PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Cornell Obrien (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Justin Lawrence (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Obrien
vs
Lawrence

165 cm
24
140 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

172 cm
24
145 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Cornell Obrien!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Justin Lawrence!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Winston Howard and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lawrence tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Obrien counters by moving into the clinch.

Lawrence gets control of Obrien's arms and successfully pulls guard. Lawrence will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Obrien throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Lawrence works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Obrien accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Obrien's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Lawrence trying to strike off his back.
Obrien with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Obrien's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Obrien decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Lawrence, up you get!
Obrien fails with a takedown attempt.
No luck for Lawrence with that takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lawrence looks to clinch
and Obrien counters with a two punch combo.
Lawrence is looking to clinch.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Lawrence.

Lawrence gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Obrien tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lawrence drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Obrien gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Cornell Obrien has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Justin Lawrence.
Lawrence lands a knee to the body.

Lawrence jumps guard and drags Obrien to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Obrien postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Lawrence wants to get back to his feet but Obrien is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Obrien throws a big right hand that misses.
Lawrence is adopting a defensive guard.
Lawrence controls Obrien momentarily but Obrien frees himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lawrence has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Obrien is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Lawrence.
Obrien creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Lawrence tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Lawrence is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Obrien with good strikes from the mount here!
Obrien takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Obrien breaks from Lawrence's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obrien dominating with strikes here.
Obrien lands a nice shot to the head.
Lawrence really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Obrien lands a big elbow.
Lawrence is looking to get to half guard.
Obrien in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lawrence in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cornell Obrien dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Obrien stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Obrien wants it to stay on the feet.
Obrien lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Lawrence circles away quickly and effectively.

Obrien shoots in and bounces Lawrence off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Lawrence wants to stand up but Obrien is controlling him.
Obrien content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Obrien postures up in Lawrence's guard and throws a big left but Lawrence blocks it.

Obrien got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lawrence has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Obrien has managed to get both his arms back between Lawrence's legs - danger averted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obrien throwing strikes but missing.

Obrien stands up from Lawrence's guard - Obrien perhaps looking for a knockout.

Obrien moves into the clinch.
Obrien jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Lawrence walks away with a smile on his face. Obrien gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Lawrence fails to land the takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lawrence lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Lawrence.
Lawrence throws a sloppy head kick and Obrien moves out of range easily.
Lawrence looks to clinch
and Obrien counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Lawrence scores with a push kick.
Obrien shoots in for a takedown but Lawrence shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Lawrence misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Cornell Obrien has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Justin Lawrence.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Lawrence misses.
Lawrence is breathing heavily.
Obrien throws a series of punches but Lawrence moves out of range.
Obrien tries for a takedown but Lawrence circles away easily
and Lawrence counters with a head kick.
Obrien on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Obrien stuffs the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lawrence misses with a body punch

and Obrien holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Obrien tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Obrien is trying to pull guard but Lawrence turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Lawrence connects with a nasty looking knee right to Obrien's face.
Obrien tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Lawrence smiles and moves away.
Lawrence closes the distance and clinches up with Obrien, looking for a takedown. Lawrence pushes Obrien against the cage but Obrien circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Lawrence tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Obrien defends well and Lawrence ends up having to push Obrien into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
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 Cornell Obrien will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Lawrence looks to land a combination but Obrien avoids it well.

Obrien darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Obrien connects with a nice short shot to Lawrence's temple.
Lawrence taking some punishment here, with Obrien in his half guard.
Obrien sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lawrence defending well though.
Obrien controlling the action here.
Lawrence trying to control but Obrien postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obrien sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lawrence defending well though.
Lawrence on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Obrien is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cornell Obrien overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lawrence gets full guard.

Lawrence is working an open guard so Obrien takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Lawrence doesn't manage to clinch there - Obrien circles away.
Justin Lawrence seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obrien stuffs the takedown attempt from Lawrence. Lawrence gets slowly back to his feet.
Lawrence takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lawrence dives in for a single leg takedown but Obrien sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Obrien is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Lawrence to keep the fight standing.

Obrien jumps guard and drags Lawrence to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Obrien looking for a guillotine here but Lawrence defends easily.

Obrien has his foot on Lawrence's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Lawrence works his way back into a safe position though.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Obrien manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

Obrien pulls guard successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obrien wants to stand but Lawrence is controlling the position.
Lawrence trying to control the position from guard on top but Obrien is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lawrence would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Obrien tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Obrien is working an open guard so Lawrence takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Lawrence lunges at Obrien with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Obrien's hand.
Lawrence looks to land a combination. Obrien sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lawrence shoots in for a takedown but Obrien shows good takedown defense.
Cornell Obrien has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Justin Lawrence.
Lawrence will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A chopping leg kick lands by Obrien.

Obrien dives in and scores a takedown into Lawrence's guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Obrien working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Obrien stands up and waves to Lawrence to follow him.

Lawrence tries to sprawl but Obrien drives through with a takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cornell Obrien showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Obrien, 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 Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cornell Obrien!