PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Connor McManus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bruce Millard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). McManus's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Jeff Danna - 'The Blood of Cú Chulainn'. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

McManus
vs
Millard

177 cm
22
167 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

169 cm
22
160 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

TFP Graphics - Pit Inc
Reaper Combatwear

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 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Connor McManus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bruce Millard!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Trevor Gratis and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McManus gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Millard counters with a nice body shot.
Millard getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Millard scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
McManus shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Millard defends it nicely.
Millard feints a jab promting McManus to slip. Millard then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. McManus slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
McManus misses with a lunging right hand
and Millard counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
McManus has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Millard.
Millard misses with the combination.
McManus connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Millard looks to land a body kick but McManus moved away.
McManus swings and misses with a hook to the body.
McManus looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Millard is fending him off so far but McManus persists. Nope, Millard circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Connor McManus. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Millard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

McManus shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. McManus showed some decent athleticism there.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Millard is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Millard is refusing to be controlled, as McManus sits in half guard.
Millard is doing well to control the position and prevent McManus from advancing to side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McManus frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Millard really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
McManus tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
McManus postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Millard looks a forlorn figure.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Millard manages to control the position for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

McManus goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Millard turns into him and now he's in McManus's guard.
Millard being controlled here momentarily.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Connor McManus wasn't doing enough on the ground.
McManus misses with an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Millard scores with a nice head shot.
Sloppy strikes from McManus. Those never looked like landing.
McManus pulls out of a head kick attempt.
McManus throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
McManus throws a shot to the body.
McManus misses with a jab to the body
and Millard counters with a left to the body.
A left and a right from Millard both land. Nice combination.
Nice takedown defense from Millard. No joy for McManus on that attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McManus lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Millard dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
A slow jab from McManus misses its intended target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Bruce Millard will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Millard defending well as McManus loads up on a big left hand.
McManus misses with a double jab
and Millard counters with a good low kick that McManus was not able to check.
McManus fails with the takedown
and Millard counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Millard throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Millard on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
McManus on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Millard ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McManus moves away.
Millard cracks a nice hook into McManus's ribs.
McManus pivots, looking for a leg kick but Millard is out of range and McManus settles back down.
Millard has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from McManus finds it's way round the side to connect with Millard's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McManus checks a leg kick nicely.
Millard takes a body punch but keeps moving.
McManus keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Millard.
A head kick misses from Millard.

McManus manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Millard on his heels. He'll look to pass Millard's guard now, I'm sure.
Millard trying to keep a closed guard but McManus is proving a slippery customer.
McManus landing some decent shots from guard.
Millard controls McManus momentarily but McManus frees himself.
McManus trying to control the position from guard on top but Millard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McManus with a flurry of punches that miss.
McManus wants to control from the top but Millard keeps moving.
McManus trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
McManus in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
McManus trying to control the position from guard on top but Millard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Millard misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Millard ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Millard slips under a jab from McManus.
McManus walks into a stiff left hand from Millard.
Sloppy strikes from Millard. Those never looked like landing.
McManus ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Millard moves away.
McManus will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Millard stuffs the takedown attempt from McManus. McManus gets slowly back to his feet.
A big right from McManus misses.
Bruce Millard seems to be getting the better of the standup.
McManus misses the jab.
McManus walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Millard throws a series of punches but McManus moves out of range.
McManus lands a nice looking body shot.
Millard takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

McManus gets the takedown into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
McManus misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
McManus trying to control the position but Millard is working away.
Millard tries to improve position but can't.
Millard struggling a bit here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Millard parries the strikes from McManus easily there. McManus is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Millard to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Connor McManus dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

McManus takes a swing at Millard's ribcage but misses.
McManus slips under a jab.
Millard throws a solid leg kick but McManus takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Millard.
Millard on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
The crowd cheers as Millard lands an impressive looking overhand right. McManus doesn't seem phased though.
Millard ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McManus moves away.
McManus connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Millard momentarily.
Millard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
The fighters circling - McManus throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
McManus fails with the takedown.
McManus doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Millard counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's one minute gone in the round.
McManus has his takedown stuffed
and Millard counters with a right hand to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Connor McManus. That's going to take a lot out of him.
McManus throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Millard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Millard ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McManus moves away.
Bruce Millard is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Millard thows a body shot but no joy.
Millard works the jab nicely.
Millard lands with a shot to the body.
McManus blocks the body kick.
McManus tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Millard swivels and escapes.
McManus throws a jab when Millard was well out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Millard misses with a body shot.
Millard swings away with a body shot that misses
and McManus counters with a nice low kick that buckles Millard's knee momentarily.
Millard swings for the body but McManus moves out of range.
McManus fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
McManus will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Millard jabs McManus right on the nose. McManus blinks but takes it well.
Millard ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McManus moves away.
Millard is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down McManus rather than just go for the knockout.
McManus misses with a head kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A right-left combo lands from Millard.
Millard swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
McManus misses the jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from McManus.
McManus keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Millard throws a body kick that misses.
McManus misses with a left hand
and McManus takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
McManus keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Millard connects with a single shot there.
McManus tries for a takedown but Millard sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Millard's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Millard duly obliges.
McManus throws a series of punches but Millard moves out of range.
Millard connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between McManus's hands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Millard fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Millard feints a jab promting McManus to slip. Millard then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. McManus slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
McManus connects with a crisp jab.
Millard misses the jab.
McManus falls off balance throwing a combination
and Millard counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
McManus throws an overhand right that lands on Millard's shoulder, as Millard tries to avoid the shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Millard lands a nice looking body shot.
McManus uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Millard.
Millard scores with a nice strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bruce Millard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Millard 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 William Peck scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Connor McManus!
A relieved looking Connor McManus thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.