PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ethan Matthews (ranked 4244 p4p, 25548 weight class) and Kelsey Wright (ranked 0 p4p, 274 weight class). Kelsey Wright has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Ethan Matthews's chin.

Matthews
vs
Wright

186 cm
19
135
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
23
140
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Ethan Matthews!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kelsey Wright!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Sam Margolis and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Matthews fails to land the takedown.
Wright leaves Matthews with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Matthews shoots in for a takedown but Wright shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ethan Matthews. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Wright gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Wright breaks from the clinch.

Wright takes the fight into the clinch.

Wright decides to pull guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Wright has an active guard here but Matthews has managed to pass into half guard.

Wright looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wright works his way to full guard. Good work.

Wright looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Matthews really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Wright is trying to keep Matthews in close.
Wright lands a good elbow from the bottom.

Wright uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Wright closes this distance looking for a takedown but Matthews circles away.
Matthews wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Wright shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Matthews pinned against the cage. Matthews gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matthews closes this distance looking for a takedown but Wright circles away.
Matthews is breathing heavily.
Wright misses with a two punch combination.
Matthews shoots in but no luck this time.

Wright gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Wright.
Wright fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Wright drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Matthews gets the underhooks and prevents it.

Wright manages to pull guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matthews wants to pass the guard but Wright is keeping the position.
Wright has his hands on Matthews's head, controlling the position.
Wright trying to keep a closed guard but Matthews is proving a slippery customer.
Matthews wants to control from the top but Wright keeps moving.
Wright managing to control the position.

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.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Wright throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Matthews is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Wright pulls Matthews in close to prevent any damage.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Matthews fails to land the takedown.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kelsey Wright dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Matthews misses with a takedown attempt - Wright sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Wright moves into range and clinches up with Matthews.
Wright with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Matthews blocking some punches.
Wright lands an elbow just above Matthews 's eye.
Matthews is trying to drag Wright to the mat but Wright just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Wright breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Matthews tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Matthews takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matthews fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Wright avoids it really well and circles away.
Wright is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ethan Matthews. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Matthews fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Wright avoids it really well and circles away.
Wright shoots in and drives through. Matthews sprawls well.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Wright.
Wright has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Wright dives in and grabs Matthews's left leg, looking for a takedown. Matthews pushes down on Wright's head and hops out.
Matthews with a poor takedown

and Wright moves into the clinch.
Wright wants a takedown.
Wright looking to throw knees to the head but Matthews is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matthews tries to stall but Wright uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Wright has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Matthews is trying to keep an underhook but Wright manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Kelsey Wright has got the better of the ground game so far.
Wright controlling the action here.
Matthews is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Wright scores with a couple of nice shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wright sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Wright decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright shoots in looking for a takedown. Matthews tries to sprawl out of it but Wright keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Matthews manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
It looked like Matthews was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Wright.
Wright misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Wright misses with a double jab.
Matthews is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Wright.

Wright moves into range and clinches up with Matthews.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Matthews takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Wright is trying to pull guard but Matthews turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Matthews pulls Wright into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wright stands up from Matthews's guard - Wright perhaps looking for a knockout.
Wright displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Matthews.
Wright dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Wright pushes Matthews up against the cage in a clinch.
Matthews looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Matthews being controlled against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Wright utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kelsey Wright showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Wright slaps away a takedown attempt from Matthews, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Wright steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Matthews.
Wright darts in looking for a takedown but Matthews gets double underhooks and turns Wright into the cage.

Wright rushes Matthews and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Wright pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Matthews shoots in but Wright avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Wright rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Matthews moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A shot to the body from Matthews misses

so Wright counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Matthews not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Wright won't allow Matthews to sweep him here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wright controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wright is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Wright stands up and waves to Matthews to follow him.

Wright looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Matthews pushes Wright off but Wright dives into side control.
Matthews is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Wright has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wright wants to lay and pray for a moment but Matthews keeps working.
You can see the frustration on Matthews's face as Wright controls the position.
Wright trying to control the action but Matthews is working from the bottom.

Wright decides to take the fight back to the feet.
No joy there for Wright, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Matthews counters with a three punch combo that has Wright backing up. Wright nods at Matthews to acknowledge the strikes.
Nice uppercut there from Wright.

Wright moves into the clinch.
Matthews tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Wright just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ethan Matthews. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wright misses with the head strike.
Wright drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Wright drops down looking for an ankle pick but Matthews pulls his leg out and moves away.

Wright shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Matthews is trying to defend but Wright finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wright prevents Matthews from improving his position.

Wright has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Matthews defend it? Wright steps over the head and cranks it - Matthews is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for Wright!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:37 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Kelsey Wright!
The defeated Ethan Matthews had this to say: 'I worked hard in training, i'm ok with losing, ready to get back in the gym'.