PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tim Pierno (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luigi Bates (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pierno comes to the cage accompanied by Umberto Tozzi - Gloria. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Pierno
vs
Bates

180 cm
23
175 lbs
9 - 3 - 0

178 cm
23
177 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

MayheM sportswear
Sun-Tzu

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 9 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tim Pierno!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Luigi Bates!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Alan Glass and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bates lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

It looks like Tim Pierno has been cut.
Pierno throws a body shot but no joy.
Luigi Bates seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bates looks to throw the jab but Pierno is out of range.
Pierno displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Pierno.
Pierno closes the distance and lands a one-two.
A left and a right from Bates both land. Nice combination.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pierno lands a nice shot that snaps Bates's head back.
Pierno tries to close the distance and clinch but Bates swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Pierno circles away from the clinch attempt.
Pierno missing with a left hand there. Bates was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Pierno lands a nice shot to the body.
Bates throws a hook but Pierno blocks it.
Pierno tests Bates's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Pierno lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Bates at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pierno misses with a straight left.
Pierno uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bates.
Bates throws a body shot but no joy.
Pierno scores with a crisp jab that stopped Bates in his tracks.
Pierno connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Pierno fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Bates on the side of the head.
Pierno ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Bates uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Pierno.
Bates looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Bates throws a big shot that misses.
Pierno seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Pierno swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Bates lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Pierno looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Pierno takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Pierno tries to clinch but Bates moves out of range.
Pierno fails in his attempt to clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Pierno looks to land a left hand but Bates moved out of range nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bates lands a glancing blow to the side of Pierno's head.
Pierno bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Pierno connects with a nice looking jab.
Bates moves into range and connects with a jab.
Bates swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A quick step to the side and Pierno tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Bates takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
A cross from Bates lands.
Bates takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Pierno lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Bates doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Bates avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Bates throws a series of punches but Pierno moves out of range.
Bates throws a jab but it's blocked by Pierno.
Bates pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good shot there by Bates.
Pierno scores with a hook to the body. Bates takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Pierno thows a left - swing and a miss!
Bates moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Pierno throws out a loose jab but Bates uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice uppercut lands for Pierno. That snapped Bates's head back.
Pierno bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Bates's head.
Pierno throws a lazy uppercut
and Bates counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Pierno dodges the punch combination from Bates.
Bates throws an off balance right hand
and Pierno connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Bates tests Pierno's chin there with a solid looking shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bates throws a jab but it's blocked by Pierno.
A big left from Bates misses.
Bates lands the left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bates misses with a wild combination.
Pierno moves away from the strike by Bates.
Bates fails with an attempt to clinch.
Pierno jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pierno throws a hook but Bates avoids it easily.
Bates looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Pierno looks to land a right hand but Bates moved out of range.
Bates drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Pierno cracks Bates with a good jab.
Bates lands a nice looking body shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pierno moves away from the strike by Bates.
Bates throws out a loose jab but Pierno uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bates walks into a stiff left hand from Pierno.
Bates throws a jab when Pierno was well out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Pierno on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
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 Tim Pierno will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Tim Pierno's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Pierno swings and misses with a hook to the body.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Bates! But no joy.
A big left from Bates misses.
Pierno swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Bates misses with an uppercut
and Pierno counters with a straight right hand.

