PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tyrone Graves (ranked 241 p4p, 727 weight class) and Oliver Hardy (ranked 33 p4p, 87 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Graves
vs
Hardy

200 cm
23
265
7 - 0 - 0

196 cm
22
271
8 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tyrone Graves!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Oliver Hardy!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, William Peck and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Graves takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Hardy keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Graves throws a shot from downtown. Hardy moves away and avoids it.
Hardy drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

It looks like Oliver Hardy has been cut.
Graves misses with a body shot.
Hardy ducks under a wild hook from Graves.
Nice takedown defense from Graves. No joy for Hardy on that attempt.
Graves cracks Hardy with a good jab.
Left hook, right uppercut from Graves.
Graves lands a jab to the nose.
Hardy slips under a jab from Graves.
Hardy drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Graves defends it well.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Graves throws out a loose jab but Hardy uses good head movement to avoid it.
A jab from Graves misses.
Hardy moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Graves misses with a series of wild punches.
Graves looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves misses with a straight right.
Graves swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A jab from Graves misses.
Hardy tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Graves with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Graves misses the jab.
Graves listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Graves is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
A big right from Graves misses.
Graves swinging wildly here.
Graves looks to land a left hand but Hardy moved out of range nicely.
Hardy feints the counter takedown.
Hardy misses with a takedown attempt - Graves sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy fails to land the takedown.
Tyrone Graves has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Oliver Hardy.
Hardy throws a body punch but Graves moves out of range.
Graves throwing a counter right hand but Hardy manages to avoid it.
A punch combination from Graves misses.
Graves uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hardy.
Graves swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Hardy.
Graves misses with a straight right.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A jab from Hardy misses.
Graves thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hardy feints the counter takedown.
Graves pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Graves's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Graves duly obliges.
A jab lands there for Graves.
Graves scores with a hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy ducks under a wild hook from Graves.
And Hardy tries to counter it with a takedown but Graves pushes his down on his head and steps out.
A looping hook to the body misses from Graves. Hardy does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hardy swings widly with a right hand
and Hardy takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Hardy ducks under a wild hook from Graves.
And Hardy tries to counter it with a takedown but Graves pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Hardy takes a swing at Graves's ribcage but misses.
Graves with a jab.
Tyrone Graves is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Graves lands with a cross.

Hardy shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Graves is trying to defend but Hardy finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Hardy seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Graves does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Hardy missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Hardy lands with a punch from half guard.
Graves keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Graves tries to roll over but Hardy keeps him under control.
Hardy missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Graves wants to improve his position but Hardy is controlling well.
Graves is staying active underneath Hardy, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Graves is looking for a sweep. Hardy is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hardy controlling the action here.
Graves wants to control but Hardy is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Hardy trying to control the action but Graves is working from the bottom.
Hardy sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Graves defending well though.
The fighters are battling for position here. Graves manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Hardy has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Graves looking for a sweep. Not yet Graves, not yet.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Graves has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Hardy wants to control from the top but Graves keeps moving.
Graves wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Hardy content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Hardy trying to control but Graves is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hardy takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Hardy ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Graves scores with a jab.
Hardy shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Graves as he avoids it easily.
Graves swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hardy takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
A big right from Hardy misses.
Graves throws the left hand but Hardy avoids the punch easily.
Graves just misses with a punch to the body.
Hardy is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Hardy swings for the body but Graves moves out of range.
It looked like Graves wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Hardy shoots for a double leg takedown but Graves sprawls well. He's pushed Hardy's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Graves throws a big shot that misses.
Graves pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Graves lands a body shot.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Graves throws out a loose jab but Hardy uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hardy shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Graves sprawls well. Graves wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Hardy gets slowly back to his feet.
Hardy slips under a jab from Graves.
Graves lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Hardy fails with the takedown.
Graves swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Hardy needs to keep his hands up - Graves had a free shot at his head there.

That has opened up Oliver Hardy's cut even more.
Graves misses with a body shot.

