PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Luke Reynolds (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Elliot Payne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Elliot Payne is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Reynolds
vs
Payne

188 cm
20
215 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

185 cm
23
203 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Luke Reynolds!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Elliot Payne!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, Summer Carpenter and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Payne throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A jab from Payne misses.
Payne shoots in for a double leg but Reynolds sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Payne has closed the distance and engaged Reynolds in a clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Payne.
Payne throws an elbow that misses.
The referee is keeping an eye on Reynolds - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Payne avoiding damage.
Payne is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Reynolds is keeping busy.
Payne throws a knee to the head but misses.
Payne is trying to push Reynolds away but Reynolds has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Reynolds tries to throw a body punch but Payne avoids it by throwing Reynolds back against the cage.
Payne pushes off an throws an elbow but Reynolds leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Reynolds lands a left hand that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
Reynolds takes an elbow to the temple.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne just leaning against Reynolds, taking a breather.
Payne blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Payne avoiding damage as Reynolds throws knees to the body.
Reynolds lands an elbow inside that Payne shrugs off.
Reynolds working aggressively here.
Reynolds letting Payne take a breather here.
Reynolds takes a knee right on the jaw!
Payne lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Reynolds leaning against his opponent.
Payne slows down the pace here.
Reynolds lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A knee to the head by Payne.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payne is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Reynolds lands with a short shot to the head.
Payne working Reynolds over with knees to the body.
Reynolds lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
Payne scores a nice knee to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Reynolds blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Reynolds on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Reynolds avoiding damage as Payne throws knees to the body.
Payne with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Payne wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Payne is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Reynolds gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Payne being controlled against the cage.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Payne obliges.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Payne trying to control the position but instead, Reynolds has worked for underhooks and has pushed Payne into the cage.
Payne seems frustrated at his inability to get double underhooks.
Payne looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Payne throws a punch but it's blocked by Reynolds.
Reynolds lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Payne jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Reynolds walks away with a smile on his face. Payne gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Luke Reynolds has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Elliot Payne.

Reynolds scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Reynolds lands a nice short elbow.
Reynolds working over Payne with some ground and pound. Payne looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Payne looks winded!

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Reynolds tries to pass the half guard into mount. Payne knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Payne works his way to full guard. Good work.

Payne escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Reynolds gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Reynolds chips away with some ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Reynolds looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Reynolds seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Payne for as long as he can get away with.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Luke Reynolds will probably get the nod.
That's time! Reynolds's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

No luck with that takedown attempt from Payne.

Payne gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Reynolds just misses with a elbow thrown towards Payne's brow.
Reynolds takes a knee right on the jaw!
Payne taking a breather.
Reynolds leaning against his opponent.
Payne is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Payne is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Payne letting Reynolds take a breather here.
Reynolds throws a head punch that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payne with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Payne lands an elbow just above Reynolds 's eye.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Payne lands a knee to the head.
Payne looking to throw knees to the head but Reynolds is blocking nicely.
Reynolds lands a nice uppercut.
Reynolds lands a body punch in the clinch.
Payne misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Reynolds tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Reynolds lands a hook that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
Payne with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Payne lands with a left to the head.
Payne tries to land a knee to the head but Reynolds blocks with his arms.
Payne is breathing heavily.
Reynolds has a couple of punches blocked by Payne.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Reynolds.
Payne throws an elbow that misses.
Reynolds blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Reynolds.
Payne looking to throw knees to the head but Reynolds is blocking nicely.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Payne slows down the pace here.
Reynolds misses with a hook to the ribs.
Reynolds displaying some good clinch control by pressing Payne up against the cage.
Payne throws a knee to the head but misses.
Reynolds prevents a takedown attempt there.
Reynolds stalls.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Reynolds lands with a left to the head.
The referee is keeping an eye on Reynolds - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Reynolds lands a left hand that snaps the head of Payne backwards.
Reynolds taking a breather.
Payne with an attempt at a knee that misses.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Reynolds is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Payne is keeping busy.
Reynolds dodges an elbow strike from Payne.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds dodges an elbow strike from Payne.
Payne misses with a short punch on the inside.
Reynolds avoids the elbow strike from Payne, against the cage.
Reynolds swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Reynolds just leaning against Payne, taking a breather.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Luke Reynolds.
Reynolds misses with a few strikes there.
Elliot Payne is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Reynolds circles away from the clinch attempt.
Payne tries to clinch up
and Reynolds counters with a nice uppercut.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The fight stays on the outside here - Payne looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Elliot Payne will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Payne with a lazy takedown attempt
and Reynolds counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Payne doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Reynolds counters by moving into the clinch.
Payne trying to stall but Reynolds improves his position.
Payne tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Payne drops down looking for an ankle pick but Reynolds pulls his leg out and moves away.
Luke Reynolds has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Elliot Payne.
Payne takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Reynolds scores with a one two! Payne had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Elliot Payne seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Reynolds drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Reynolds wants to control but Payne is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reynolds working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Payne takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Reynolds tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Reynolds controlling the position from side mount.
Payne throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.
Reynolds tries to move into full mount but can't pass Payne's legs.

Reynolds looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payne is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Reynolds working the head with strikes.
Payne is looking to regain half guard here but Reynolds keeps moving and retains side control.
Payne is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Reynolds asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Payne is not content to let Reynolds control the position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds lands a nice forearm strike.

Reynolds is trying to get an arm triangle but Payne is defending well.
Reynolds working away.
Reynolds advances nicely into full mount.
Reynolds trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Reynolds scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Payne?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reynolds has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Payne's face.
Reynolds lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Reynolds unloading with bombs!
BOOM! Reynolds connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Reynolds putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!

Payne is rocked!
Payne is bucking up trying to escape but Reynolds cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Payne is still in real trouble! Can Reynolds finish him?
Reynolds trying to control but Payne is having none of it.
Reynolds working away from the top, dropping strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Reynolds is landing with some decent strikes but Payne is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Elliot Payne has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Payne seems to have recovered his senses.
Luke Reynolds overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Reynolds can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Payne is looking to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luke Reynolds showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Reynolds has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight for Luke Reynolds!
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight for Luke Reynolds!
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight for Luke Reynolds!

Luke Reynolds wins by unanimous decision!
Luke Reynolds seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.