PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Charlie Abate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Murray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mike Murray will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Abate
vs
Murray

166 cm
18
140 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
21
145 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Charlie Abate!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mike Murray!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Donatello Bradman and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Murray looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Abate is fending him off so far but Murray persists. Nope, Abate circles away and we're back to standing.

Murray closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Abate did well to prevent Murray getting side control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Murray throws a strike but Abate avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Abate looking to control.
Murray preventing the sweep.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Abate keeping moving, preventing Murray from controlling successfully.
Abate looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Abate keeping full guard, as Murray tries to pass.
Murray landing some decent shots from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murray wanted to stand there but Abate had control of the position.
Abate pulls Murray in to control the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Abate dives in and scores a takedown into Murray's guard.
Murray keeping moving, preventing Abate from controlling successfully.
Abate is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Abate trying to control the position from guard on top but Murray is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Charlie Abate wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Murray shoots for a takedown but Abate saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Abate dodges the punch combination from Murray.
Murray shoots and misses

and Abate counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Abate.
Charlie Abate has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mike Murray.

Murray pulls Abate into guard.
Abate is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Abate gets to his feet. Murray looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Abate misses with a takedown attempt - Murray sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Abate stuffs the takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abate slips under a jab.
Abate misses with a takedown attempt - Murray sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Abate closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Murray quickly recovers to half guard.
Abate lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Abate prevents Murray from improving his position.
Abate looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murray trying to control from the bottom.
Abate wants to lay and pray for a moment but Murray keeps working.
Abate works his way into side control.
Abate works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Abate lands a few punches from side control.
Abate grinds an elbow into Murray's temple.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
You can see the frustration on Murray's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Murray looks winded!
Abate landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Murray is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charlie Abate dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Murray gets in close and instigates a clinch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Abate throws an elbow but misses.
Murray is working for takedown but Abate is calmly controlling the position for now.
Abate has Murray pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Murray manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Abate trying to land knees to the body.
Murray tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Murray tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Abate just stands there and leans against the cage.
Charlie Abate has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mike Murray.
Murray takes an elbow to the temple.
Abate gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Murray.

Murray has clasped his hands together around Abate's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Charlie Abate overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Abate struggling a bit here.
Abate is not content to let Murray control the position.
Abate is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Murray off and has taken his back!
Murray covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
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.
Abate tries to keep control of the position but Murray is staying busy.

Abate looking for the choke but no joy.
Abate landing with strikes.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Abate controlling the positon.
Murray wants to control his opponent's hands but Abate gets his hands free.
Abate is looking to control Murray but Murray is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Abate looking to soften up his opponent with punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murray can't escape the position.
Murray is breathing heavily.
Abate connects with a big shot to the side of Murray's head.
Abate lands a shot to the head.
Abate lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Abate gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
Abate is landing with strikes. Murray can't take much more of this.
Abate just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Abate struggling to keep hold of the position.
Abate lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Murray hold on?!
Murray is covering up but some of the strikes from Abate are getting through and doing damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Abate connects with a big shot to the side of Murray's head.
Abate scores with strikes from the back.
Abate is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Abate gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Abate gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Abate apologises and we restart here on the feet.
Murray slips a straight right by Abate.

Abate darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Abate looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Abate looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Murray with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Abate trying to control from half guard but Murray is working away.
Abate working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charlie Abate dominated that second round.
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!

Murray misses with a takedown

and Abate counters with a shoot takedown. Murray fights it but they end up in guard.
Abate working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Murray being controlled here, momentarily.
Murray controls Abate momentarily but Abate frees himself.
Murray is controlling Abate's posture.
Abate trying to control the position from guard on top but Murray is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Abate 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.
Murray utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Abate's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Abate accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Abate stands up and waves to Murray to follow him.
Murray tries to close the distance and clinch up but Abate swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Charlie Abate is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Murray shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Abate but Abate pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Murray takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Abate shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Murray is trying to defend but Abate finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Abate is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abate throwing shots but Murray is blocking nicely.
Abate scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Ground and pound from Abate.
Abate content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Abate lands a nice short elbow.
Abate scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Abate connects with a nice short shot to Murray's temple.
Abate is trying to control the action in half guard but Murray is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abate lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Abate works his foot free and advances to mount.
Murray tries to hold on but Abate pushes him away.
Murray gets back to half guard.
Abate lands with a punch from half guard.
Abate drops an elbow to the side of Murray's head.
Murray taking some punishment here, with Abate in his half guard.
Abate scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Abate drops an elbow to the side of Murray's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murray trying to control here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Abate lands a nice short elbow.
Abate lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Abate is nestled in close to Murray, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Abate is taking a breather. Murray says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Abate seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Abate trying to control from half guard but Murray is working away.
Abate working the head and body with strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Charlie Abate showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Abate, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight for Charlie Abate!
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight for Charlie Abate!
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight for Charlie Abate!

Charlie Abate wins by unanimous decision!
Our winner, Charlie Abate, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.