Hardy shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Graves napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Graves trying to remain calm as Hardy controls from the top position.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Graves tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Hardy wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Graves is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Graves slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hardy working some strikes from top position.
Graves wants to sweep here but Hardy controlling him for the moment.
Hardy trying to control but Graves is working from the bottom.
Graves is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Graves is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hardy wants to control from the top but Graves keeps moving.
Graves is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Hardy is working Graves over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Hardy trying to control the position from guard on top but Graves is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Graves pulls Hardy in close to his closed guard and prevents Hardy from doing any damage or advancing position.
Hardy cracks Graves with a solid left hand.
Graves pulls Hardy in close to prevent any damage.
Hardy trying to control the position from guard on top but Graves is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hardy content to stall in guard here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A slow jab from Graves misses its intended target.
Hardy is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrone Graves dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Oliver Hardy's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Hardy decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Hardy is thwarting Graves's attempts to control the position.
Hardy sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Graves defending well though.
Hardy is taking a breather. Graves says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Graves has hold of Hardy's hands but Hardy slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Graves tries to get to full guard but Hardy has control of the leg.
Hardy lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Graves is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hardy can do to turn this around?
Graves is trying to maintain the position but Hardy is very close to passing his half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hardy slips a nice elbow through Graves's hands, connecting with Graves's forehead.
Hardy takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Hardy prevents Graves from improving his position.
Hardy tries to pass the half guard into mount. Graves knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Graves trying to hold on to Hardy's head to control him but Hardy postures up.
Hardy looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Graves with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Hardy controlling the pace.
Hardy seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Graves does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
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. Hardy connects with a nice short shot to Graves's temple.
Graves keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Graves trying to control from the bottom.
Graves is looking for a sweep. Hardy is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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.
Hardy wants to control but Graves is keeping him busy.
Graves controlling the position well.
Graves trying to control but Hardy postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hardy is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Graves is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hardy scores with a couple of nice shots.
Graves trying to control from the bottom.
Hardy wants to lay and pray for a moment but Graves keeps working.
Hardy controlling the action here.
Graves blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hardy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Graves blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hardy.
Graves wants to get back to full guard.
Hardy landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Hardy lands strikes from half guard.
Graves tries to roll over but Hardy keeps him under control.
Hardy wants to control but Graves is keeping him busy.
Hardy lands strikes from half guard.
Graves wants to get back to full guard.
Graves looks like he's trying to stand up.
Graves is looking for a sweep. Hardy is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hardy missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Graves blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hardy.
Hardy is trying to control. Graves wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy slips a nice elbow through Graves's hands, connecting with Graves's forehead.
Hardy is controlling the pace.
Hardy prevents Graves from improving his position.
Hardy thows a huge punch but Graves dodges it nicely.
Graves wants to improve his position but Hardy is controlling well.
Hardy trying to control from half guard but Graves is working away.
Graves wants to improve his position but Hardy is controlling well.
Graves controlling the position for now.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Hardy is nestled in close to Graves, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Hardy sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Graves defending well though.
Oliver Hardy has got the better of the ground game so far.
Graves controlling the position for now.
Graves wants to control but Hardy is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Hardy thows a huge punch but Graves dodges it nicely.
Hardy wants to take a breather but Graves is having none of it.
Hardy throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Graves tries to roll over but Hardy keeps him under control.
Hardy lands strikes from half guard.
Hardy wants to lay and pray for a moment but Graves keeps working.
Graves is trying to maintain the position but Hardy is very close to passing his half guard.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Graves is not content to let Hardy control the position.
Graves wants to get back to full guard.
Graves keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hardy trying to control from half guard but Graves is working away.
Hardy wants to pass the guard but Graves is defending well.
Hardy is thwarting Graves's attempts to control the position.
Graves wants to get back to full guard.
Hardy scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Hardy is nestled in close to Graves, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Hardy prevents Graves from improving his position.
Hardy is controlling the pace.
Graves has hold of Hardy's hands but Hardy slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
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. Hardy connects with a nice short shot to Graves's temple.
Hardy takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hardy is thwarting Graves's attempts to control the position.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Hardy is keen to just control but Graves is a slippery customer.
Hardy is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Graves is trying to maintain the position but Hardy is very close to passing his half guard.
Graves regains full guard. Nicely done.
Graves has his hands on Hardy's head, controlling the position.
Hardy connects with a couple of short punches.
Graves wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Hardy is now in half guard.
Hardy is nestled in close to Graves, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Hardy is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Hardy lands strikes from half guard.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Hardy keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Graves trying to control here.
Still in half guard, Hardy seems content to control.
Graves is looking to improve his position.
Hardy is trying to control the action in half guard but Graves is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hardy performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Nice strikes from Hardy there.
Hardy working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hardy slows the pace down in half guard.
Hardy is continuing to stall.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Oliver Hardy showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Oliver Hardy's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Hardy throws a big shot that misses.
Graves with a jab.
Hardy shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Graves defends it nicely.
Graves scores with a crisp jab that stopped Hardy in his tracks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hardy has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Graves finds it's way round the side to connect with Hardy's head.
Graves lands with a cross.
Hardy misses the body punch
and Graves counters with a stiff right hand.
A big right from Graves misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy takes a swing at Graves's ribcage but misses.
Hardy comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Hardy misses with a looping right.
Graves cracks a nice hook into Hardy's ribs.
Nice defenses there by Graves.
Graves stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Hardy misses with a hook to the body
and Graves counters with a nice uppercut.
Hardy punishes Graves's body with a nice straight punch.
Tyrone Graves is winning the standup battle so far.

