PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Evans (ranked 2524 p4p, 2568 weight class) and Kane Jones (ranked 334 p4p, 341 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Evans
vs
Jones

179 cm
25
178
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
198
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thomas Evans!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kane Jones!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Seu Braga and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Evans feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Jones keeping moving, preventing Evans from controlling successfully.
Evans not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Evans trying to control the position from guard on top but Jones is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Evans tries to stand but Jones is controlling from the bottom.
Evans sitting in guard here, content to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Evans trying to control the position from guard on top but Jones is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jones pulls Evans in close to prevent any damage.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans trying to control the position from guard on top but Jones is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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

Evans looking to score a takedown here. Jones is defending well but Evans drives through and ends up in Jones's guard.
Evans trying to control the position from guard on top but Jones is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Evans's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Evans slips nicely into half guard.
Evans wants to control but Jones is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones trying to control from the bottom.
Jones is trying to get back to full guard.

Evans decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Jones displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Evans.
Evans tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Jones swivels and escapes.
Evans will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Evans. That's going to take a lot out of him.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Jones tries to pull guard but Evans won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Jones blocks it with crossed arms.
Evans tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Jones is trying to pull guard but Evans has him pressed against the cage.
Jones tries to pull guard but Evans forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Evans escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Evans throws a leg kick
and Jones counters with a nice uppercut.

It looks like Thomas Evans has been cut.
Evans darts in looking for a takedown but Jones gets double underhooks and turns Evans into the cage.

Evans breaks from the clinch.
Jones shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Evans defends it nicely.

Evans rushes Jones and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Evans lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Jones is trying to maintain the position but Evans is very close to passing his half guard.
Jones tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Evans has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Evans wants to control the pace but Jones is squirming around nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Evans with the ground and pound from mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Evans dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Evans's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Evans misses with the combination.
Jones tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Evans defends well and Jones ends up having to push Evans into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Jones misses with a double jab

and Evans counters by moving into the clinch.
Jones has Evans pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Evans manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Evans leaning his opponent against the cage.
Jones slowing the pace effectively.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones gets underhooks to prevent Evans's takedown attempt.
Jones tries to break free but Evans pushes him back against the cage.

Jones successfully pulls guard.
Evans landing some decent shots from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Evans working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Evans looking to sit in guard and control but Jones gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Evans is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jones can do to turn this around?
Jones trying to control the position from guard on top but Evans is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Jones sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Evans is on top in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Evans stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Jones swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Jones keeping moving, preventing Evans from controlling successfully.
Evans stopping the sweep attempt from Jones.
Evans stands and throws Jones's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Evans decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Evans tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Jones defends well and Evans ends up having to push Jones into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans jumps guard but Jones stands there with Evans around his waist. Evans gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Evans. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Jones takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Evans pulls guard successfully.
Evans managing to control the position.
Jones must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Jones trying to control but Evans is working from the bottom.
Jones is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Thomas Evans overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

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.
Evans tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Evans manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Jones manages to get himself to full guard.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Jones wants to stand up but Evans is controlling him.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Evans dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Evans's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Evans shoots in for a takedown but Jones shows good takedown defense.
Jones is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.

Jones tries to keep at a distance but Evans has taken the fight into the clinch.
Evans is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Jones is working for takedown but Evans is calmly controlling the position for now.
Jones being controlled against the cage.
Jones tries to pull guard but Evans won't allow it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jones is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Evans to keep the fight standing.
Thomas Evans has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kane Jones.
Evans dodges an elbow strike from Jones.
Jones jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Evans walks away with a smile on his face. Jones gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Evans stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Evans wants it to stay on the feet.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Evans here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans tries for a takedown but Jones sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Jones tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Evans thows a leg kick but Jones checks it

and Jones counters by moving into the clinch.
Evans wants to stall.
Evans tries to pull guard but Jones holds him up against the cage and eventually Evans drops back down to his feet.
Jones lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Evans.
Evans is pressed up against the cage. Jones has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Evans down to the mat. Evans avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Jones fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
It looked like Evans wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Evans shoots in but Jones avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Evans wants to clinch up but Jones keeps it at a distance.
Jones shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Evans throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
No luck for Jones with that takedown attempt.
Jones just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromEvans.

Evans shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Evans showed some decent athleticism there.
Jones tries to kick Evans off in order to stand up. Evans Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Evans thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans landing a few strikes.
Evans is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Jones tries to bench press Evans off him but Evans keeps the position.
Evans in side control lands a decent elbow.
Evans has knee on belly and moves into mount.

Evans goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Jones turns into him and now he's in Evans's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Evans doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Evans pulls Jones in close to prevent any damage.
Evans tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Evans trying to keep a closed guard but Jones is proving a slippery customer.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thomas Evans showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Evans has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thomas Evans!