PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dominic Byrd (ranked 24835 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jaxon Hiatt (ranked 4502 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Byrd
vs
Hiatt

187 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

190 cm
18
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dominic Byrd!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jaxon Hiatt!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Elvis Blanc and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hiatt drives through and clinches with Byrd against the cage.
Hiatt tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Byrd smiles and moves away.

Hiatt bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Byrd prevents Hiatt from improving position.
Hiatt working away.
Byrd controls the position for a moment.
Byrd can't do much from the bottom here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hiatt is looking to take a break and control but Byrd is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Both fighters take a look at the clock.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Hiatt trying to control the position but Byrd is working away.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

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.
Hiatt with a poor takedown
and Byrd counters with a three punch combo that has Hiatt backing up. Hiatt nods at Byrd to acknowledge the strikes.
Byrd tries for a takedown but Hiatt sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Byrd shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Hiatt manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Byrd is in close to Hiatt's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Hiatt looking to hit a scissor sweep but Byrd is one step ahead there.
Hiatt looks winded!
Byrd is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Byrd stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Byrd looks for a takedown but Hiatt sprawls well.
As Byrd backs off Hiatt throws a huge counter combo but Byrd manages to avoid it all.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrd displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hiatt.
Dominic Byrd has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jaxon Hiatt.
A low kick from Hiatt misses

and Byrd counters with a shoot takedown. Hiatt fights it but they end up in guard.
Byrd working some strikes from top position.
Byrd landing with the ground and pound.
Byrd makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Byrd trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hiatt's guard.
Hiatt has momentary wrist control but Byrd slips an elbow through the middle.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Hiatt can do anything to dispel that myth.
Byrd connects with a couple of short punches.
Byrd works over Hiatt with some ground and pound from guard.
Byrd cracks Hiatt with a solid left hand.
Byrd keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hiatt's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Byrd scoring with punches to the head and body.
Byrd postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Byrd lands a couple of digs.
Byrd with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Byrd landing some decent shots from guard.
Byrd works over Hiatt with some ground and pound from guard.
Byrd lands a couple of elbows.
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!
Byrd working some strikes from top position.
Byrd cracks Hiatt with a solid left hand.
Byrd is in close to Hiatt's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Byrd is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Byrd postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Byrd keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Hiatt's head.
Byrd lands a couple of decent looking shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dominic Byrd dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Byrd throws a sloppy head kick and Hiatt moves out of range easily.
Hiatt drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Byrd defends it well.
Byrd moves out of range of the body kick from Hiatt.

Hiatt drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Byrd is pulling down on Hiatt's head. It's preventing any offense from Hiatt, at least for the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hiatt won't allow Byrd to get back to his feet.
Hiatt is breathing heavily.
Byrd looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hiatt stopping the sweep attempt from Byrd.
Byrd is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Byrd looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Hiatt gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Hiatt fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Byrd drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Hiatt gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Hiatt is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Byrd to keep the fight standing.
Byrd tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Hiatt is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Dominic Byrd has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jaxon Hiatt.
Byrd tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hiatt smiles and moves away.
Byrd displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hiatt.
Byrd shoots in looking for a takedown but Hiatt manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Byrd's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Byrd has Hiatt up against the cage in a clinch.

Byrd jumps guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Byrd is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Hiatt presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Byrd has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Hiatt after a bit of a struggle.

Byrd wants the takedown. Hiatt is fighting it off but Byrd persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Hiatt's guard against the cage.
Byrd postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Byrd working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Byrd working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hiatt's head.
Byrd is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Byrd connects with a couple of short punches.
Byrd chips away with some ground and pound.
Byrd working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hiatt's head.

Byrd gets to his feet - Hiatt follows without any prompting.
Hiatt takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hiatt wants to take the fight to the mat but Byrd manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

Hiatt breaks the clinch.
A chopping leg kick lands by Byrd.
Hiatt displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Byrd.
Hiatt raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hiatt instigates a clinch.
Byrd with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dominic Byrd dominated that second round.
That's time! Byrd's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Hiatt gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Byrd throws a big right hand that misses.
Hiatt really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Byrd. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Byrd is looking to work some ground and pound but Hiatt has wrist control.
Byrd won't allow Hiatt to sweep him here.
Byrd with a nice head shot there.
Byrd scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Byrd stands up over Hiatt, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Byrd stands and steps away. Hiatt gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Hiatt takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hiatt chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Byrd can pounce on him.
Hiatt misses with a body punch

and Byrd counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Byrd connects with a nice short shot to Hiatt's temple.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hiatt trying to control but Byrd postures up.
Byrd lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Byrd slips a nice elbow through Hiatt's hands, connecting with Hiatt's forehead.
Byrd 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.
Byrd is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Byrd winds up and cracks Hiatt with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Byrd slips a nice elbow through Hiatt's hands, connecting with Hiatt's forehead.
Byrd landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Byrd prevents Hiatt from improving his position.

Hiatt is defending against the submission attempts here by Byrd.
Byrd working over Hiatt with some ground and pound. Hiatt looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Byrd looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Byrd is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hiatt can do to turn this around?
Byrd working the head and body with strikes.
Byrd is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Hiatt is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Byrd is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Nice strikes from Byrd there.
Nice strikes from Byrd there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hiatt taking some punishment here, with Byrd in his half guard.
Byrd scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Byrd is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Byrd looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hiatt with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Byrd is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Hiatt sees it coming and defends easily.
Byrd slips a nice elbow through Hiatt's hands, connecting with Hiatt's forehead.

Byrd is looking for a kimura but Hiatt is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Byrd to get the leverage.
Nice strikes from Byrd there.
Hiatt wants to control but Byrd is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Byrd takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hiatt missing with punches from the bottom.
Hiatt tries to get to full guard but Byrd has control of the leg.
Hiatt wants to control but Byrd is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Byrd scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hiatt taking some punishment here, with Byrd in his half guard.
Byrd lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Well, if Byrd is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Byrd is working for a submission of some sort.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dominic Byrd showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Byrd, 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dominic Byrd!