Bates has taken the fight to the clinch.
Pierno is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Pierno lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Bates backwards.
Bates lands with a light punch inside.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Pierno.
Pierno misses with a short punch on the inside.
Bates tries a body shot but Pierno blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bates misses with a punch on the inside.
Pierno misses with a body punch.
Bates misses with a hook from the clinch.
Pierno blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Bates's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A shot in the inside from Pierno.
Bates misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Bates swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Pierno dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Bates digs a right hand underneath Pierno's ribcage. Pierno let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Pierno goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Bates misses with some punches.
Bates softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Pierno tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Bates's elbow.
Pierno lands a body punch.
A head punch on the inside from Bates fails to land.
Bates lands a body punch in the clinch.
Pierno dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Bates misses with the head strike.
Bates lands a nice uppercut.
Bates has a couple of punches blocked by Pierno.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Bates on the inside.
Pierno blocking some punches.
Pierno misses with a punch to the body.
Pierno stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Bates blocking some punches.
Pierno blocking some punches.
Luigi Bates seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
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!
Bates is trying to push Pierno away but Pierno has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
A nice left hand lands by Pierno.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Bates throws a head punch that misses.
Pierno works on Bates's body with a couple of short punches.
Bates misses with the head strike.
Bates throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Pierno misses with some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierno is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Pierno is trying to stall.
Bates throws a punch but it's blocked by Pierno.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Pierno.
A short uppercut from Bates.
Pierno stalling in the clinch but Bates improves position.
Pierno content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Bates doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Pierno throws a punch but it's blocked by Bates.
Pierno digs a right hand underneath Bates's ribcage. Bates let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Bates has a couple of punches blocked by Pierno.
Pierno works on Bates's body with a couple of short punches.
Bates blocks an uppercut.
Pierno blocking some punches.
Bates swings wildly with an uppercut but Pierno uses good head movement to avoid it.

Bates manages to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierno lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Bates tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Pierno was well out of range. Poor timing from Bates.
It looked like Pierno wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Bates throws a hook but Pierno avoids it easily.
Bates misses with a hook. Pierno ducked under it nicely.
Pierno keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Bates.
Pierno tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Bates manages to circle out of the way.
Bates ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Pierno moves away.
Bates uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Pierno.
Bates steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Pierno.
Bates swings widly with a right hand
and Pierno counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bates throws a looping overhand right but Pierno ducks down to avoid it.
Bates lands a head shot.
Pierno throws the left hand but Bates avoids the punch easily.
Bates on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Pierno takes one on the button.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Luigi Bates will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Tim Pierno's cut.
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!

A big right from Pierno misses.
Bates uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Pierno.
Pierno takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Pierno is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Pierno looks to land a right hand but Bates moved out of range.
Tim Pierno is winning the standup battle so far.
Pierno misses with a looping right.
Bates moves away from the strike by Pierno.
Pierno cracks Bates with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Pierno looks to throw the jab but Bates is out of range.
Bates has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Bates defending well as Pierno loads up on a big left hand.
Pierno is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pierno swinging wildly here.

Pierno clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bates lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A short left from Bates.
Bates misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Pierno swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Bates blocks an uppercut.
Bates tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bates.
Pierno lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Bates swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Bates as Pierno tries to tie him up.
Bates pushes Pierno back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bates.
Bates cracks Pierno with a nice body shot.
Bates misses with the head strike.
Bates tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Pierno's elbow.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bates.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bates.
Bates misses with a hook from the clinch.
Pierno has a couple of punches blocked by Bates.
Bates doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Pierno fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Pierno blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pierno misses with some punches.

Bates escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A swing and a miss from Pierno.
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!
Donk. Bates catches Pierno right on the button with a cross.
Pierno keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Bates.
Pierno misses with a two punch combination.
It seemed like Bates was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Pierno scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Bates lands with a right hand.
Pierno lands a lovely overhand right.
Bates scores with a nice strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierno uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Bates.
Bates just misses with a punch to the body.
Bates sizes up Pierno with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Pierno connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Pierno can't find room to land a body shot as Bates controls the action.
Bates swings wildly with an uppercut but Pierno uses good head movement to avoid it.
Pierno holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Pierno misses with the head strike.
Pierno is struggling to control the position.
Bates blocking some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierno wants to stall.
Pierno trying to stall but Bates improves his position.
Bates works on Pierno's body with a couple of short punches.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Pierno lands a right hand.
Bates misses with a punch on the inside.
Pierno tries to stall but Bates uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Pierno misses with a hook from the clinch.
Pierno softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

Bates breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Bates.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bates throws a lazy right hand but Pierno sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Pierno swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Bates throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Pierno sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bates showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pierno.

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 Tim Pierno.
I think Pierno 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:30
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Tim Pierno!
During a confident post fight interview, Tim Pierno thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.