PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Christopher Irwin (ranked 2918 p4p, 3284 weight class) and Norris Chow (ranked 286 p4p, 306 weight class). Norris Chow will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Irwin
vs
Chow

150 cm
26
148
3 - 1 - 0

166 cm
26
152
3 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Christopher Irwin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Norris Chow!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Vladimir Khabensky and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chow lands a two punch combo.
Chow throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Irwin throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Chow's waist but Chow gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Irwin off to one side.
Chow scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Irwin looks for a takedown but Chow sprawls well.
Irwin shoots in for a takedown but Chow shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Christopher Irwin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Irwin showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Chow.
Irwin shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Irwin shoots in and gets a takedown into Chow's guard.
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!
Irwin pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Chow is keeping the position for now.
Irwin is working hard here to advance position.
Chow looking to hit a scissor sweep but Irwin is one step ahead there.
Irwin controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Irwin seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Chow for as long as he can get away with.
Chow is trying to keep Irwin in close.
Irwin pushing down on Chow's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Irwin takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two 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.
Irwin continues to stall.
Irwin trying to pass the guard but Chow defending well.
Irwin controlling the action here.
Irwin has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Irwin's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Irwin is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Chow's half guard.
Irwin is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chow keeping hold of Irwin's head, controlling as best he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chow trying to control but Irwin postures up.
Irwin sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Irwin prevents Chow from improving his position.
Irwin wants to advance to full mount but Chow doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Irwin has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Chow is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Irwin defends well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Chow looking for a guillotine here but Irwin defends easily.
Chow looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Irwin is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
More hug and hope from Irwin.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Norris Chow will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Irwin shoots in but Chow avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Chow fails to land with a series of punches.
Chow slaps away a takedown attempt from Irwin, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Chow stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Christopher Irwin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Chow misses with a few strikes there.
Chow dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Irwin. That did some damage!
Irwin fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Chow with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Chow throws a chopping leg kick but Irwin manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Irwin manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Chow on his heels. He'll look to pass Chow's guard now, I'm sure.
Irwin is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Irwin prevents Chow from getting back to his feet.
Irwin slips nicely into half guard.
Chow is trying to get back to full guard.
Still in half guard, Irwin seems content to control.

Irwin stands up from half guard.
Irwin shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Chow as he avoids it easily.
Chow looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Norris Chow is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Chow pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Irwin scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Chow sneaks out the side door and pushes Irwin away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irwin tries to score a power double leg takedown but Chow sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Irwin somewhat.
Irwin closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chow throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Irwin's head.
Irwin shoots in looking for a takedown. Chow tries to sprawl out of it but Irwin keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Chow manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Chow dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Irwin. That did some damage!
Irwin tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

Irwin looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Chow trying to control but Irwin postures up.
Irwin trying to control the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Further stalling from Irwin.
Irwin wants to advance to full mount but Chow doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.

Chow is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Irwin trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Irwin sitting in guard here, content to control.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Chow holds on and takes a little breather.

That's four 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.
Irwin sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Chow's guard.
Chow is positioning himself well to prevent Irwin advancing to mount.
Irwin works his way into full mount!
Chow is desperately trying to improve his position but Irwin has a good base and remains in mount.
Irwin sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Chow is wriggling around trying to escape.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Norris Chow showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Irwin shoots in for a double leg but Chow sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Irwin fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Chow avoids it really well and circles away.
Chow feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Irwins jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Irwin throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Chow's waist but Chow gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Irwin off to one side.
It seemed like Chow was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Christopher Irwin. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Chow gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Irwin to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Chow keeping full guard, as Irwin tries to pass.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Chow had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Irwin defends it easily.
Chow tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Irwin might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chow is still trying to improve position.
Chow working a defensive guard here.
Irwin is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Chow trying to control the position.
Irwin content to stall in guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Chow trying to keep a closed guard but Irwin is proving a slippery customer.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Chow misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Irwin darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Irwin prevents Chow from improving his position.
Irwin takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Irwin wants to pass to mount but Chow is defending the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chow is trying to maintain the position but Irwin is very close to passing his half guard.
Irwin is controlling the pace.
Irwin looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Irwin is controlling the pace.
Christopher Irwin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Chow pushes Irwin off looking to stand but Irwin dives back in and keeps control.
Christopher Irwin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Still in half guard, Irwin seems content to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Irwin shoots in but Chow avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Chow displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Irwin.
Chow fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Chow clobbers Irwin with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Irwin shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Irwin showed some decent athleticism there.
Irwin takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Irwin is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

And that's the end of the fight!
Christopher Irwin showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Chow has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 29:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!