PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joe Monroe (ranked 2727 p4p, 306 weight class) and Happier Happiest (ranked 3852 p4p, 396 weight class). Happiest has chosen Ken Dodd & the Diddy Men: Happiness as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Monroe
vs
Happiest

191 cm
26
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
190 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Sportivité

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Joe Monroe !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Happier Happiest!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Robert Douchet and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Monroe tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Happiest paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Monroe dodges the punch combination from Happiest.
Monroe throws a quick counter kick to the body but Happiest avoids it.
Monroe gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Happiest.
Monroe misses with a hook
and Happiest counters with a nice uppercut.
Happiest slaps away a takedown attempt from Monroe , before circling back to the center of the mat.
Nice shot by Happiest.
Sloppy strikes from Happiest. Those never looked like landing.
Happiest works the jab nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Happiest misses with a wild combination.
Happiest lands a body shot.
Monroe avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Happiest with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Monroe is looking to clinch.
Happiest lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Monroe on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Happier Happiest seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Monroe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Good exchange - Happiest coming out on top.
Monroe pushes Happiest away with a front kick.
Monroe on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Happiest comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

Monroe shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Monroe was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Happiest dodges the ground and pound from Monroe .
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Happiest is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Monroe is controlling him well.

Monroe decides to stand back up. Monroe steps back and let's Happiest get back to his feet.
Happiest throws a shot from downtown. Monroe moves away and avoids it.
Happier Happiest is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Monroe shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Happiest but Happiest pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Happiest gets tackled into the cage by Monroe . Monroe maintains the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Monroe stalling in the clinch.
Monroe tries to land knees in the clinch but Happiest avoids the damage to the body.
Monroe manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Happiest breaks from the clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Monroe misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Happiest.
Monroe doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Monroe with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Happiest tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Monroe avoids it.
Monroe has Happiest pressed against the cage, preventing Happiest from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Monroe lands a left hand that snaps the head of Happiest backwards.
Monroe taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Knees to the body from Monroe .
Happiest blocks an uppercut.
Monroe has Happiest pressed against the cage, preventing Happiest from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Monroe lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Happiest backwards.
We've been informed that Happiest has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Monroe tries a knee to the head but Happiest blocks it.
Happiest wants to break the clinch but can't.

Monroe breaks the clinch.
Happiest ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Monroe with a poor takedown
and Happiest counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Monroe looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Monroe . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Happiest swinging wildly here.
Happiest dips to his left and cracks Monroe with an uppercut!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Happiest digs a good hook to Monroe 's body.
Monroe connects with an inside leg kick.
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!
Monroe gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Monroe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
As Monroe backs off Happiest throws a huge counter combo but Monroe manages to avoid it all.
Happiest throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Monroe is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A jab from Happiest finds it's way through Monroe 's defenses.
Happiest scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Happiest bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Monroe slips under a jab from Happiest.
Happiest misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Happiest takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Happiest throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Monroe on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Happiest defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Monroe .
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Happier Happiest dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Monroe tries for a takedown but Happiest sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Monroe takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Monroe fails with an attempt to clinch.
A punch combination from Happiest misses.
Jab from Happiest.
Happiest scores with a punch to the head.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Monroe is defended easily by Happiest.
Monroe slips a jab and a cross from Happiest.
Monroe throws a right hand that Happiest ducks under and follows up with a left that Happiest also avoids with ease.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Happiest getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Monroe tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Happiest paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Monroe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Happiest lands a nice shot that snaps Monroe 's head back.
Happiest scores with a nice right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Happiest with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Monroe closes the distance looking to clinch
and Happiest counters with a left and a right that stings Monroe .
Happiest throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Monroe on the side of the head.
Happiest scores with a shot to the body.
Monroe takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Happiest lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Happiest dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Happiest fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Happiest lands a nice shot to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Monroe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Happiest looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Happiest throws a shot to the body.
Happiest uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The fight stays on the outside here - Monroe looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Monroe looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Monroe slips a jab and a cross from Happiest.
Monroe is looking to counter with a body kick.
Happiest lands with an uppercut that bounces Monroe off the cage and back into range.
Monroe tries to close the distance and clinch up but Happiest swats him away and circles back towards the center.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Monroe takes one to the chin there.
A jab from Happiest does it's job there.
Monroe is looking to clinch but Happiest is avoiding it.
Monroe needs to keep his hands up - Happiest had a free shot at his head there.
A punch combination from Happiest misses.
Happiest throws a shot to the body.
Monroe misses with a takedown
enabling Happiest to counter with a crisp jab.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Monroe . That's going to take a lot out of him.
No joy there for Happiest, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Happiest lunges at Monroe with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Monroe 's hand.
Monroe is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Happiest has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Happiest throws out a powerful jab.
Happiest scores with a crisp jab that stopped Monroe in his tracks.
Happiest swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Monroe counters with a low kick, right behind Happiest 's knee.
Happiest jabs at Monroe 's body.
Happiest scores with a body shot.
Happiest with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Happiest uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Happiest connects with the punch.
Monroe moves in looking to clinch but Happiest pushes him off.
Monroe tries to close the distance and clinch but Happiest swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Happiest moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Monroe takes one to the chin there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The fight stays on the outside here - Monroe looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Happiest connects with the punch.
Monroe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Happiest ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Monroe moves away.
Monroe went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Happiest scores with a body shot.
Monroe shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Happiest looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Monroe wants to clinch up but Happiest keeps it at a distance.
Monroe misses with a head kick.
Happiest takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Happiest displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Monroe is looking to clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Monroe tries to clinch up.

