PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ben Gorden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Robert Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gorden comes to the cage accompanied by Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up . The crowd seem to be enjoying Smith's choice of entrance music: Blink 182 feat Robert Smith - All of This. This should be a great matchup!

Gorden
vs
Smith

170 cm
24
142 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

170 cm
20
145 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Hellbent, Inc.
Syndicate Drugs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ben Gorden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Robert Smith!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Daniel Cesar and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith is looking to clinch.
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Gorden circles away.
Smith tries to clinch but Gorden is having none of it.
Gorden throws a low kick but Smith avoids it.
Smith misses with a head kick.
Gorden slips a jab and a cross from Smith.
Smith rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Gorden moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Smith takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Nice sprawl there from Gorden as Smith shoots in.
Smith ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Smith wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Gorden blocks a head kick by Smith.
Smith dips to his left and cracks Gorden with an uppercut!
A low kick from Smith is predictable there
and Gorden counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Gorden swinging wilding here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith throws a leg kick
enabling Gorden to counter with a crisp jab.

Gorden shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Gorden showed some decent athleticism there.
Smith tries to roll over but Gorden keeps him under control.
Smith is looking to control Gorden's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Smith avoid being mounted?
Smith is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Gorden is staying active.
Gorden lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Gorden trying to control from half guard but Smith is working away.
Smith is looking for a sweep. Gorden is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorden takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Gorden is trying to control the action in half guard but Smith is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Smith keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Smith is refusing to be controlled, as Gorden sits in half guard.
Gorden is nestled in close to Smith, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Smith taking some punishment here, with Gorden in his half guard.
Gorden controlling the pace.
Gorden thows a huge punch but Smith dodges it nicely.
Smith wants to improve his position but Gorden is controlling well.
Gorden lands with a punch from half guard.

Smith is defending against the submission attempts here by Gorden.
Gorden 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.
Gorden sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Smith defending well though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorden prevents Smith from improving his position.
Gorden landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Smith tries to roll over but Gorden keeps him under control.
Gorden thows a huge punch but Smith dodges it nicely.

Smith looking for submissions off his back.
Smith looks gassed!

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Nice shot lands for Smith.
Gorden swats away the attempt to clinch by Smith.
Smith fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Gorden looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Smith throws a body kick that misses.

Gorden scores a takedown into full mount!
Gorden fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Gorden looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Gorden is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Smith can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Gorden controlling his opponent.
Smith keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Smith tries to lock up and control but Gorden gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
A nice elbow there by Gorden.
Smith sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

Smith looking for submissions off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Smith swings for the body but Gorden moves out of range.
Robert Smith seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gorden keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Smith.
Ben Gorden is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Smith throws a hook but Gorden avoids it easily.
Smith misses with a double jab
and Gorden counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Smith thinking.
Smith swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Gorden counters with a single leg into guard. Smith didn't expect that.
Gorden working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gorden is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Gorden lands a couple of digs.
Gorden in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gorden advances to half guard.
Smith is looking for a sweep. Gorden is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Smith is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith is not content to let Gorden control the position.
Gorden wants to pass to mount but Smith is defending the position.
Ground and pound from Gorden.

Gorden is trying to work for a kimura but Smith is defending well.
Gorden wants to free his trapped foot but Smith is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Smith looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Gorden slows the pace down in half guard.
Gorden has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two 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.

Smith is defending against the submission attempts here by Gorden.
Smith is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Gorden's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Gorden's back!

Smith working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Smith thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Gorden breaks Smith's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Gorden postures up in Smith's guard and throws a big left but Smith blocks it.
Gorden 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.
Smith keeping full guard, as Gorden tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gorden has gone for a leg lock! Smith slips out almost immediately though and dives into Gorden's guard.
Smith must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Smith trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Gorden tries to strike from the bottom.

Gorden escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Smith gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Smith trying to control but Gorden is working from the bottom.
Gorden throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Gorden is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

Gorden working for a triangle but Smith defends it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gorden swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gorden will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Smith trying to control but Gorden is working from the bottom.
Smith preventing the sweep.
Gorden throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Smith being controlled here momentarily.
Gorden looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Gorden dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Gorden chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Smith can pounce on him.
Gorden swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gorden uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Smith.
Gorden tries to clinch there but Smith circles away.
Gorden keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Gorden throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Smith misses with the body kick
and Gorden counters with a stiff right hand.
Smith looking to land some kicks to the body here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith misses with a double jab
letting Gorden counter with a right hand.
Smith uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gorden.
A swing and a miss from Smith.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith throws a front kick aimed at Gorden's knee but Gorden avoids it well.
Smith throws a lazy head kick

and Gorden counters with a single leg into guard. Smith didn't expect that.
Gorden passes Smith's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Gorden passes to full mount!

Gorden wants to finish this one by submission but Smith is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Gorden.

Gorden has control of Smith's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Smith regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gorden lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Smith hang on?
Gorden connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorden tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Gorden tries to control but Smith wriggling away.
Smith is desperately trying to improve his position but Gorden has a good base and remains in mount.

Gorden with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Smith is in a horrible position here. Gorden smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Smith is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Gorden looking to control but Smith is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Gorden landing strikes from the mount and Smith is in trouble!
Ben Gorden overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Smith is looking to improve his position but Gorden isn't that keen on the idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorden controlling from the full mount.
Gorden fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Gorden is landing with some decent strikes but Smith is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Smith can't escape the position.

Gorden looking for a guillotine from mount but Smith is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Smith takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Smith is working to get back to half guard.
Ben Gorden is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gorden has hold of Smith's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Smith manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Smith is looking to improve his position but Gorden isn't that keen on the idea.
Smith tries to lock up and control but Gorden gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Gorden sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Robert Smith has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gorden punishing his opponent with strikes.
Gorden scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Gorden is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Smith can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Smith throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Gorden showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Gorden 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Gorden!