PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Lincoln Storm (ranked 858 p4p, 41 weight class) and Distant Thunder (ranked 1986 p4p, 91 weight class). Thunder has chosen Who Set The World On Fire as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Storm
vs
Thunder

171 cm
21
147 lbs
9 - 1 - 1

171 cm
19
135 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

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 9 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Lincoln Storm!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Distant Thunder!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, James Ackerman and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Storm digs a good body shot into Thunder's ribs.
Thunder takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Thunder has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Storm misses with a straight left.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Thunder! But no joy.
Storm lands a body shot.
Storm works Thunder's body with a nice hook.
We've been told by Storm's head coaches at Runts Academy that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Thunder takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Storm works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Storm fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Thunder is out of range.
Thunder tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Storm throws a leg kick
and Thunder counters with a nice uppercut.
Storm uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Thunder.
Storm dips to his left and cracks Thunder with an uppercut!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thunder keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Thunder wants to counter the offense by Storm and move into the clinch position.
Thunder has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Storm finds it's way round the side to connect with Thunder's head.
Thunder keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Thunder scores with a nice head shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Storm ducks under a wild hook from Thunder.
Storm stuns Thunder with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Lincoln Storm seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Storm misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Thunder.
Storm is looking to wear down Thunder with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Storm getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Thunder checks a leg kick.
Storm swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Thunder flicks out a counter leg kick but Storm steps away.
Storm jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.

Storm fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Thunder, pushing him back against the cage.
Thunder misses with an elbow over the top.
Thunder lands an elbow just above Storm 's eye.

It looks like Lincoln Storm has been cut.
Storm misses with some punches.
Thunder tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Thunder misses with a hook to the ribs.
A body shot lands from Storm.
Storm blocks an elbow strike.
Storm throws a head punch that misses.
Storm lands a body punch in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thunder throws an elbow but it's blocked.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Storm digs a right hand into Thunder's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Thunder's gas tank.
Thunder can't find room to land a body shot as Storm controls the action.
Thunder misses with a hook to the ribs.
Storm misses with some punches.
Storm working aggressively here.
A left hand lands to the body for Thunder.
A short uppercut from Storm.
Thunder misses with a hook to the ribs.
Storm misses with some punches.
Storm blocks an uppercut.
Thunder lands a nice shot to the body.
A right hook to the body lands for Thunder.
Storm digs a right hand into Thunder's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Thunder's gas tank.
Thunder misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Thunder misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Thunder blocks an uppercut.
Storm throws an elbow that misses.
Storm struggles to land a body shot inside as Thunder controls his hands.
Thunder lands a damaging elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Storm lands a body punch in the clinch.
Thunder leaning against his opponent.
Thunder misses with a punch to the body.
Thunder blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Thunder is stalling here.
Thunder pushes Storm back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Thunder throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Thunder pushes off an throws an elbow but Storm leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Storm lands on the inside with an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Thunder.
Storm tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Thunder misses with some punches.
Storm tries a body shot but Thunder blocks it.
Storm misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Storm.
Thunder stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Storm doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Storm avoids a wild elbow strike from Thunder.
Storm tries to throw a body punch but Thunder avoids it by throwing Storm back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Storm avoids the elbow strike from Thunder, against the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Thunder.
Storm misses with a punch on the inside.
Storm swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short body shot lands from Thunder as the two fighters clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Thunder.
Thunder scores with a nice hook to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Storm dodges an elbow strike from Thunder.
Thunder lands a body shot.
Storm tries to throw a body punch but Thunder avoids it by throwing Storm back against the cage.
Storm avoids a wild elbow strike from Thunder.
A head punch on the inside from Storm fails to land.
Storm prevents a body shot from Thunder.
Thunder pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Thunder looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Storm tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Thunder's elbow.
A body shot lands from Thunder.
Thunder tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Storm swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Thunder.
A body shot lands from Storm.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lincoln Storm dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Lincoln Storm'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.

Thunder jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Storm misses the shot to the body.
Thunder lands a nice shot that snaps Storm's head back.
Thunder throws a jab but it's blocked by Storm.
Storm fails with an attempt to clinch.
Thunder throws out a counter right but Storm avoids it with no problem.
A big left from Storm misses.
Storm doesn't manage to clinch there - Thunder circles away.
Storm swinging wildly here.
Thunder doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Storm closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Thunder checks the leg kick.
Thunder swings widly with a right hand
and Storm counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Thunder 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Storm throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Storm lands a right hook to the body.
Storm rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Thunder counters with a stiff right hand.
Storm tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thunder paws at him with a jab and circles away.
The fighters circling - Thunder throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Thunder misses with a lunging right hand
and Storm counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Storm stuns Thunder with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Storm misses with a two punch combination.
Thunder is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Storm with a body shot.
Thunder misses the shot to the body.
Storm tries to clinch there but Thunder circles away.
Storm moves away from the strike by Thunder.
Storm throws a body punch but Thunder moves out of range.
Storm's jab looks to have found its range, popping Thunder under the eye.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Storm. Thunder does a little dance to reset his feet.
Storm throws a body shot but no joy.
As Storm backs off Thunder throws a huge counter combo but Storm manages to avoid it all.
Lincoln Storm is winning the standup battle so far.
Storm ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thunder moves away.
A jab from Thunder does it's job there.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thunder pivots, looking for a leg kick but Storm is out of range and Thunder settles back down.
Thunder's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Storm connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Thunder scrambles back to his feet.
Storm is looking to chop away at Thunder's legs.
Storm cracks the inside of Thunder's front leg.
Storm looks to score with a jab to the body but Thunder is just out of range.
Storm misses with an uppercut.
Danga de danga de dang - Thunder scores with a four punch combination!
Storm is looking to clinch but Thunder is avoiding it.

