PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Hannibal Butrovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Winston McCall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). McCall has chosen Parkway Drive - Sleepwalker as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Butrovic
vs
McCall

180 cm
27
168 lbs
14 - 4 - 0

174 cm
24
162 lbs
11 - 2 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Hannibal Butrovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Winston McCall!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Saam Ante and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Butrovic throws a right and a left that McCall avoids nicely.
Butrovic keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Butrovic throws an overhand right that lands on McCall's shoulder, as McCall tries to avoid the shot.
Butrovic slips a jab from McCall.
A jab from Butrovic misses.
Butrovic misses with an uppercut. McCall saw that one coming.
Butrovic misses the shot to the body.
A big left from McCall misses.
McCall swings for the body but Butrovic moves out of range.
Butrovic throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice shot by McCall.
Butrovic has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by McCall.
Butrovic throws out a loose jab but McCall uses good head movement to avoid it.
Butrovic tries for a takedown but McCall sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Butrovic connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Sloppy strikes from Butrovic. Those never looked like landing.
McCall uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Butrovic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Butrovic takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
A decent looking cross lands there for McCall.
Butrovic throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Butrovic misses with a looping right.
A telegraphed right hand from Butrovic misses the target.
Butrovic throws a looping overhand right but McCall ducks down to avoid it.

Butrovic shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. McCall manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Butrovic looking to pass the guard.

McCall has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Butrovic can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
McCall looking to hit a scissor sweep but Butrovic is one step ahead there.
Butrovic sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic looking to pass the guard.
McCall lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Butrovic!
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!
McCall wants to control the pace but Butrovic is squirming around nicely.
McCall prevents Butrovic from getting the reversal.
McCall trying to control but Butrovic is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Butrovic is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Butrovic gets back to half guard.
We've been hearing good reports from Butrovic's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
McCall wants to take a breather but Butrovic is having none of it.
Butrovic moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
McCall advances position into side control!
McCall is looking to take a break and control but Butrovic is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Butrovic is looking to regain half guard here but McCall keeps moving and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCall tries to advance to mount but can't.

McCall tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Butrovic is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McCall tries to pass the half guard into mount. Butrovic knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Butrovic trying to hold on to McCall's head to control him but McCall postures up.
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 Hannibal Butrovic will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Butrovic jabs McCall to the body, keeping him at a distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Butrovic.
Hannibal Butrovic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Butrovic drives through with a takedown into McCall's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Butrovic wants to control from the top but McCall keeps moving.
Butrovic looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Butrovic is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
McCall working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Butrovic.
McCall wants to sweep here but Butrovic controlling him for the moment.

McCall had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Butrovic defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Butrovic pushing down on McCall's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Butrovic tries to pass to full mount but McCall defends it.

Butrovic is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, McCall has managed to free his arm - good work.
McCall is trying to maintain the position but Butrovic is very close to passing his half guard.
McCall blocking the ground and pound attempt from Butrovic.
Butrovic prevents McCall from improving his position.
McCall keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks McCall with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Butrovic throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
McCall manages to get to full guard.
McCall looking to hit a scissor sweep but Butrovic is one step ahead there.
McCall lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Butrovic!
McCall trying to control but Butrovic is having none of it.
Butrovic is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic is working hard here to advance position.

McCall goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Butrovic is on top in guard.
McCall being controlled here, momentarily.
Butrovic trying to control the position from guard on top but McCall is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
McCall controls Butrovic momentarily but Butrovic frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCall looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
McCall throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
McCall looking for a sweep. Not yet McCall, not yet.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Butrovic passes McCall's left leg - he's now in half guard.

McCall looking for submissions off his back.
Butrovic prevents McCall from improving his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Butrovic content to control rather than advance.
McCall is looking for a sweep. Butrovic is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hannibal Butrovic dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Butrovic lands a right hook to the body.
Butrovic fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Butrovic takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
McCall ducks under a wild hook from Butrovic.
McCall takes a swing at Butrovic's ribcage but misses.
McCall swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Butrovic scores with a takedown into McCall's guard.
McCall looking to control.
Butrovic forces his way into half guard.
Butrovic wants to lay and pray for a moment but McCall keeps working.
McCall is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Butrovic's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Butrovic's back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Butrovic rolls, trying to escape but McCall keeps control of the position.
Hannibal Butrovic overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
McCall gets his hands free as Butrovic looks to control.
Butrovic is keeping busy.
McCall is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Butrovic is really stuck here.
Butrovic manages to scramble and ends up in full guard, under a barage of strikes . Great composure from Butrovic.
Butrovic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Butrovic has an active guard here but McCall has managed to pass into half guard.
McCall passes to side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic prevents McCall from improving position.
Hannibal Butrovic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
McCall trying to control the position but Butrovic is working away.
Butrovic can't do much from the bottom here.
Butrovic tries to improve position but can't.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
McCall trying to control the action but Butrovic is working from the bottom.
Butrovic sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Winston McCall has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McCall wants to lay and pray for a moment but Butrovic keeps working.
McCall is pressing down on Butrovic's thigh, looking to free his foot. Butrovic is holding on for now.
Butrovic makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Butrovic.
McCall stopping the sweep attempt from Butrovic.
Butrovic pulls McCall in close to prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McCall trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Butrovic stalks McCall and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into McCall's face. McCall staggers backwards, shaken.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
McCall ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Butrovic moves away.
Butrovic connects with a nice looking jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Hannibal Butrovic.
Well Butrovic has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Paul Aken scores the fight 30:27
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 30:28
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hannibal Butrovic!
Hannibal Butrovic decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.