PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Benjo Clifton (ranked 4709 p4p, 530 weight class) and TJ Goodard (ranked 7419 p4p, 686 weight class). Clifton comes to the ring accompanied by Gassed up. Goodard has chosen A Sight to Behold as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Clifton
vs
Goodard

188 cm
25
195 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

182 cm
25
184 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Solid chin

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Benjo Clifton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, TJ Goodard!
The judges for this bout are Chris Saunders, Josh West and Jeff Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Goodard moves into the clinch.

Goodard breaks from the clinch.

Goodard tries to sprawl but Clifton drives through with a takedown into half guard.

Goodard looking for submissions off his back.
Goodard wants to improve his position but Clifton is controlling well.
Clifton with the ground and pound but Goodard uses the opportunity to regain guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Goodard manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Clifton manages to get himself to full guard.

Clifton has momentary wrist control but Goodard slips an elbow through the middle.
Goodard is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Clifton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Goodard is aware though and is defending well.
Clifton 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.

Clifton has his foot on Goodard's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Goodard works his way back into a safe position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Goodard controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Clifton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Goodard is aware though and is defending well.
Goodard stays in close to Clifton's body and controls the position.
Goodard wants to pass the guard but Clifton is keeping the position.
Goodard postures up and lands a big shot to Clifton's brow.

Clifton working for a triangle but Goodard defends it easily.
Goodard slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Goodard must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Clifton is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Goodard is controlling him.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Clifton escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Goodard gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Goodard stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Clifton swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Clifton looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Goodard passes into half guard.
Clifton is looking to get back to full guard here but Goodard has managed to pass to side control instead.
Clifton looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Goodard decides to stand up, so the ref orders Clifton to his feet.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Clifton enables Goodard to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Clifton manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Goodard is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Clifton has a closed guard, preventing Goodard from standing up.
Goodard trying to control the position from guard on top but Clifton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Clifton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Goodard controlling from the top position.
Clifton trying to strike off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Goodard stays in close to Clifton's body and controls the position.

Clifton is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Goodard controls from within his opponent's guard.

Clifton is looking for a triangle here but Goodard uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Goodard tries to stand but Clifton is controlling his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Clifton gets caught flat footed, as Goodard shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Goodard trying to control the position from guard on top but Clifton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Clifton is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Goodard controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Goodard has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Goodard is continuing to stall.

Clifton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Goodard is aware though and is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Goodard is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Goodard is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Goodard slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Goodard wants to get up but he can't break Clifton's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Goodard with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Clifton to score with a decent uppercut.

Goodard moves into range and clinches up with Clifton.

Goodard turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Goodard manages to end up in side control.

Clifton explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!

Goodard shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Clifton's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Clifton wants to get back to his feet but Goodard is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Goodard avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Goodard controls from within his opponent's guard.

Clifton has an active guard here but Goodard has managed to pass into half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Goodard seems to be looking for submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clifton is trying to stand.

Clifton looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Goodard controlling the action here.
Goodard wants to pass the guard but Clifton is defending well.
Clifton is looking to escape.

Goodard is looking for a kimura here.
Goodard content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Clifton trying to control from the bottom.
Clifton throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Goodard manages to pass to side control.
Clifton tries to escape but Goodard is in control.

Goodard thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Clifton is working to avoid the ground and pound but Goodard connects with a decent elbow.
Goodard is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

TJ Goodard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Goodard shoots in and gets a takedown into Clifton's guard.
Goodard slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Clifton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Goodard 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Goodard postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Clifton isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Goodard stacks Clifton on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Goodard!
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Clifton tries to buck Goodard off but Goodard is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clifton bucks up and tries to throw Goodard off but instead Goodard has got his back!
Clifton manages to reverse the position and now he's in Goodard's guard. Nice work there by Clifton.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Goodard is adopting a defensive guard.
Clifton trying to control the position from guard on top but Goodard is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Clifton stands and throws Goodard's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Clifton wants to stand but Goodard is controlling his arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Goodard gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

Clifton is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Goodard defends it well.
Goodard is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.

Clifton is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Goodard is just riding it out for now. Clifton eventually gives up the hold.

Goodard is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Clifton pulls his head out easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clifton tries to pass the half guard into mount. Goodard knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Goodard moves into full guard.
Clifton wants to control from the top but Goodard keeps moving.
Clifton throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Goodard works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Goodard is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Goodard working a defensive guard here.

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.
Goodard lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Clifton can't keep his opponent in guard - Goodard advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Clifton is trying to stand.
Clifton trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

Clifton is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Goodard pulls his head out easily.
Goodard performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Let's hope that Goodard has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

And that's the end of the fight!
TJ Goodard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Goodard winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Chris Saunders scores the fight for TJ Goodard!
Judge Josh West scores the fight for TJ Goodard!
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight for TJ Goodard!

TJ Goodard wins by unanimous decision!
A relieved looking TJ Goodard thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.