PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Howard Bice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joseph Franck (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Bice
vs
Franck

170 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
25
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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, Howard Bice!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Joseph Franck!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Robert Douchet and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bice shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Franck defends it nicely.
Franck waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Bice.
Franck lands a right hook to the body.
Bice defending well as Franck loads up on a big left hand.
Bice walks into a stiff left hand from Franck.
A left and a right from Franck both land. Nice combination.
Bice throws a right and a left that both miss.
Franck throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Franck scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Nice straight punches there by Franck. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Franck.
Bice shoots for a double leg takedown but Franck sprawls well. He's pushed Bice's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Franck connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bice wants to clinch.
Franck works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Decent striking displayed by Franck there.
Bice keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Franck throws a body punch but Bice moves out of range.
Franck throws a right and a left that both miss.
A combination from Franck does no damage.
Franck misses with a body shot.
Bice on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Franck dodges the punch combination from Bice.
A lazy left from Franck finds it's target.
Jab, jab by Franck - just one landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franck uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Bice has time to react.
Bice fails with an attempt to clinch.

Bice gets a double leg takedown into Franck's guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Franck is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Bice postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Franck can do anything to dispel that myth.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bice stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Franck swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Bice is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Franck keeping moving, preventing Bice from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Howard Bice just wasn't active enough.
Bice tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Franck manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Bice tries for a takedown but Franck sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Howard Bice. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Franck slaps away a takedown attempt from Bice, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Bice takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Good standup being displayed there by Franck as he connects with a hook.
Bice misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Bice slips a jab and a cross from Franck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bice tries to close the distance and clinch up but Franck swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nice jab there from Franck.
Franck moves into range and connects with a jab.
Franck clobbers Bice with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Bice shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Franck sprawls well. Franck wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Bice gets slowly back to his feet.
Bice tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Franck connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Bice throws a body punch but Franck moves out of range.
Franck jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Bice shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Franck pinned against the cage. Franck gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Franck is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Bice is breathing heavily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bice dodges the punch combination from Franck.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joseph Franck dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Franck smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Franck displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bice.
Franck lands a really nice looking cross but Bice seems unphased.
A combination from Franck does no damage.
Bice ducks under a wild hook from Franck.
Franck throws a jab but it's blocked by Bice.
Franck scores with a sloppy right hand. Bice should have avoided that one.
Franck cracks Bice with a right hand to the side of the head.
Nice sprawl there from Franck as Bice shoots in.
Franck uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bice.
Joseph Franck seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Franck uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Bice has time to react.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franck lands with a nice combination. Bice backs away looking to recover.
Franck goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Howard Bice is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Franck fails to land with a series of punches.
Bice takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Bice looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Franck moves into range and connects with a jab.
Bice is looking to clinch.
A big left from Franck misses.
Franck throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Bice sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bice shoots in for a takedown but Franck shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Howard Bice. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Franck just misses with a punch to the body.
Franck connects with a body shot that sends Bice's belly button to the back.
Franck might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Bice on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bice shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A looping hook to the body misses from Franck. Bice does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice jab there from Franck.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Franck enables Bice to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Franck manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Franck is trying to keep Bice in close.
Franck is breathing heavily.
Bice is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Bice advances position into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bice in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Franck really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Bice. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Bice happy to just control the position for now.
Bice lands a decent elbow from side control.
Franck trying to remain calm as Bice controls from the top position.

Bice tries for a kimura but Franck is defending well.
Bice working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bice wants to lay and pray for a moment but Franck keeps working.
You can see the frustration on Franck's face as Bice controls the position.

Bice decides to stand up, so the ref orders Franck to his feet.
Franck bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Bice's head.
No joy there for Franck, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Franck throws a big shot that misses.
Franck pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Bice back to the cage. Franck follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
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!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Franck lands a right hook to the body.
Franck has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Franck throws a poor cross that misses
and Bice counters with a three punch combo that has Franck backing up. Franck nods at Bice to acknowledge the strikes.
Bice throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Franck's waist but Franck gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Bice off to one side.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Joseph Franck will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Bice is looking to clinch but Franck is avoiding it.
Franck with a nice cross.
Bice closes this distance looking for a takedown but Franck circles away.
Franck connects with a good right hand that stumbles Bice. Bice circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

Bice scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Howard Bice overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Bice tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Bice has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bice trying to control the position but Franck is working away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Franck tries to buck Bice off but Bice is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bice trying to control the position but Franck is working away.
Franck tries to improve position but can't.

Bice decides to stand back up.
Bice keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Franck.
Bice tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Franck counters with a stiff right hand.
Franck dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Bice walks into a straight right hand from Franck.
Danga de danga de dang - Franck scores with a four punch combination!
Franck throws a jab but it's blocked by Bice.

Bice shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Franck manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franck being controlled here, momentarily.
Bice pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Franck is keeping the position for now.
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!
Bice throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Franck works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Franck keeping full guard, as Bice tries to pass.
Bice sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Franck wants to sweep here but Bice controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Howard Bice wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Franck will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Franck jabs at Bice's body.

Bice changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Franck looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Franck is working to avoid the ground and pound but Bice connects with a decent elbow.

Bice is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Franck knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Franck wants to control but Bice postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bice landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Bice controls the position from side control.

Bice wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Franck, who protects the arm well.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bice wants to control but Franck is keeping him busy.
Howard Bice has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bice working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

And that's the end of the fight!
Howard Bice showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Franck 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joseph Franck!
Joseph Franck seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.