PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Simon Phoenix (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joseph Donelly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Phoenix comes to the cage accompanied by Phoenix. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Phoenix
vs
Donelly

178 cm
29
180 lbs
18 - 9 - 0

175 cm
37
184 lbs
25 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Good gas tank

Spartan Nutrition

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 18 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Simon Phoenix!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Joseph Donelly!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Ian Loll and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Donelly avoids the head kick by Phoenix.
Phoenix throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Donelly misses with a low kick.
Phoenix throws a shot from downtown. Donelly moves away and avoids it.
Phoenix looks to land a right hand but Donelly moved out of range.
Donelly throws a nice inside leg kick.
Donelly fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Phoenix on the side of the head.
Donelly throws a head kick but Phoenix moves out of range.
Donelly chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Donelly swings and misses with a hook to the body.
The fighters circle momentarily. Donelly darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Phoenix misses with a hook. Donelly ducked under it nicely.
Donelly looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Donelly bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Donelly throws a leg kick that is checked
and Phoenix counters with a series of strikes. Donelly will be more careful next time no doubt.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Phoenix tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Donelly is looking to clinch.
Phoenix takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Donelly moves out of range of the body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donelly throws a body kick that misses.
Donelly avoids the head kick by Phoenix.
Phoenix swinging wildly here.
Donelly wants to counter the offense by Phoenix and move into the clinch position.
Phoenix keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Donelly takes a shot to the body in his stride.
The fighters circle momentarily. Phoenix darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Donelly is looking to clinch but Phoenix is avoiding it.
The fighters circling - Donelly throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Phoenix gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Donelly.
Phoenix blocks a leg kick.
Phoenix is looking to counter punch.
Donelly tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Donelly lands a nice looking body shot.
Phoenix uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Donelly.
Donelly misses with a series of wild punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Phoenix.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Phoenix scoring well with a low kick there.
Phoenix feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Donelly's calf.
Donelly doesn't manage to clinch there - Phoenix circles away.
Phoenix on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Donelly. Donelly obviously looking to wear him down.
Donelly uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Phoenix has time to react.
Donelly ducks under a wild hook from Phoenix.
Donelly looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Phoenix swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Donelly wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Donelly doesn't manage to clinch there - Phoenix circles away.
Donelly tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Phoenix paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Phoenix throws a leg kick which misses Donelly's front leg but catches the back leg as Donelly tries to avoid it.
Donelly sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Donelly ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Phoenix misses with a body kick.
Phoenix tests Donelly's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Phoenix misses with a double jab
and Donelly connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Donelly throws a head kick that misses.
A bone on bone clash there as Donelly blocks the leg kick.
Phoenix fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Donelly.
Donelly takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Phoenix throws a right and a left that Donelly avoids nicely.
Donelly counters with a body kick.
Donelly wants to clinch.
Phoenix misses with a straight left.
Donelly looks to land a body kick but Phoenix moved away.
Donelly fakes the leg kick and cracks Phoenix in the body.
Donelly throws a looping overhand right but Phoenix ducks down to avoid it.
Phoenix connects with the punch.
Phoenix misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Phoenix thuds his shin into the meat of Donelly's side.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Donelly misses the shot to the body.
Phoenix with a hook.

Phoenix gets tackled into the cage by Donelly. Donelly maintains the clinch.
Donelly managing to block the knees to the body from Phoenix.
Donelly using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Phoenix has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Phoenix works on Donelly's body with a couple of short punches.
Nice body punch from Phoenix - that landed with a thud.
Phoenix with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Donelly keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Phoenix's efforts to push away.
Phoenix has Donelly pressed against the cage.
Phoenix tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Phoenix lands a knee to the body.
Phoenix using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Donelly has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Donelly managing to block the knees to the body from Phoenix.
Donelly tries to throw a body punch but Phoenix avoids it by throwing Donelly back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Simon Phoenix dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Donelly misses with a series of wild punches.
Simon Phoenix is winning the standup battle so far.
Phoenix misses with a kick to the body.

Donelly closes the distance and clinches.
Phoenix blocks an elbow strike.
Donelly fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Donelly misses with a knee strike.
Donelly swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Donelly prevents a body shot from Phoenix.

