PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Callum Cunningham (ranked 4006 p4p, 0 weight class) and Billy Hardy (ranked 25860 p4p, 0 weight class). Hardy has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Cunningham
vs
Hardy

177 cm
25
157 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

178 cm
25
157 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Likes comics

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Callum Cunningham!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Billy Hardy!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Paul Tew and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardy tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Cunningham counters with a left to the body.
Hardy wants to clinch but Cunningham slips to the side

and Cunningham counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Cunningham trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hardy's guard.
Hardy not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cunningham is looking to stand up but Hardy won't let him.
Hardy wants to sweep here but Cunningham controlling him for the moment.
Hardy looks winded!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hardy controls Cunningham momentarily but Cunningham frees himself.
Cunningham showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hardy will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Cunningham takes the fight into the clinch.
Cunningham avoiding damage as Hardy throws knees to the body.

Cunningham manages to break the clinch.
Hardy shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Cunningham counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Cunningham.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cunningham manages to break the clinch.

Cunningham shoots in and bounces Hardy off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Hardy wants to get back to his feet but Cunningham passes into half guard.

Cunningham landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Cunningham stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cunningham works his foot free and advances to mount.
Cunningham looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Hardy working to try and regain half guard.

Cunningham gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cunningham shoots in looking for a takedown. Hardy tries to sprawl out of it but Cunningham keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Hardy manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Hardy looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cunningham is fending him off so far but Hardy persists. Nope, Cunningham circles away and we're back to standing.
Cunningham swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Callum Cunningham has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Billy Hardy.

Cunningham clinches.

Cunningham breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Cunningham misses with a takedown
and Hardy counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Cunningham closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Hardy did well to prevent Cunningham getting side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cunningham is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Cunningham lands a nice shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Callum Cunningham dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Cunningham darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cunningham takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Cunningham decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Cunningham closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Hardy quickly recovers to half guard.
Hardy pushes Cunningham off but Cunningham dives into side control.
Hardy is working to avoid the ground and pound but Cunningham connects with a decent elbow.

Cunningham is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hardy knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hardy defending against the ground and pound.
Hardy is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cunningham is trying to get an arm triangle but Hardy is defending well.
Cunningham is chipping away with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Cunningham decides to stand up, so the ref orders Hardy to his feet.
Cunningham displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hardy.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Cunningham.

Cunningham clinches up with Hardy and pushes him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cunningham jumps guard but Hardy turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Cunningham lands an uppercut.
Cunningham is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Hardy is defending well.

Cunningham manages to pull guard.
Cunningham throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Cunningham is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Cunningham has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Cunningham 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cunningham striking from the bottom here.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Cunningham is pulling down on Hardy's head to control his posture.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Cunningham is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hardy can do to turn this around?
Hardy tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Cunningham swivels and escapes.

Cunningham has Hardy up against the cage in a clinch.

Cunningham breaks the clinch.

Cunningham shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Cunningham controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cunningham seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Hardy for as long as he can get away with.
It looks like Cunningham is going to stand back up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Cunningham in particular looking to stall.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Cunningham lands a nice short elbow.
Callum Cunningham overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cunningham is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Callum Cunningham dominated that second round.
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. And we move into the final round!

The fight stays on the outside here - Hardy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hardy closes the distance and clinches up with Cunningham, looking for a takedown. Hardy pushes Cunningham against the cage but Cunningham circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Cunningham misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Cunningham decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Hardy pushes Cunningham off but Cunningham dives into side control.
Cunningham postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cunningham in side control lands a decent elbow.
Hardy takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Cunningham looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Cunningham taking a breather here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy taking a bit of punishment here - Cunningham scoring with strikes.

Cunningham working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Cunningham tries for a kimura but Hardy is defending well.

That's two 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.

Cunningham stands up and beckons Hardy to his feet.

Cunningham moves into the clinch.

Cunningham has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Hardy uses from the top position.
Hardy looking to sit in guard and control but Cunningham gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Cunningham controlling from the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cunningham tries to stand but Hardy is controlling from the bottom.
Cunningham forces his way into half guard.
Cunningham stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Cunningham is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Hardy reverses the position - he's now on top in Cunningham's guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hardy stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cunningham swivels though and keeps the full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Callum Cunningham showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cunningham has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Callum Cunningham!