PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mallador Locke (ranked 2652 p4p, 342 weight class) and Tobias Murphy (ranked 3047 p4p, 389 weight class). Mallador Locke has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Locke
vs
Murphy

180 cm
23
183 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

179 cm
22
170 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Bullet Proof System
Urban Fighter

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mallador Locke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tobias Murphy!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Frank Dennis and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Murphy throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Murphy lands with a nice body kick.
Locke takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Locke misses with a double jab
and Murphy counters with a thumping low kick.
Locke throws a hook to the side of Murphy's head but Murphy sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Locke lands a head shot.
Murphy lands with a kick to the ribs.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Murphy - that will leave a mark!
A slapping leg kick lands for Murphy.
A head kick misses from Murphy.
Locke blocks a head kick by Murphy.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murphy throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Locke avoids the head kick by Murphy.
Murphy cracks Locke with an open hand slap.
Locke misses with a left hand
and Murphy counters with a straight right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Locke misses with a takedown attempt - Murphy sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Locke has a takedown stuffed.
Murphy scores with a hook.
Murphy scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Locke doesn't seem bothered though.

Locke shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Murphy is trying to defend but Locke finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Locke is working for a submission of some sort.
Locke trying to mount his opponent but Murphy defends it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murphy blocking the ground and pound attempt from Locke.
Locke throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Murphy felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Locke wants to control but Murphy is keeping him busy.
Locke missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Locke has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Locke stops Murphy from getting back to his feet.
Locke 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.
Murphy avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Locke.
Locke is keen to just control but Murphy is a slippery customer.
Locke missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Murphy avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Locke.
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. Locke connects with a nice short shot to Murphy's temple.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Locke trying to control from half guard but Murphy is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Locke not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Murphy is looking to improve his position.
Locke is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Locke thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Locke frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

Locke wants to finish this one by submission but Murphy is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Locke.
Locke throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Locke looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Locke looking to ground and pound but Murphy is blocking nicely.
Locke controlling his opponent.
Locke is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Murphy can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Locke scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Murphy?
Locke trying to control but Murphy is having none of it.
Locke sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Murphy is in all sorts of trouble here.
Locke punching from mount but Murphy doing a good job of avoiding damage.
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 Mallador Locke will probably get the nod.
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.

Locke avoids the body shot from Murphy.
Murphy loads up on a big right hand but Locke slips the punch.
Murphy scores with a jab to the body.
Murphy lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Murphy throws a sloppy head kick and Locke moves out of range easily.
Good shot there by Murphy.
Locke slips under a jab from Murphy.
Locke blocks a head kick by Murphy.
Murphy throws a head kick that misses
and Locke counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Murphy takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Murphy pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
A solid body kick from Murphy.
Locke shoots in for a double leg but Murphy sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Locke takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Locke shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Murphy sprawls well. Murphy wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Locke gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Locke is defended easily by Murphy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mallador Locke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Murphy - that will leave a mark!
Murphy tries to land a front kick but Locke steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Locke throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Murphy pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Tobias Murphy is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Locke swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Locke throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Murphy gets tackled into the cage by Locke. Locke maintains the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Come on Locke - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Murphy goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Locke tries to pull guard but Murphy holds him up against the cage and eventually Locke drops back down to his feet.
Locke is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Murphy pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Murphy lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Locke has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Murphy clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Locke is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Murphy defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Even with his hooks in, Locke manages to miss with strikes from the back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Locke looking for the choke from the back.
Murphy avoids the strikes from Locke.
Murphy avoids the strikes from Locke.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Locke controlling the positon.
Locke missing with punches from the back.

Locke has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Murphy has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Locke loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Murphy hold on?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Locke missing with strikes from the back.
Locke is landing with strikes from the back.
Murphy avoids the strikes from Locke.
Murphy rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Locke sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Murphy defending well though.
Locke not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Locke wants to lay and pray for a moment but Murphy keeps working.
Locke content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Murphy avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Locke.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Tobias Murphy will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Locke misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Locke loads up on a big right hand but Murphy slips the punch.
Murphy throws a sloppy head kick and Locke moves out of range easily.
Locke has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Murphy.
Murphy circles away from the clinch attempt.
Murphy lands a high kick!

It looks like Mallador Locke has been cut.
Murphy throws a body punch but Locke moves out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Locke on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Murphy slips under a jab from Locke.
Murphy stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Murphy wants it to stay on the feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murphy scores with a nice body kick.
Locke on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Nice body kick from Murphy.
Locke fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mallador Locke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murphy lands with a shot to the body.
Locke sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Murphy takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Murphy keeps Locke at a distance using the push kick.
A cross from Murphy lands.

Locke clinches.
Murphy tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Locke's elbow.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Locke.
Murphy working aggressively here.
Murphy swings wildly with an uppercut but Locke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Locke tries to break free but Murphy pushes him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Murphy creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Murphy.
Locke will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Murphy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Murphy misses with the head strike.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Locke is working for takedown but Murphy is calmly controlling the position for now.
Murphy misses with a punch to the body.
Murphy keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Locke's efforts to push away.
Murphy misses with the head strike.
Murphy tries to throw a body punch but Locke avoids it by throwing Murphy back against the cage.
Locke wants to take the fight to the mat but Murphy manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphy gets through Locke's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Murphy scores with a nice hook to the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Murphy.
Locke can't get the takedown.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Murphy.
Murphy swings wildly with an uppercut but Locke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Locke blocks a body shot from Murphy.
Murphy misses with a body punch.
Locke blocks an uppercut.
Tobias Murphy seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A head punch on the inside from Murphy fails to land.
Locke is looking for a takedown.
Locke dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Locke jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Murphy walks away with a smile on his face. Locke gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Murphy works over Locke's head and body with a nice combination.
Murphy throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Locke stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

Murphy fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Locke, pushing him back against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Murphy prevents a takedown attempt there.
Murphy misses with the head strike.
Murphy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Murphy misses with some punches.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Murphy.
Murphy misses with a punch to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tobias Murphy comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Murphy has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 29:29
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!