PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bandit Faser (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Norbury (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Norbury has chosen critical mass - nuclear assault as his entrance music. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Mark Norbury was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Faser
vs
Norbury

190 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

184 cm
19
200 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bandit Faser!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Mark Norbury!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Thiago Cunha and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horrible takedown by Faser or perhaps it was just good defense by Norbury which made him look bad.
Faser is looking to slow Norbury down with leg kicks.
Norbury stuffs the takedown.
Norbury keeps the fight on the outside.
Faser tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Faser tries to close the distance and clinch up but Norbury swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Norbury takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Faser tries to clinch up but Norbury circles away and keeps his distance.
Faser fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bandit Faser. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Norbury has closed the distance and engaged Faser in a clinch.
Norbury prevents a takedown attempt there.
Norbury blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Faser tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Norbury smiles and moves away.
Faser lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Faser closes the distance but Norbury moves to the side

and Norbury counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Norbury trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Faser is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Faser keeping full guard, as Norbury tries to pass.
Norbury chips away with some ground and pound.

Norbury stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Norbury throws a right and a left that Faser avoids nicely.
A low kick from Faser misses

and Norbury counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Norbury lands a knee to the body.
Norbury lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Faser wants to break the clinch but can't.
Norbury scores with a knee to the head.

It looks like Bandit Faser has been cut.
Faser is breathing heavily.
Norbury lands a knee to the body.
Faser is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norbury lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

Norbury pulls Faser into guard.
Norbury pulls Faser in to control the position.

Faser drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Norbury manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Faser has Norbury in his guard.
Norbury slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Norbury stands up and waves to Faser to follow him.

Norbury has closed the distance and engaged Faser in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Norbury breaks the clinch.
Norbury throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Faser.
Norbury pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Faser misses with a takedown

and Norbury counters with a takedown into side control.
Norbury lands an elbow.
Faser is pushing Norbury's head away, looking to escape. Norbury manages to hold on to the position though.
You can see the frustration on Faser's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Norbury lands a few punches from side control.
Faser is looking for a sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faser gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Faser tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Norbury misses with a double jab
and Faser counters with a solid body kick.
Faser fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Norbury.
Faser lands a nice leg kick that just misses Norbury's sensitive parts.
Faser throws a leg kick which misses Norbury's front leg but catches the back leg as Norbury tries to avoid it.
Faser thumps Norbury with a low kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Faser throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Faser misses with a takedown attempt

and Norbury counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Norbury.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Faser looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Norbury stopping the sweep attempt from Faser.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Norbury dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bandit Faser'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.

Faser doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Norbury counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Norbury.

Norbury stands up from Faser's guard - Norbury perhaps looking for a knockout.
Norbury lands a nice looking body kick.

Norbury pushes Faser up against the cage in a clinch.
Norbury is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Norbury creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Faser's defenses.
Faser wants to get back to striking at distance but Norbury won't allow it.

Norbury has Faser pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Norbury pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Faser tumbling to the mat - Norbury dives into Faser's guard.
Faser wants to stand up but Norbury is controlling him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faser bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Norbury's guard.
Faser is looking to stand up but Norbury won't let him.
Faser wants to control from the top but Norbury keeps moving.

Faser drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Faser jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Mark Norbury has got the better of the ground game so far.
Faser would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Norbury is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Faser is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Faser would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Norbury kicks Faser off and gets to his feet.
Faser tries for a takedown but Norbury circles away easily

and Norbury counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Norbury breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mark Norbury seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Norbury falls off balance throwing a combination
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Faser doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Norbury counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bandit Faser. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Norbury winds up and cracks Faser with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Norbury moves nicely into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norbury scores with punches from side control.
Faser is looking to regain half guard here but Norbury keeps moving and retains side control.
Norbury wants to lay and pray for a moment but Faser keeps working.
Faser is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Faser is trying to control Norbury's posture but Norbury avoids it.
Faser tries to improve position but can't.

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.
Faser prevents Norbury from moving into mount.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Faser with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Faser fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Norbury misses with a low kick as Faser jumps back.
Norbury throws a right and a left that both miss.
Faser with a lazy takedown attempt

and Norbury decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Faser's guard.

Faser throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Norbury escapes and throws Faser's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Norbury trying to control the action but Faser is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Faser tries to escape but Norbury is in control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Norbury showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Bandit Faser's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

A good leg kick by Faser.
Norbury misses with a few strikes there.
A slapping leg kick lands for Norbury.

Norbury closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Faser is pushing Norbury's head away, looking to escape. Norbury manages to hold on to the position though.
Norbury wants to control but Faser is keeping him busy.
Faser tries to escape but Norbury is in control.
Faser wants to get back to his feet but Norbury is dominant here and he's now got Faser's back!
Faser looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Norbury lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Faser hold on?!
Norbury lands a shot to the body.
Norbury lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Faser hold on?!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norbury has Faser flattened out and is raining down punches.
Norbury lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
Faser is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Norbury throwing damaging strikes from the back! Faser could be in trouble here!
Norbury doesn't have the hooks in and Faser manages to turn into his guard.

Faser drops back looking for a leg! Norbury is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Norbury manages to kick Faser off! Faser jumps back into Norbury's guard.
Faser wants to get up but he can't break Norbury's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Faser goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Bandit Faser is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two 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.

Norbury gets a takedown into half guard.
Faser is trying to stand.
Norbury is looking to take a break and control but Faser is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Faser tries to kick Norbury off but Norbury keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Faser is looking to sinch up a gullotine here but Norbury pulls his head out easily.
Faser is staying active underneath Norbury, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Norbury working over Faser with some ground and pound. Faser looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faser avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Norbury.

Faser looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Faser clinches but Norbury breaks the clinch

and Norbury counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Faser's guard now.
Norbury lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Faser working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Norbury doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Norbury manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Faser manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Norbury manages to get himself to full guard.

Norbury pushes Faser off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

Norbury scores with a takedown into Faser's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Norbury gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Faser feints and then cracks Norbury's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Norbury down.

Norbury pushes Faser up against the cage in a clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Faser is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Norbury manages to break the clinch.
Faser thumps Norbury with a low kick.
Norbury misses with a double jab
and Faser counters with a slapping leg kick.

Norbury scores with a takedown into Faser's guard.
Faser wants to stand but Norbury is controlling the position.
Bandit Faser has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mark Norbury is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Faser working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Norbury has passed into half guard!

And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Norbury comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Norbury 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Norbury!