and control but Bennett is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patch Thomas dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Bennett connects with the punch.
Bennett loads up on a big right hand but Thomas slips the punch.
Charles Bennett seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bennett misses the shot to the body.
Bennett looks to land a left hand but Thomas moved out of range nicely.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Thomas.
Bennett thows a body shot but no joy.
Bennett throws a right hand that Thomas ducks under and follows up with a left that Thomas also avoids with ease.
Thomas shoots in and drives through. Bennett sprawls well.
Nice defenses there by Thomas.
Thomas displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bennett throws out the jab.
Bennett dips to his left and cracks Thomas with an uppercut!
Thomas misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A punch combination from Bennett misses.
Bennett scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Bennett misses with a two punch combination.
Bennett moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas defending well as Bennett loads up on a big left hand.

Thomas looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Thomas wants to get up but he can't break Bennett's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Thomas works over Bennett with some ground and pound from guard.
Thomas is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Thomas is looking to work some ground and pound but Bennett has wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Bennett is proving hard to escape from.
Thomas looking to pass the guard.
Thomas 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.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Patch Thomas wasn't active enough on the ground.
Bennett throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Bennett throws a hook to the side of Thomas's head but Thomas sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Bennett misses with an uppercut

and Thomas counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bennett keeping full guard, as Thomas tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas 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.
Thomas looking to sit in guard and control but Bennett gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Thomas wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Thomas looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Patch Thomas has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Thomas changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Bennett tries to avoid it but Thomas manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Bennett to the ground. Bennett escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Bennett throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Thomas throws a wild body kick that Bennett sees coming a mile off.
Thomas lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Bennett circles away quickly and effectively.
A big left from Bennett misses.
Bennett misses with a jab, cross combination.
Bennett misses with a head kick.
Thomas avoids a punch combination nicely.
Bennett is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Bennett throws a hook but Thomas avoids it easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thomas shoots for a takedown but Bennett saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Charles Bennett has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Patch Thomas.
Thomas uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bennett.
Bennett throws a nice looking combination but Thomas bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Bennett misses with the combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patch Thomas showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Bennett lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Thomas moves out of range of the body kick.
Thomas fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Bennett throws the left hand but Thomas avoids the punch easily.
Bennett lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Thomas throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A punch combination from Thomas misses.
No joy there for Bennett, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Bennett punishes Thomas's body with a nice straight punch.
Thomas staying out of range there.
Bennett loads up on a big right hand but Thomas slips the punch.
Bennett is looking to land body kicks.

Thomas gets a takedown into half guard.
Thomas keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Thomas thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Bennett's head.

Thomas is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Bennett avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Thomas.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bennett wants to control but Thomas is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Thomas looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Patch Thomas was stalling too much, according to the referee.
A clash of legs there as Thomas blocks the low kick.
Bennett lands a jab.
Charles Bennett is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bennett lands a body shot.
Thomas slips a jab from Bennett.
Charles Bennett is winning the standup battle so far.
Thomas showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bennett.

Thomas closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Bennett to the mat! Bennett manages to get full guard.
Patch Thomas has got the better of the ground game so far.
Thomas passes into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bennett wants to control but Thomas is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Bennett keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Thomas is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Charles Bennett has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Patch Thomas is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Thomas lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

And that's the end of the fight!
Patch Thomas comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Thomas 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 Damien Edna scores the fight 27:30
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Patch Thomas!
Patch Thomas was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.