PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between sparing mt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Axel Van Dam (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). mt comes to the cage accompanied by N.W.A. - Fuck da police. Van Dam has chosen Beatdown - Gunman Joe as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

mt
vs
Van Dam

180 cm
22
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

186 cm
20
212 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, sparing mt!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Axel Van Dam!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Trevor Gratis and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
mt slips a jab and a cross from Van Dam.
mt misses with an attempted mid kick.

Van Dam closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Van Dam prevents mt from standing back up.
Van Dam throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Van Dam has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Van Dam is trying to control the action in half guard but mt is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Van Dam sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. mt defending well though.
Van Dam is looking to take a break and control but mt is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Van Dam in particular looking to stall.
Van Dam throwing shots but mt is blocking nicely.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Van Dam misses with a hook.
Van Dam throws a nice looking combination but mt bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Van Dam closes this distance looking for a takedown but mt circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Dam looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
mt uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Van Dam.
mt throws a sloppy head kick and Van Dam moves out of range easily.
mt tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Van Dam paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Van Dam cracks mt with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
mt tries a head kick but it misses.
mt is looking to clinch but Van Dam is avoiding it.
mt keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Van Dam throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
mt throws a sloppy head kick and Van Dam moves out of range easily.
Van Dam shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has mt pinned against the cage. mt gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Van Dam has taken the fight to the clinch.
mt lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van Dam backwards.
Van Dam wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Van Dam goes for a takedown attempt but mt pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
sparing mt has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Axel Van Dam.
Van Dam misses with a looping right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from mt. No joy for Van Dam on that attempt.
Van Dam blocks a head kick by mt.
Van Dam throws a jab but it's blocked by mt.
mt throws a sloppy head kick and Van Dam moves out of range easily.
mt misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Van Dam has mt up against the cage in a clinch.
mt is trying to break free.
With the fighters up against the cage, mt throws an elbow but misses.
mt missing with knees to the body.
Van Dam takes an elbow to the forehead.
mt tries to break the clinch but Van Dam is controlling the position.
Van Dam has mt pressed against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
mt tries to land a knee to the head but Van Dam blocks with his arms.
Van Dam can't break the clinch.
Van Dam is working for takedown but mt is calmly controlling the position for now.
Van Dam on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Van Dam wants to break the clinch but can't.

mt breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
mt throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

It looks like Axel Van Dam has been cut.
mt pulls out of a head kick attempt.
mt misses with a head kick.

Van Dam drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
mt is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
mt is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
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 sparing mt will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Axel Van Dam's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

mt pulls out of a head kick attempt.
mt takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
mt avoids a punch combination nicely.
Van Dam avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Van Dam throws a wild body kick that mt sees coming a mile off.
sparing mt is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Van Dam shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with mt but mt pushes him off and we're back to square one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Dam tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but mt swivels and escapes.
mt steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Van Dam.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Dam fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. mt looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A good leg kick by mt.
Van Dam clobbers mt with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Van Dam throws a jab when mt was well out of range.
Van Dam throws a jab but it's blocked by mt.
Van Dam fails with a takedown attempt.
sparing mt has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Axel Van Dam.
mt clinches but Van Dam breaks the clinch

and Van Dam counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in mt's guard now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

mt throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Van Dam controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Van Dam stands up from mt's guard - Van Dam perhaps looking for a knockout.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Van Dam closes this distance looking for a takedown but mt circles away.
mt throws a sloppy head kick and Van Dam moves out of range easily.
Van Dam 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.
Van Dam tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but mt swivels and escapes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Dam misses the jab.
mt tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
mt misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
mt swinging wilding here.

mt tries to keep at a distance but Van Dam has taken the fight into the clinch.
mt looking to stall.
mt prevents Van Dam from breaking the clinch.
mt lands a knee to the head.
Van Dam is working for takedown but mt is calmly controlling the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

mt breaks the clinch.
mt throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Van Dam shoots in but no luck this time.
mt plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
sparing mt is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Van Dam throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Van Dam shoots in for a takedown but mt shows good takedown defense.
sparing mt is winning the standup battle so far.
mt doesn't manage to clinch there - Van Dam circles away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Van Dam will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Van Dam will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that sparing mt will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Axel Van Dam's cut.
That's time! mt's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

mt throws a sloppy head kick
and Van Dam counters with a two punch combo.
Van Dam shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says mt as he avoids it easily.
mt throws a head kick that misses.
mt throws a body kick the misses

and Van Dam counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for mt!

Van Dam swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and mt is now in Van Dam's guard. A big mistake from Van Dam there, giving up the dominant position!
mt would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Van Dam has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but mt can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Van Dam takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Van Dam is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's one minute gone in the round.
mt is looking to stand up but Van Dam won't let him.
Van Dam is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Van Dam takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
mt is trying to stand.
Van Dam is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for mt!

Van Dam goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now mt is on top in guard.
Van Dam looking for a sweep. Not yet Van Dam, not yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Van Dam has a closed guard, preventing mt from standing up.

Van Dam pushes a forearm under mt's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, mt is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:03 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Axel Van Dam!