Phoenix breaks the clinch.
No joy there for Phoenix, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Donelly throws a big shot that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Phoenix scores with a hook to the body. Donelly takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Donelly misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Phoenix.
Phoenix misses with a hook.
And Donelly responds with a good body kick, but Phoenix manages to step out the way in time.
Donelly looks for the body kick but Phoenix saw that one coming.
Phoenix fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Donelly misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A little feinted left hand from Phoenix on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phoenix takes a swing at Donelly's ribcage but misses.
Donelly throws out a counter right but Phoenix avoids it with no problem.
Donelly throws a jab when Phoenix was well out of range.
Phoenix scores with a head kick. Donelly tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Donelly misses with a left hand
and Phoenix connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Phoenix misses with a leg kick
and Donelly counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Phoenix is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Donelly can do to turn this around?
A combination from Phoenix does no damage.
Donelly scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Phoenix staying out of range there.
Donelly misses with a low kick as Phoenix jumps back.
Donelly throws a big shot that misses.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Donelly.
Phoenix throws a looping overhand right but Donelly ducks down to avoid it.
Phoenix just misses with a punch to the body.
A jab from Phoenix misses.
Phoenix keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Donelly, right into the meat.
Phoenix ducks under a wild hook from Donelly.
Phoenix throws a lazy head kick
and Donelly counters with a nice low kick that buckles Phoenix's knee momentarily.
Donelly uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Phoenix.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Donelly.
Donelly misses with a head kick.
Phoenix scores with a jab. Donelly acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Phoenix lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Donelly ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Phoenix is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Donelly.
Donelly moves out of range of the body kick.
Phoenix throws a body kick that misses.
Phoenix lands a head kick!
Donelly checks the leg kick nicely there.
Good work by Phoenix as he checks the leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donelly tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Phoenix was well out of range. Poor timing from Donelly.
Phoenix throws the kick towards the body but Donelly avoids it.
Phoenix attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Phoenix looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Donelly lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Phoenix moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Phoenix throws a leg kick but Donelly sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Donelly is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Phoenix staying out of range there.
Phoenix walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
A jab from Donelly finds it's way through Phoenix's defenses.
Phoenix throws a leg kick
and Donelly makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Nice defenses there by Phoenix.
A big left from Donelly misses.
Phoenix throws a quick inside leg kick.
Phoenix misses with a body kick.
Donelly misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donelly missing with a left hand there. Phoenix was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Phoenix goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Donelly closes the distance and clinches.
Phoenix is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Donelly is defending well for now.
Donelly lands a nice elbow.

It looks like Simon Phoenix has been cut.
Donelly misses with a hook from the clinch.
Donelly blocks the elbow strike.
Donelly misses with an elbow strike.
Phoenix is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Donelly lands a damaging elbow.
Donelly throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Donelly throws a punch but it's blocked by Phoenix.
Donelly lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Phoenix crunches a lovely knee into Donelly's ribcage.
Donelly is breathing heavily.
Phoenix tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Donelly avoids it.
Phoenix landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Still in the clinch, Phoenix scores with a nice short uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Phoenix looking to throw knees to the head but Donelly is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Joseph Donelly will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Simon Phoenix's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Phoenix swats away the attempt to clinch by Donelly.
Good work by Donelly as he checks the leg kick.
Donelly throws out a counter right but Phoenix avoids it with no problem.
Phoenix moves into range and connects with a jab.
Phoenix avoids a kick to the body.
Donelly looks to land a left hand but Phoenix moved out of range nicely.
Phoenix slips under a jab.
Phoenix pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Phoenix looks to land a combination. Donelly sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
A left and a right from Donelly both land. Nice combination.
Phoenix misses with a hook
and Donelly counters with a one-two to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Donelly pivots, looking for a leg kick but Phoenix is out of range and Donelly settles back down.
Phoenix tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Donelly was well out of range. Poor timing from Phoenix.
Phoenix lands the left hand.
Phoenix is looking to clinch.
Donelly thinks about the counter body kick.
Some wild striking there from Phoenix.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phoenix throws a series of strikes that have Donelly backpedaling.
Donelly tries to clinch but Phoenix moves out of range.
A solid leg kick lands there for Donelly.
Donelly lands with a nice body punch.
Donelly throws a quick inside leg kick.
Donelly misses with a shot to the body
and Phoenix cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Phoenix blocks a leg kick.
Phoenix takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Donelly tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Donelly loads up on a big right hand but Phoenix slips the punch.
Phoenix misses with a low kick.
Donelly ducks under a wild hook from Phoenix.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Donelly throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Phoenix scoring well with a low kick there.
Donelly takes one on the button.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Donelly swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Phoenix.
Phoenix misses with a body shot.
Phoenix lands a nice shot that snaps Donelly's head back.
Phoenix throws a right and a left that both miss.
Donelly bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Phoenix's head backwards.
Donelly scores with a jab.
Decent striking displayed by Donelly there.
Donelly throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Phoenix counters with a left and a right that stings Donelly.

Donelly is rocked!
Phoenix avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Phoenix slips under a jab from Donelly.
Phoenix throwing a counter right hand but Donelly manages to avoid it.
Donelly throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Donelly misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donelly has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Donelly there as he acknowledges the shot.
Phoenix throws a good cross that connects.
Donelly is still on wobbly legs! Can Phoenix finish him?
Phoenix is looking to slow Donelly down with leg kicks.
Donelly seems to have recovered his senses.
Phoenix scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Donelly dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Phoenix. That did some damage!
Phoenix throws the kick towards the body but Donelly avoids it.
Donelly pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Phoenix takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Donelly scores with a shot to the body.
Phoenix throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Donelly avoids a punch combination nicely.
Phoenix with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Donelly rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Phoenix moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Donelly misses the target.
Donelly lands a right hook to the body.
Phoenix takes one to the side of the head.
Donelly lands a nice looking body shot.
Phoenix smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Donelly's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Donelly duly obliges.
Donelly tries to clinch but Phoenix is having none of it.
A quick step to the side and Phoenix tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Phoenix loads up on a big right hand but Donelly slips the punch.
Donelly looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Donelly's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Donelly duly obliges.
Donelly takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Phoenix will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Donelly tries a low kick but Phoenix avoids it.
A quick step to the side and Phoenix tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Donelly displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Phoenix throws out the jab.
Phoenix is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Donelly.

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 Simon Phoenix.
I think Phoenix has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 29:28
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Simon Phoenix!
Simon Phoenix took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Hellbent for their support in the buildup to the fight.