PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mickey Conner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Koichi Sithu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mickey Conner has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Conner
vs
Sithu

216 cm
18
177 lbs
1 - 7 - 0

183 cm
24
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mickey Conner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Koichi Sithu!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Winston Howard and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sithu misses with a takedown attempt

and Conner counters by clinching up.

Conner jumps guard and drags Sithu to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sithu content to stall in guard here.
Conner will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Conner is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Conner really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Conner manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sithu tries to lock up and control but Conner gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Sithu holds on to Conner around his waist, trying desperately to prevent any attacks.
Conner wants to control the pace but Sithu is squirming around nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sithu sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Conner is keen to just control but Sithu is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sithu wants to get back to full guard.
Sithu manages to get to full guard.
Sithu is pulling down on Conner's head. It's preventing any offense from Conner, at least for the moment.

Sithu throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Sithu keeping moving, preventing Conner from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conner with a flurry of punches that miss.
Conner has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sithu has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Sithu wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Conner is now in half guard.
Conner is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sithu gets full guard.
Conner postures up and lands a big shot to Sithu's brow.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Sithu holds on and takes a little breather.
Conner tries to free his leg and advance position but Sithu is retaining full guard.
Conner is stalling in the full guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Sithu wriggles free and stands up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Koichi Sithu will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Conner gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Sithu jumps guard and drags Conner to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Conner wants to stand but Sithu is controlling his posture from full guard.

Sithu throws his legs up looking for a submission but Conner uses it to pass to side control.
Conner scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Sithu to see if he's OK.
Conner has control of an arm but Sithu manages to advance to Conner's back!

Sithu is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sithu is not going to allow Conner to sit and survive in this position.

Sithu is looking for the choke from the back position but Conner is controlling his hands well.
Sithu controls the action.
Conner rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Conner is looking to improve his position.
Conner wants to control but Sithu is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Koichi Sithu has got the better of the ground game so far.
Conner blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sithu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sithu sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Conner defending well though.
Sithu sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Conner defending well though.

Sithu is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Conner sees it coming and defends easily.
Conner knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Sithu on the ground.

Sithu stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Sithu closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Sithu misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Conner tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Conner struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sithu controlling the position from side mount.

Sithu looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Conner struggling a bit here.
Sithu throwing strikes but Conner manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Sithu tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Conner wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Conner just content to control the position.
Sithu is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Conner is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Conner fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Conner jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Sithu is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Sithu and Conner has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Sithu tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Conner wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Koichi Sithu showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Conner gets caught napping as Sithu dives in and scores a takedown. Conner manages to retain guard.
Sithu throwing strikes but missing.
Sithu slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Sithu gets to his feet - Conner follows without any prompting.
Sithu shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Conner but Conner pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Conner drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Conner passes Sithu's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Sithu looking for submissions off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Conner missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Conner lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Conner looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Conner winds up and cracks Sithu with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Conner is looking for a kimura here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Conner is thwarting Sithu's attempts to control the position.
Conner wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sithu keeps working.
Sithu trying to hold on to Conner's head to control him but Conner postures up.
Sithu is staying active underneath Conner, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conner performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

We're going to have a standup here because Mickey Conner wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Conner throws a leg kick
and Sithu counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Conner is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Conner defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sithu.
Sithu shoots for a double leg takedown but Conner sprawls well. He's pushed Sithu's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Mickey Conner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Koichi Sithu.
Sithu fails in his attempt to clinch.

Conner gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Conner is trying to force a seperation but Sithu has the dominant position.

Conner manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Conner keeping moving, preventing Sithu from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sithu forces his way into half guard.
Sithu tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

Sithu is working for a kimura but Conner is defending it quite comfortably.
Conner looks like he's trying to stand up.
Mickey Conner has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Koichi Sithu is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sithu content to control rather than advance.

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 Mickey Conner.
I think Sithu 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 27:30
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Koichi Sithu!
Koichi Sithu was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.