Monroe moves into the clinch successfully.
Monroe crunches a lovely knee into Happiest's ribcage.
Come on Happiest - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Happier Happiest showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Monroe misses with a body kick.
Happiest unleashes a big counter combination but Monroe bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Happiest fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Monroe takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Happiest wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Monroe connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Happiest scores with a hook to the body. Monroe takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Monroe takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Happiest digs a good hook to Monroe 's body.
Happiest connects with a jab.
The fighters circling - Monroe throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Happiest thuds a left hand into Monroe 's body.

Monroe drives through and clinches with Happiest against the cage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Monroe slows down the pace here.
Monroe is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Happiest is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Monroe is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Happiest is defending well for now.
Monroe takes a shot to the head.
Happiest wants to get back to striking at distance but Monroe won't allow it.
Happiest avoiding damage as Monroe throws knees to the body.

Monroe manages to break the clinch.
Happiest misses with a combination
and Monroe counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Happiest throws a shot to the body.
Monroe fails in his attempt to clinch.
Monroe drops his hands momentarily and Happiest takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Happiest scores with a jab to the body.
Happiest fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Happiest 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Monroe walks into a left hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Happiest tries to keep at a distance but Monroe has taken the fight into the clinch.
Monroe drops down looking for an ankle pick but Happiest pulls his leg out and moves away.
Happiest lands a jab to Monroe 's midsection.
Happiest throws a good cross that connects.
Happiest lands a body shot.
Happiest circles away from the clinch attempt.
Happiest scores with a jab to the body.
Happiest cracks Monroe with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Happiest moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Monroe moves in looking to clinch but Happiest pushes him off.
A countering left hand to the body from Happiest misses.
Happiest lands a jab to Monroe 's midsection.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Happiest.
Monroe pivots, looking for a leg kick but Happiest is out of range and Monroe settles back down.
Monroe is looking to clinch.
No joy there for Happiest, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Happiest scores with a one two! Monroe had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
A head kick misses from Monroe .
Happiest looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Monroe tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Happiest manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Monroe throws a shot to the body.
Happiest scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Happiest dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Monroe takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Happiest scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Monroe doesn't seem bothered though.
Joe Monroe is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Happiest throws a body shot but no joy.
Happiest rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Monroe moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Happiest takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Happiest moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Happiest lands a lovely overhand right.
Happiest scores with a body shot.
Monroe doesn't manage to clinch there - Happiest circles away.
A left and a right from Happiest both land. Nice combination.
Happier Happiest seems to be getting the better of the standup.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Happiest enables Monroe to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Happiest manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Monroe scoring with punches to the head and body.
Happiest keeping moving, preventing Monroe from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Monroe is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Joe Monroe has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Happiest manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Happiest wants to break the clinch but can't.
Monroe is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Happier Happiest comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Happiest 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 26:30
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 26:30
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Happier Happiest!
Happier Happiest made sure to give a little speech post fight, saying 'Happiness is a choice '.