PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Aaron Thomas (ranked 6476 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ben Greenfield (ranked 8543 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Thomas
vs
Greenfield

196 cm
23
190 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

181 cm
18
188 lbs
1 - 5 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Aaron Thomas !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 1, fighting out of The Island, Ben Greenfield!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Dirk Anderson and Sandra Marshall.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas tries to clinch
and Thomas takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Greenfield lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Greenfield takes a head kick and keeps coming.

It looks like Ben Greenfield has been cut.
Greenfield lands a jab-cross combination.
Jab from Greenfield.
Greenfield cracks Thomas with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Nice takedown defense from Greenfield. No joy for Thomas on that attempt.
Greenfield throws a series of punches but Thomas avoids them all with ease.
Thomas closes the distance and clinches up with Greenfield, looking for a takedown. Thomas pushes Greenfield against the cage but Greenfield circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Greenfield takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thomas with a poor takedown
and Greenfield counters with a left and a right that stings Thomas .
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aaron Thomas . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thomas looks for a takedown but Greenfield sprawls well.
The fighters circle momentarily. Greenfield darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Greenfield jabs at Thomas 's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Greenfield lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Ben Greenfield seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Greenfield circles away from the clinch attempt
and Greenfield counters with a stiff right hand.
Greenfield lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

Thomas darts in and clinches Greenfield up against the cage.
Thomas is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Greenfield pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Thomas breaks from the clinch.
Greenfield misses with a two punch combination.
The fighters circling - Greenfield throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Thomas is looking to counter the offense by Greenfield and move into the clinch.
Thomas fails in his attempt to clinch.
Thomas misses with a wild combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Thomas wants to clinch up but Greenfield keeps it at a distance.
Thomas dives in for a single leg takedown but Greenfield sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Thomas shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Greenfield counter with a right hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Good exchange - Greenfield coming out on top.
Thomas dodges the punch combination from Greenfield.
Greenfield pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Greenfield avoids the head kick by Thomas .
Greenfield ducks under a wild hook from Thomas .
Nice takedown defense from Greenfield. No joy for Thomas on that attempt.
Thomas is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Thomas goes for a double leg but Greenfield avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Greenfield continues to drive forward.
Thomas takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Greenfield rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Thomas moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Thomas seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Greenfield lands a slapping body shot.
Nice straight punches there by Greenfield. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Greenfield.
Greenfield might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Greenfield ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Greenfield is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Thomas had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Thomas misses with a takedown attempt
and Greenfield counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Thomas with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Greenfield to score with a decent uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A shot to the liver by Greenfield. Beautiful body shot.
A punch lands to the side of Thomas 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Greenfield is working the combinations to good effect here.
Greenfield lands a body shot.
Greenfield works the jab nicely.
Greenfield lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas with a lazy takedown attempt
and Greenfield counters with a left to the body.
Thomas has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Greenfield finds it's way round the side to connect with Thomas 's head.
Greenfield lands a two punch combo.
Thomas walks into a left hand.
Greenfield lands with a straight right. Thomas didn't see that one coming.
Thomas shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Greenfield counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Greenfield scores with a body shot.
Greenfield moves into range and connects with a jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Greenfield lands with an uppercut that bounces Thomas off the cage and back into range.
Greenfield scores with a jab.
Thomas tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Greenfield paws at him with a jab and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Greenfield dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ben Greenfield's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Thomas throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Greenfield counters with a left to the body.
Thomas misses with a looping right.
Thomas misses with a body shot.
Greenfield misses with a double jab.
Nice cross by Greenfield.
Thomas shoots for a double leg takedown but Greenfield sprawls well. He's pushed Thomas 's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Greenfield goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Greenfield has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Greenfield with a hook.
Thomas keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Greenfield.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Greenfield just misses with a punch to the body.
Greenfield misses with a looping right.
Thomas looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Greenfield throws a jab but it's blocked by Thomas .
As Greenfield looks to move away, Thomas throws a big counter combo but Greenfield just gets out of the way.
Greenfield throws a good cross that connects.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Greenfield lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Thomas at a distance.
Greenfield swats away the attempt to clinch by Thomas .
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Thomas . He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Thomas walks into a stiff left hand from Greenfield.
Greenfield lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
The fight stays on the outside here - Thomas looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Greenfield will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Thomas shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Greenfield defends it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Thomas walks into a left hand.

Thomas rushes Greenfield and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Thomas breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Greenfield scores with the left hand. Thomas knows he should have avoided that one.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Greenfield swinging wildly here.
Greenfield scores with a decent looking hook.
Greenfield scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Greenfield throws a series of punches but Thomas moves out of range.
Thomas looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield connects with a body shot.
A nice combination there by Greenfield.
Thomas throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Greenfield scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Greenfield lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Thomas circles away quickly and effectively.
Thomas tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Greenfield paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Greenfield lands with a good body shot.
Thomas lets loose with a powerful body kick. Greenfield will feel that in the morning.
Ben Greenfield seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Greenfield is breathing heavily.
Greenfield with a jab.
Thomas tries to close the distance and clinch up but Greenfield swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Greenfield uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Thomas has time to react.
Thomas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Greenfield! But no joy.
Thomas tries to clinch up
and Greenfield counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thomas bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Thomas ducks under a wild hook from Greenfield.
Ben Greenfield is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Danga de danga de dang - Greenfield scores with a four punch combination!
Thomas will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aaron Thomas . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Greenfield throws a shot from downtown. Thomas moves away and avoids it.
Thomas misses with a head kick.
Thomas moves in looking to clinch but Greenfield pushes him off.
Greenfield misses with an uppercut.
Greenfield slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Nice jab there from Greenfield.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Greenfield showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ben Greenfield'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!

Greenfield misses with a few strikes there.
Greenfield throws a series of punches but Thomas moves out of range.
Thomas dodges the punch combination from Greenfield.

Thomas clinches up with Greenfield and pushes him back against the cage.
Thomas avoiding damage.
Thomas with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Greenfield prevents the takedown attempt.
Thomas tries to pull guard but Greenfield holds him up against the cage and eventually Thomas drops back down to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aaron Thomas . That's going to take a lot out of him.

Thomas gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Thomas is controlling the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thomas will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Thomas throwing shots but Greenfield is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield wants to get back to his feet.
Thomas missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Thomas in particular looking to stall.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Thomas not landing any meaningful shots this time.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Thomas fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Greenfield avoids it really well and circles away.
Thomas tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Greenfield swivels and escapes.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Thomas pushes Greenfield up against the cage in a clinch.
Greenfield avoiding damage as Thomas throws knees to the body.

Thomas 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Greenfield is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Thomas keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Greenfield.
Greenfield changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Greenfield throws a big shot that misses.
Thomas dives in and grabs Greenfield's left leg, looking for a takedown. Greenfield pushes down on Thomas 's head and hops out.
Greenfield swings for the body but Thomas moves out of range.
Greenfield lands a right hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Greenfield throws a one two combo.
Ben Greenfield is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Greenfield throws a shot to the body.
Thomas lands a high kick!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Greenfield jabs at Thomas 's body.
Greenfield scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Good standup being displayed there by Greenfield as he connects with a hook.
Thomas has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Thomas takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Greenfield cracks Thomas with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Greenfield lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Thomas on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Greenfield fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Thomas looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Aaron Thomas has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thomas lands with a kick to the ribs.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Greenfield comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Greenfield 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 26:30
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Greenfield!
After the fight, Ben Greenfield was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.