PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Fred Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and MJ Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). MJ Penn will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Thomas
vs
Penn

150 cm
22
133 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
140 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

SPARTAN FIGHTWARE
HGH Nutrients

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Fred Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, MJ Penn!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Sam Margolis and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Penn shoots for a double leg takedown but Thomas sprawls well. He's pushed Penn's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Thomas plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Fred Thomas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Penn showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thomas.
Thomas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thomas throws a series of punches but Penn moves out of range.
Thomas stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Thomas wants it to stay on the feet.
Penn fails with a takedown attempt.
Fred Thomas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of MJ Penn.
Thomas misses with a body kick.
Thomas misses with an attempted mid kick.
Thomas fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
A swing and a miss from Thomas.
Thomas swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Thomas moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Thomas displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Penn.
Thomas rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Penn moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Thomas lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Thomas misses the shot to the body.
Penn blocks a head kick by Thomas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Penn looks gassed!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Penn closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Thomas did well to prevent Penn getting side control.

Penn looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Thomas tries to kick Penn off but Penn keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Thomas might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Thomas trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Thomas knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Penn on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Penn is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Thomas doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Penn.
Penn prevents Thomas from standing back up.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Penn avoids the head kick by Thomas.
Thomas throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Thomas lands a right hook to the body.
Thomas really is a fat lump.
Thomas lands a high kick!
Thomas misses with a few strikes there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thomas thuds a left hand into Penn's body.
Thomas swings for the body but Penn moves out of range.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Thomas, right into the meat.
Thomas throws a series of punches but Penn avoids them all with ease.
Thomas scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Thomas.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Thomas misses with a double jab.
Penn misses with a takedown attempt - Thomas sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Thomas throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Thomas throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Thomas throws a shot from downtown. Penn moves away and avoids it.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Thomas.
Thomas scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Penn shoots in looking for a takedown. Thomas tries to sprawl out of it but Penn keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Thomas manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Thomas misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Penn is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Thomas.
Fred Thomas is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Penn walks into a stiff left hand from Thomas.
Thomas ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Penn moves away.
Thomas throws a wild body kick that Penn sees coming a mile off.
Thomas throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Thomas is looking to wear down Penn with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Thomas moves into range and connects with a jab.
Penn shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Thomas as he jumps to the side.
Nice body kick there by Thomas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas throws a sloppy head kick and Penn moves out of range easily.
Thomas throws a head kick but Penn moves out of range.
Penn uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Thomas.
Thomas scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Thomas dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Penn takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Penn avoids a punch combination nicely.
Thomas pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A combination from Thomas does no damage.
A jab from Thomas does it's job there.
Thomas throws a head kick that misses.
Good leg kick by Thomas there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
An inside leg kick lands from Thomas.
Penn shoots in for a takedown but Thomas shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Fred Thomas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of MJ Penn.
Penn shoots in but Thomas avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Thomas throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn dodges the punch combination from Thomas.
Thomas lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Thomas misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Thomas scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Thomas connects with a good right hand that stumbles Penn. Penn circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Thomas throws a lazy right hand but Penn sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fred Thomas dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Thomas misses with an uppercut. Penn saw that one coming.
Thomas buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Thomas throws a push kick but Penn slaps the foot to one side.
Thomas stuffs the takedown attempt from Penn. Penn gets slowly back to his feet.
Thomas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thomas throws a body punch but Penn moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thomas connects with a jab.
Both fighters circling a little - Thomas finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Fred Thomas is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thomas lands a two punch combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas lands a nice leg kick that just misses Penn's sensitive parts.
Penn takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thomas thuds his shin into the meat of Penn's side.
Thomas throws a nice head kick!
Thomas lands with a thumping leg kick.
Thomas dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Penn. That did some damage!
Thomas lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Penn circles away quickly and effectively.
Thomas tries a head kick but it misses.

Penn closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Penn lands in his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Thomas is looking to stand up but Penn isn't so interested in that idea.

Penn drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Penn jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Penn drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Penn jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Penn 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thomas is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Penn thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
A combination from Thomas does no damage.
Penn fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Thomas misses with a two punch combination.

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.
Thomas lands a two punch combo.
Fred Thomas is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Thomas cracks Penn with an open hand slap.
Thomas wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Thomas throws the kick towards the body but Penn avoids it.
Thomas lands with a shot to the body.
Thomas lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Thomas throws a head kick that misses.
MJ Penn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Penn tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Thomas is able to avoid easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Fred Thomas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Thomas, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27

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