PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Alex Watson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anzori Gvasalia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Watson comes to the cage accompanied by MARTIN GARRIX - ANIMALS. Alex Watson has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Watson
vs
Gvasalia

180 cm
19
137 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

174 cm
22
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Alex Watson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Anzori Gvasalia!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Chris Saunders and Josh West.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sloppy strikes from Gvasalia. Those never looked like landing.
Gvasalia misses with a wild combination.

Watson takes the fight into the clinch.
Watson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Gvasalia has him pressed against the cage.

Watson has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Gvasalia is trying to keep an underhook but Watson manages to get the takedown into half guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
It looks like Watson is going to stand back up.
Watson trying to control the pace.
Watson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gvasalia defending well though.
Gvasalia looks winded!
Watson is controlling the pace.
Gvasalia pushes Watson off but Watson dives into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gvasalia is being controlled here.
Watson tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Watson controlling the position.
Gvasalia really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Watson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watson wants to stand but Gvasalia has his arm trapped.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

We're going to have a standup here because Alex Watson wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Gvasalia falls off balance throwing a combination

and Watson counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Watson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Gvasalia wants to break free but Watson has control.

Watson has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Gvasalia uses from the top position.
Gvasalia wants to stand and escape but instead Watson has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Watson controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Watson works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watson seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Watson is looking for a kimura but Gvasalia is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Watson to get the leverage.
Watson working the head and body with strikes.

Watson is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gvasalia defends it well.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Watson seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Watson controlling the action here.
Watson's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Watson frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watson tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Watson won't let Gvasalia get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Watson content just to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Watson dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Watson clinches.
Gvasalia looking to slow down the pace here.
Gvasalia gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Watson.
Watson tries to throw a body punch but Gvasalia avoids it by throwing Watson back against the cage.
Watson is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Gvasalia is defending well.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Gvasalia tries to break free but Watson pushes him back against the cage.
Gvasalia is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watson is working for takedown but Gvasalia is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alex Watson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Watson pulls guard.
Watson keeping moving, preventing Gvasalia from controlling successfully.
Gvasalia wants to stand and escape but instead Watson has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Watson wants to stand but Gvasalia has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Watson is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Watson drops back looking for a leg! Gvasalia is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Gvasalia manages to kick Watson off! Watson jumps back into Gvasalia's guard.
Watson has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Gvasalia is proving hard to escape from.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Gvasalia can do anything to dispel that myth.
Alex Watson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Watson sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Gvasalia's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gvasalia scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Watson manages to mount him!
Watson controlling from the full mount.
Gvasalia trying desperately to get to his feet.
Watson content just to control the position here.
Watson with good strikes from the mount here!
Watson breaks from Gvasalia's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Watson controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Gvasalia for as long as he can get away with.
Watson lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Watson scores with a couple of good head shots there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Watson looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Watson controlling his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Watson 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Gvasalia throws a head kick but Watson moves out of range.
Watson throws a sloppy head kick and Gvasalia moves out of range easily.
A cross from Gvasalia lands.

Watson scores with a takedown into Gvasalia's guard.
Watson is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Watson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Gvasalia takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Watson wants to stand but Gvasalia has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watson engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Alex Watson wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Watson throws a right and a left that both miss.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gvasalia. Watson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Watson dives in and grabs Gvasalia's left leg, looking for a takedown. Gvasalia pushes down on Watson's head and hops out.
Watson moves out of range of the strikes.
Gvasalia throws a combination that misses

and Watson counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Gvasalia!
Gvasalia is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Watson asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watson content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

Watson is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Gvasalia knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Watson moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gvasalia is not content to let Watson control the position.
Gvasalia is trying to escape the position but Watson is controlling the position.
Watson tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Watson wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Gvasalia, who protects the arm well.
Watson controlling the position from side mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Gvasalia is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Watson has just dragged him back down to the mat.

Watson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Gvasalia is trying to buck Watson off.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alex Watson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Watson, 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 Roger Salmon scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:27
Judge Josh West scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alex Watson!