Hardy throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Graves tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Hardy is in Graves's guard.
Hardy takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Graves holds on and takes a little breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy lands a couple of elbows.
Hardy's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Graves trying to keep a closed guard but Hardy is proving a slippery customer.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hardy being controlled here momentarily.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hardy accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Graves not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hardy's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hardy scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Graves controlling Hardy's posture.
Hardy trying to control but Graves is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Graves looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hardy is one step ahead there.
Hardy postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Graves keeping moving, preventing Hardy from controlling successfully.
Graves avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Graves is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Hardy's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Graves connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Hardy scrambles back to his feet.
Graves lands a head shot.
Graves misses with a straight left.
Hardy waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Graves.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Graves uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Hardy has time to react.
Graves throws a lazy uppercut

and Hardy decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Graves's guard.
Graves trying to control the position here.
Hardy stands and throws Graves's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Graves is letting Hardy control him for a moment.
Graves is looking to reverse the position.
Hardy trying to control the position but Graves is working away.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hardy working away.
Hardy wants to lay and pray for a moment but Graves keeps working.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Hardy throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Hardy controls the position.
Hardy throwing shots but missing, from side control.
You can see the frustration on Graves's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Graves tries to get back to half guard but can't.
You can see the frustration on Graves's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Hardy gets to mount! Graves was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Graves is wriggling around trying to escape.
Hardy lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Graves is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Graves tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Graves tries to hold on but Hardy postures up.
Hardy lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Graves keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Hardy trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Graves takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Graves sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Hardy wants to pass to mount but Graves is defending the position.
Hardy scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Graves keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Hardy is trying to control. Graves wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Graves wants to improve his position but Hardy is controlling well.
Hardy is keen to just control but Graves is a slippery customer.
Hardy throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Graves makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Graves.
Graves trying to keep a closed guard but Hardy is proving a slippery customer.
Graves has control of Hardy's left arm, preventing Hardy from doing any damage.
Graves keeping moving, preventing Hardy from controlling successfully.
Hardy trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Graves not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hardy is looking to work some ground and pound but Graves has wrist control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Graves ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hardy moves away.

Hardy darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Hardy is trying to control. Graves wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Hardy sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Graves defending well though.
Graves is staying active underneath Hardy, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Hardy is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Graves is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Hardy's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Hardy's back!
Graves keeps control of the position easily here as Hardy tries to buck him off.
Hardy tries to break free.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Graves controlling the positon.
Hardy wants to control his opponent's hands but Graves gets his hands free.
Hardy might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Graves haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Hardy is trying to break free.
Hardy staying busy and making it hard for Graves to control.
Hardy just trying to survive but Graves is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Graves trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Hardy doesn't escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hardy tries to escape but Graves has the hooks in and won't let him break free.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Oliver Hardy.
I think Hardy 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Peck scores the fight 29:29
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!
Tyrone Graves retains his title. It's always disappointing when a championship fight ends as a draw but that's what happens when you leave the fight in the judges hands!