PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Big Hardon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Bellator (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hardon comes to the cage accompanied by Ameno. Bellator is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: A Lesson Never Learned. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Hardon
vs
Bellator

190 cm
32
275 lbs
24 - 17 - 0

181 cm
27
285 lbs
8 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Big Hardon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Frank Bellator!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, John Roberts and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardon tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Bellator gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Hardon counters with a nice uppercut.

It looks like Frank Bellator has been cut.
Frank Bellator seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hardon shoots in but no luck this time.
Bellator takes one on the button.
Hardon blocks a jab.
Bellator dodges the punch combination from Hardon.
Hardon shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Bellator defends it nicely.
Bellator rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Hardon counters with a leg kick.
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!
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Hardon, right into the meat.
Bellator lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Bellator throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Hardon to counter with a crisp jab.
Hardon lands a nice shot to the body.
Bellator misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardon uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bellator.
Bellator has his takedown stuffed

and Hardon counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hardon.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Hardon passes into half guard.
Hardon controlling the pace.
Hardon throwing shots but Bellator is blocking nicely.
Hardon is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Hardon tries to pass the half guard into mount. Bellator knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Bellator looking for submissions off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bellator is looking for a sweep. Hardon is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hardon is trying to control. Bellator wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hardon is just content to waste time from the top position. Bellator takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

Bellator has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hardon can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Hardon is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Bellator is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Bellator has escaped and now he's on top!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hardon is on top in guard.
Hardon stopping the sweep attempt from Bellator.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardon wants to control from the top but Bellator keeps moving.
Bellator looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hardon is one step ahead there.
Hardon slips nicely into half guard.
Hardon not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hardon wants to free his trapped foot but Bellator is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Bellator wants to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardon wants to take a breather but Bellator is having none of it.
Bellator keeping hold of Hardon's head, controlling as best he can.
Hardon is thwarting Bellator's attempts to control the position.
Hardon wants to control but Bellator is keeping him busy.
Bellator tries to roll over but Hardon keeps him under control.
Bellator has a hand on Hardon's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Hardon takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bellator is squirming around, avoiding Hardon's attempts to control the action.
Hardon landing punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Big Hardon dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Frank Bellator's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Bellator throws a hook but Hardon avoids it easily.
A combination from Hardon does no damage.
A combination from Hardon does no damage.
Bellator ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hardon moves away.
Hardon thows a left - swing and a miss!
A clash of legs there as Bellator blocks the low kick.
Hardon fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A cross from Bellator lands.
Bellator defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Hardon.
Bellator fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Hardon looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Bellator looks to land a left hand but Hardon moved out of range nicely.
A big left from Bellator misses.
Bellator slips a straight right by Hardon.
Bellator throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hardon's waist but Hardon gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Bellator off to one side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bellator on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Bellator cracks Hardon with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Hardon pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bellator shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Hardon pinned against the cage. Hardon gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Hardon fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Big Hardon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hardon avoids a punch combination nicely.
Hardon uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Bellator.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardon misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bellator.
Hardon connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Bellator momentarily.

That has opened up Frank Bellator's cut even more.
Bellator fails with the takedown
and Hardon cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hardon lands a jab to the nose.
Bellator lands with a right hand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bellator lands a jab to the nose.

Bellator feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Hardon preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bellator won't allow Hardon to sweep him here.
Hardon trying to control the position.
Bellator missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bellator keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hardon's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hardon has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Bellator can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Hardon is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Bellator scoring with some ground and pound.
Bellator throws a big right hand that misses.
Bellator sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Hardon's guard.
Bellator lands strikes from half guard.
Hardon wants to control but Bellator is keeping busy.
Bellator throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bellator lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Hardon moves into full guard.
Hardon not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bellator tries to free his leg and advance position but Hardon is retaining full guard.
Bellator slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Sloppy strikes there by Bellator.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bellator tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Hardon takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Hardon is looking to regain half guard here but Bellator keeps moving and retains side control.
Bellator lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Bellator showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Frank Bellator's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Hardon defending well as Bellator loads up on a big left hand.

It looks like Big Hardon has been cut.
Bellator thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hardon displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bellator.
Bellator takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Hardon takes a swing at Bellator's ribcage but misses.
Hardon throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hardon ducks under a wild hook from Bellator.
Hardon slaps away a takedown attempt from Bellator, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Hardon tries to close the distance and clinch up but Bellator swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Bellator lands with a shot to the body.
A telegraphed right hand from Hardon misses the target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bellator takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Bellator throws out a loose jab but Hardon uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hardon with a hook.
Hardon misses with a jab, cross combination.
A jab lands there for Bellator.
Hardon stuffs the takedown attempt from Bellator. Bellator gets slowly back to his feet.
Big Hardon has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Frank Bellator.
Hardon jabs at Bellator's body.
Bellator takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hardon misses with a hook. Bellator ducked under it nicely.
Hardon uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bellator.

Bellator looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bellator is in close to Hardon's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardon trying to keep a closed guard but Bellator is proving a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Hardon has his foot on Bellator's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Bellator works his way back into a safe position though.
Bellator with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hardon is trying to control the position but Bellator postures up.
Hardon manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Bellator manages to get himself to full guard.
Bellator looking for a sweep. Not yet Bellator, not yet.

Bellator is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Hardon is aware though and is defending well.
Hardon loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hardon wants to control from the top but Bellator keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardon working some strikes from top position.
Bellator trying to control the position.
Bellator looking for a sweep. Not yet Bellator, not yet.
Hardon wants to control from the top but Bellator keeps moving.

Bellator has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hardon can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Bellator manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardon tries to hold on but Bellator postures up.
Bellator raining down shots from the mount!

Bellator working for a guillotine from mount but Hardon is in no mood to give up.
Hardon is trying desperately to improve position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bellator with a couple of short strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hardon is desperately trying to improve his position but Bellator has a good base and remains in mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Frank Bellator.
I think Bellator 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 28:29
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Frank Bellator!
Frank Bellator took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, 5th Round Clothing for their support in the buildup to the fight.