PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thatcher Halverson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Halverson might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Enter Sandman. White has chosen Schatten as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Halverson
vs
White

196 cm
25
200 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

186 cm
23
197 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Thatcher Halverson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Thomas White!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Tarja Halkonen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
White throws a low kick but Halverson avoids it.
Halverson tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but White defends well and Halverson ends up having to push White into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Halverson misses with a straight right.
Halverson bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps White's head backwards.
White slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Halverson throws a body shot but no joy.
Halverson checks a leg kick.
Halverson misses with a body punch
and White counters with a nice uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Halverson swings for the body but White moves out of range.
Halverson uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Halverson lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
White uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Halverson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halverson looks to throw the jab but White is out of range.
Halverson misses with a hook to the body
enabling White to counter with a crisp jab.
Halverson thuds his right hand into White's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Halverson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Halverson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
White is not content to let Halverson control the position.

Halverson is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. White knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Sloppy strikes there by Halverson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Halverson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
White is trying to control Halverson's posture but Halverson avoids it.
White is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
White is looking to reverse the position.
White prevents Halverson from improving position.
Halverson trying to control the action but White is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Halverson wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
You can see the frustration on White's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Halverson throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Halverson landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Halverson with the ground and pound but White regains half guard under the barage of strikes.

Halverson seems to be looking for submissions.
Halverson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Halverson wants to take a breather but White is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Halverson is nestled in close to White, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Halverson slips a nice elbow through White's hands, connecting with White's forehead.
Halverson trying to mount his opponent but White defends it.
Halverson is looking to pass White's guard but actually White recovers to full guard.
Halverson wants to control from the top but White keeps moving.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Halverson with a flurry of punches that miss.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Halverson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Halverson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that White can do to turn this around?
Halverson swings widly with a right hand
and White counters with an outside leg kick.
White keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Halverson shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. White defends it nicely.
Halverson misses with an uppercut. White saw that one coming.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Halverson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by White.
Halverson on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
White throws a poor cross that misses
and Halverson counters with a stiff right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
White lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by White.
Halverson misses with a takedown attempt
and White counters with a head kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thatcher Halverson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
White buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Halverson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by White.
Halverson throws a poor cross that misses
and White counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Halverson with a hook.
Thatcher Halverson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Halverson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
White is looking for the big counter here.
White keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
White throws out a counter right but Halverson avoids it with no problem.
An inside leg kick lands from White.
A jab from Halverson misses.
Halverson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Halverson on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Thomas White is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Halverson scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

Halverson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Halverson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
White wants to stand but Halverson is controlling the position.
Halverson sitting in guard here, content to control.
White trying to keep a closed guard but Halverson is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Halverson trying to control the position from guard on top but White is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Halverson seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Halverson has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Halverson looking to pass the guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as White holds on and takes a little breather.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Halverson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by White.
White lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Halverson misses with a right hand
and White counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Halverson thinking.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Halverson shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches White napping and manages to drive through into side control!
White prevents Halverson from improving position.
Halverson looking to control but instead White has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Halverson is looking to advance position but White won't allow it.
Thatcher Halverson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Halverson is keen to just control but White is a slippery customer.
Halverson is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because White is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
White trying to control here.
White is trying to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas White showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. 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.

White uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Halverson.
A nice side step and White releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Halverson jabs White right on the nose. White blinks but takes it well.
Halverson misses with a takedown attempt - White sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Halverson shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches White napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Halverson lands a nice forearm strike.
Halverson scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at White to see if he's OK.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
White holding on.
Halverson tries to move into full mount but can't pass White's legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Halverson connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused White some visible discomfort.
White is trying to control Halverson's posture but Halverson avoids it.
White takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

Halverson is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. White knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
White is working to avoid the ground and pound but Halverson connects with a decent elbow.

White sneaks out the side door and pushes Halverson away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Halverson takes a swing at White's ribcage but misses.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from White! But no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Halverson.
Halverson misses with a hook
and White connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
White takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.

Halverson shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. White is trying to defend but Halverson finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
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!
Halverson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Halverson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. White defending well though.
Halverson is pressing down on White's thigh, looking to free his foot. White is holding on for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White is controlling Halverson's trapped leg to prevent Halverson from advancing to side control.
White is trying to get back to full guard.
Halverson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. White defending well though.
White is doing well to control the position and prevent Halverson from advancing to side control.
White tries to get to full guard but Halverson has control of the leg.
White is staying active underneath Halverson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Halverson is looking to advance position but White won't allow it.
Halverson wants to lay and pray for a moment but White keeps working.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Halverson seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
White tries to roll over but Halverson keeps him under control.
Halverson wants to lay and pray for a moment but White keeps working.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nice strikes from Halverson there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thatcher Halverson showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Halverson 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thatcher Halverson!
Thatcher Halverson looked relieved post fight as he said the following; 'It's good to be champ. That's 8 fights on the bounce. There is nobody in this division that can beat me! To the ex champ, you tried, but someone like you can't hang with me, so take your sorry ass out of my cage don't ever think about coming back.'.