Thunder tries to keep at a distance but Storm has taken the fight into the clinch.
Storm pushes Thunder back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Storm throws a knee to the head but misses.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Thunder in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Thunder presses Storm against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Thunder working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Storm tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Thunder's elbow.
Thunder blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Thunder lands a body punch.
Storm misses with a punch on the inside.
Thunder creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Storm lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Storm tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Storm misses with a hook to the ribs.
Storm working aggressively here.
Distant Thunder seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Thunder lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Thunder can't break the clinch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Thunder creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Storm tries to work over Thunder's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Storm tries to throw a body punch but Thunder avoids it by throwing Storm back against the cage.
Storm can't find room to land a body shot as Thunder controls the action.
Thunder lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thunder lands a damaging elbow.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head punch on the inside from Storm fails to land.
Storm misses with a hook to the ribs.
Thunder misses with an elbow over the top.
Storm dodges an elbow strike from Thunder.
Thunder blocks a body shot from Storm.
Thunder tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Storm's elbow.
Storm swings wildly with an uppercut but Thunder uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thunder managing to block the knees to the body from Storm.
Storm can't find room to land a body shot as Thunder controls the action.
A right hand to the body from Thunder.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thunder.
Storm tries to work over Thunder's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Storm misses with a punch on the inside.
Still in the clinch, Storm scores with a nice short uppercut.
Thunder lands with a light punch inside.
Thunder throws an elbow that misses.
Storm prevents a body shot from Thunder.
Thunder lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Lincoln Storm will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Lincoln Storm's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Thunder keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A little jabbing left from Thunder on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Thunder takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A jab from Thunder misses.
Storm throws a sloppy body shot
and Thunder counters with a stiff right hand.
Storm cracks Thunder with a good jab.
Storm throws a low kick, looking for Thunder's leg but Thunder calmly moves out of range.
Thunder appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Storm tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Thunder was well out of range. Poor timing from Storm.
Storm backing away here, and Thunder unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Storm misses with a straight right.
Storm throws a jab when Thunder was well out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Storm scores with a sloppy right hand. Thunder should have avoided that one.
Thunder wants to clinch up but Storm keeps it at a distance.
Thunder throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Thunder misses with a hook.
Storm tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thunder manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Thunder let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Storm thuds a left hand into Thunder's body.
Storm misses with a leg kick.
Thunder throws out a counter right but Storm avoids it with no problem.
Storm lands with a good body shot.
Thunder uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Storm.
Storm misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Thunder.
Storm misses the jab.
Thunder wants to land a leg kick but Storm is out of range.
Storm catches Thunder with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Storm cracks Thunder with a right hand to the side of the head.
Storm throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Storm looks to score with a jab to the body but Thunder is just out of range.
Thunder dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Storm lands with an overhand left.
Distant Thunder has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Storm staying out of range there.
Storm throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Thunder stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Storm defending well as Thunder loads up on a big left hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Storm takes the fight into the clinch.
Thunder throws an elbow that misses.
Thunder creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Storm is leaning against Thunder and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Storm tries to work over Thunder's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short right from Thunder.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Storm creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Thunder tries to throw a body punch but Storm avoids it by throwing Thunder back against the cage.
A short left from Storm.
Thunder creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A head punch on the inside from Storm fails to land.
A head punch on the inside from Thunder fails to land.
Storm misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thunder throws an elbow that misses.
Storm goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Thunder gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Thunder throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Thunder throws an elbow but it misses.
Thunder scores with a hook to the body.
A right hand to the body from Thunder.
Storm being controlled against the cage.
Thunder pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Storm working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Storm misses with some punches.

Thunder manages to break the clinch.
Donk. Storm catches Thunder right on the button with a cross.
Thunder takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Thunder tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Storm was well out of range. Poor timing from Thunder.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thunder connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

Lincoln Storm's cut is getting worse.
A telegraphed right hand from Storm misses the target.
Thunder throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Storm sees it coming and avoids it easily.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Storm avoids a punch combination nicely.
Storm is looking to counter the offense by Thunder and move into the clinch.
Storm moves away from the strike by Thunder.
Storm tests Thunder's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Thunder takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Thunder lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Storm cracks a nice hook into Thunder's ribs.
A telegraphed right hand from Storm misses the target.
Thunder tried to score with a low kick but Storm checks it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lincoln Storm showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Storm, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 James Atkins scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lincoln Storm!
A relieved looking Lincoln Storm thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.