PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Scott Rush (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jonathan Hope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Rush
vs
Hope

182 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

187 cm
18
196 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Scott Rush!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jonathan Hope!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Yves DeLean and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hope closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Rush did well to prevent Hope getting side control.
Hope throwing shots but Rush is blocking nicely.
Hope is trying to control the action in half guard but Rush is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hope is thwarting Rush's attempts to control the position.
Rush pushes Hope off looking to stand but Hope dives back in and keeps control.
Hope not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Rush wants to stand back up but Hope manages to pass into side control.
Rush is letting Hope control him for a moment.
Rush is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Rush sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rush manages to escape and get back to his feet!
A lazy left from Hope finds it's target.

It looks like Scott Rush has been cut.
Scott Rush seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rush takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Rush shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hope but Hope pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Hope tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rush was well out of range. Poor timing from Hope.
Rush wants to clinch up but Hope keeps it at a distance.
A jab from Hope misses.
Hope misses with a straight right.
Rush lands with a nice combination. Hope backs away looking to recover.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Rush moves into the clinch successfully.
Rush is breathing heavily.

Rush is fighting off a takedown attempt but Hope is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Rush to the mat. Rush regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Hope throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hope with a nice head shot there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hope throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rush keeping full guard, as Hope tries to pass.
Rush utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hope throws a big right hand that misses.
Rush is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Hope is controlling him.
Hope with a nice head shot there.
Rush wants to stand and escape but Hope is having none of it.
Hope must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hope is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Hope throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hope throwing strikes but missing.
Hope 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.
Hope working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hope looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Hope drops back looking for a leg! Rush is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Rush manages to kick Hope off! Hope jumps back into Rush's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Hope's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Hope trying to control the position from guard on top but Rush is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hope pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rush is keeping the position for now.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hope trying to control but Rush is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonathan Hope dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Scott Rush's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rush tries to bum rush Hope with a series of wild strikes but Hope uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Left hook, right uppercut from Rush.
Hope throws a good cross that connects.
Rush throws a one two combo.
Hope connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Rush momentarily.
A left and a right from Rush both land. Nice combination.
Hope circles away from the clinch attempt
letting Hope counter with a right hand.
Rush defending well as Hope loads up on a big left hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hope circles away from the clinch attempt.
Rush swinging wildly here.
Hope looks to land a left hand but Rush moved out of range nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rush moves out of range of the leg kick from Hope.
Hope just misses with a punch to the body.
Rush scores with a jab.
Hope waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Rush.
Hope circles away from the clinch attempt
and Hope cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Hope gets caught napping as Rush dives in and scores a takedown. Hope manages to retain guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hope wants to sweep here but Rush controlling him for the moment.
Hope trying to keep a closed guard but Rush is proving a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Jonathan Hope has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hope keeping moving, preventing Rush from controlling successfully.
Rush preventing the sweep.
Rush postures up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Rush tries to close the distance and clinch but Hope swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rush with a nice cross.
Horrible takedown by Rush or perhaps it was just good defense by Hope which made him look bad.
Jonathan Hope seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rush throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hope swinging wildly here.
Hope scores with a hook.
Hope lands the left hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hope throws a leg kick but Rush moved away.
Rush uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hope.
Hope throws a body punch but Rush moves out of range.
Rush tries to close the distance and clinch but Hope swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Left hook, right uppercut from Hope.

Scott Rush's cut is getting worse.
Rush moves to clinch but Hope breaks away
and Hope cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hope throws a jab but it's blocked by Rush.
Rush pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Hope back to the cage. Rush follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Rush tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Hope manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rush throws a right and a left that both miss.
Rush checks a low kick from Hope.
Hope throws a poor cross that misses
and Rush counters with a two punch combo.
Scott Rush is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hope throws a looping overhand right but Rush ducks down to avoid it.
Rush tries to clinch but Hope moves out of range.
Rush misses with a two punch combination.
Rush displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hope throws out the jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hope connects with a nice looking jab.
Hope rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rush moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hope shoots in for a takedown but Rush shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Rush tries to clinch up.
Rush feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Hopes jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hope throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Rush thuds his right hand into Hope's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Rush tries to close the distance and clinch but Hope swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonathan Hope showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Scott Rush's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Hope circles away from the clinch attempt.
Rush throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A jab from Hope misses.
Rush uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hope.
Hope throws an off balance right hand
and Rush counters with a nice uppercut.
Rush wants to clinch.
Rush wants to clinch up but Hope keeps it at a distance.
Rush misses with a two punch combination.
Rush checks the leg kick nicely there.
Rush misses with a double jab.
Rush doesn't manage to clinch there - Hope circles away.
Hope missing with a left hand there. Rush was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rush misses with a jab, cross combination.
Rush gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Hope swinging wildly here.
Rush is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Hope misses with a looping right.
Rush with a lazy takedown attempt

and Hope counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Rush's guard now.
Hope throws an elbow that misses. Rush uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Hope's guard. Nice move by Rush!
Hope scores with a short punch from the bottom.
Connects with an elbow from the bottom, proving to the judges that he's still active off his back.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hope is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rush preventing the sweep.
Hope is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Hope keeping moving, preventing Rush from controlling successfully.
Rush sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Hope's guard.

Rush seems to be working for a kimura but Hope defends the submission attempt.
Hope gets back to full guard.
Hope is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Hope can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hope lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Rush!
Hope won't let Rush get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Hope looking to finish Rush with some ground and pound. This is bad for Rush!
Hope with a couple of short strikes.
Hope unloading with bombs!
Hope landing strikes, looking to finish!
A nice elbow there by Hope.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hope lands a nice shot to the head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Hope controlling the pace for now.
Hope working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Scott Rush has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hope lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Hope working Rush over with strikes here.
Hope raining down shots from the mount!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hope scoring with strikes but Rush is staying in there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jonathan Hope comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Hope 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jonathan Hope!