|
|
PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Cole (ranked 326 p4p, 46 weight class) and Eric Staal (ranked 682 p4p, 88 weight class). Cole's entrance music is I Won't Back Down. A fine choice. Eric Staal has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?
 |
|
 |
| 175 cm
33
200 lbs
32 - 16 - 0 |
|
180 cm
36
192 lbs
29 - 12 - 2 |
Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible |
|
Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank |
|
| |
|
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
32 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Michael Cole!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
29 - 12 - 2, fighting out of New York, Eric Staal!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and Jack Bonds.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Staal throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Cole lands with a nice combination. Staal backs away looking to recover.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Cole.
Cole steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Staal.
Cole tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Staal paws at him with a jab and circles away.
The crowd cheers as Staal lands an impressive looking overhand right. Cole doesn't seem phased though.
Cole tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cole takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Cole lands a jab to the head.
Cole fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Staal to the ground. Cole is now in Staal's guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Staal pulls Cole in close to prevent any damage.
Cole lands a couple of elbows.
Staal not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cole 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 one minute gone in the round.
Cole won't allow Staal to sweep him here.
Staal bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Cole's guard.
Cole not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cole pulls Staal in to control the position.
Staal is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Staal accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Cole is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Cole looking to hit a scissor sweep but Staal is one step ahead there.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Staal is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Cole keeping full guard, as Staal tries to pass.
Staal preventing the sweep.
Staal throws an elbow that misses. Cole uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Staal's guard. Nice move by Cole!
Staal pulls Cole in close to prevent any damage.
Cole won't allow Staal to sweep him here.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Staal managing to control the position.
Cole postures up in Staal's guard and throws a big left but Staal blocks it.
Cole with a nice head shot there.
Staal avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Staal avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Cole trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Cole won't allow Staal to sweep him here.
Cole lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Staal has control of Cole's left arm, preventing Cole from doing any damage.
Cole landing with the ground and pound.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cole preventing the sweep.
Cole 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.
Staal working a defensive guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cole scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Staal pulls Cole in to control the position.
Cole content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Staal wants to sweep here but Cole controlling him for the moment.
Cole throws a big right hand that misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cole is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Cole throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Staal works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Michael Cole dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!
Staal gets tackled into the cage by Cole. Cole maintains the clinch.
A right hand to the body from Cole.
Cole scores with a shot to the side of Staal's head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Cole.
Cole struggles to land a body shot inside as Staal controls his hands.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Cole.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Staal.
Cole lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Staal working aggressively here.
Cole tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Staal misses with a body punch.
Cole throws a head punch that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cole swings wildly with an uppercut but Staal uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cole misses with a knee strike.
Cole goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A short uppercut from Cole.
Staal is trying to break free.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cole doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Staal blocking some punches.
Staal lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Cole is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Staal can do to turn this around?
Cole doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Cole keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Staal's efforts to push away.
Staal lands with a light punch inside.
Staal presses Cole against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Cole misses with a body punch.
Cole is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Staal is keeping busy.
Staal displaying some good clinch control by pressing Cole up against the cage.
Cole takes a shot to the head.
Staal lands a right hand.
Cole lands a hook to the side of the head.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cole lands with a light punch inside.
Cole tries to land knees in the clinch but Staal avoids the damage to the body.
Staal is fighting off a takedown attempt but Cole is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Staal to the mat. Staal regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cole working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Staal trying to control the position.
Staal might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Cole haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Staal wants to get back to his feet but Cole is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Michael Cole overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Staal is striking from the bottom but Cole uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Cole throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Cole is stalling here. Staal is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Cole seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Staal has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Staal happy to just control the position for now.
Cole parries the strikes from Staal easily there. Staal is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Cole to escape.
Staal trying to control the action but Cole is working from the bottom.
Staal is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Cole is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Staal taking a breather here.
Cole holds on tight, trying to prevent any damage.
Cole defending against the ground and pound.
Cole takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Cole manages to get back to half guard.
Cole wants to control but Staal is keeping busy and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Michael Cole dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!
Cole shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Staal manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Staal is trying to control the position but Cole postures up.
Cole throwing strikes but missing.
Staal is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Cole trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Cole working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Cole accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cole is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Staal controlling Cole's posture.
Staal utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cole is in close to Staal's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Cole working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Cole throwing strikes from guard but Staal blocks nicely.
Staal looking to hit a scissor sweep but Cole is one step ahead there.
Cole postures up.
Staal is looking to sweep but instead, Cole has passed into half guard.
Cole seems to be working for a kimura but Staal defends the submission attempt.
Eric Staal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Staal is trying to get back to full guard.
Staal is trying to maintain the position but Cole is very close to passing his half guard.
Staal moves into full guard.
Cole missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Staal keeping moving, preventing Cole from controlling successfully.
Staal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Cole stopping the sweep attempt from Staal.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Staal utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Cole working some strikes from top position.
Staal is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Staal holds on and takes a little breather.
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Staal takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
An inside leg kick from Staal misses.
Staal fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Cole.
Staal rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
enabling Cole to counter with a crisp jab.
Staal avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
And Staal tries to counter it with a takedown but Cole pushes his down on his head and steps out.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cole clinches up against the cage.
Staal goes for a takedown in the clinch but Cole prevents it.
Good body shot from Cole.
Cole makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A left hand lands to the body for Cole.
Staal takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cole lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Cole content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Cole scores with a shot to the side of Staal's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cole lands a right hand.
Staal managing to block the knees to the body from Cole.
A short right from Cole on the inside.
Staal is rocked!
Cole tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Staal's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Staal is still on wobbly legs! Can Cole finish him?
A short right hand to the side of the head by Cole.
I was talking to Cole's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Cole is leaning against Staal and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Cole is leaning against Staal and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Cole unloads with a big right hand that wobbles Staal! He's leaning against the cage trying to keep his feet but Cole is unloading with more strikes now! Staal drops to his knees and the referee stops the fight for a TKO!
Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Michael Cole!
Michael Cole really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Urban Fighter logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
|
S |
C |
G |
|
energy
A | B |
|
hype
A | B |
|
pop
A | B |
|
mgr
A | B |
|
FIGHT
RATING
50% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
