PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tray Denney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Evan Gauge (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Denney kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is chasing the rapture. Denney has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Denney
vs
Gauge

178 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

178 cm
23
158 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tray Denney!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Evan Gauge!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gauge throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Denney was covering up waiting for the punch and Gauge finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Denney is breathing heavily.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Gauge's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Gauge wants to stand but Denney has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Gauge wants to control from the top but Denney keeps moving.
Gauge working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Denney's head.

Gauge thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Gauge trying to control but Denney is working from the bottom.
Gauge must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Gauge throws a big right hand that misses.
Gauge trying to control the position from guard on top but Denney is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gauge trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gauge slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Gauge tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Gauge has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Check out the look on Gauge's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

Gauge looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Denney is looking for a sweep.

Gauge thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Gauge takes a little break here. Denney wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Denney is trying to control Gauge's posture but Gauge avoids it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Gauge in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Denney pushes Gauge away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Gauge gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Denney is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

Gauge stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Gauge lands with a nice combination. Denney backs away looking to recover.

A big head kick from Gauge and Denney is sent sprawling to the canvas!

Denney is rocked!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gauge is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Oh Denney is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gauge looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

Gauge stands up from Denney's guard - Gauge perhaps looking for a knockout.
Denney seems to have got his legs back now.
A right-left combo lands from Gauge.

Gauge looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Denney!
The referee warns Denney that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Gauge lands a heavy elbow.

Gauge is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Denney can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gauge stands up from mount. Strange move.
Denney tries for a takedown but Gauge circles away easily

and Gauge counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Denney!
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!
Denney flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Denney is looking to improve his position but Gauge isn't that keen on the idea.
Denney wants to control but Gauge is having none of it.

Gauge jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Denney manages to avoid the submission attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Denney is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Evan Gauge dominated that round.
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.

Gauge fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Denney, pushing him back against the cage.

Gauge breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Gauge lands with a slapping head kick.
A head kick from Gauge lands but Denney takes it in his stride.

Gauge shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Denney avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Gauge.

Gauge escapes and gets back to his feet.
Denney fails with the takedown
and Gauge counters with a series of strikes. Denney will be more careful next time no doubt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Denney with a lazy takedown attempt

and Gauge holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Gauge breaks from the clinch.
Denney throws a sloppy head kick
and Gauge counters with an outside leg kick.
Gauge moves out of range of the strikes.
Gauge cracks Denney with a right hand to the side of the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gauge throws a combination. Denney tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Gauge closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Denney trying to control here.
Denney is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Gauge is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Gauge scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Gauge decides to stand up.

Denney gets caught flat footed, as Gauge shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Gauge stopping the sweep attempt from Denney.
Gauge wants to control from the top but Denney keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gauge advances to half guard.

Gauge stands up from half guard.
Denney shoots and misses

and Gauge counters by clinching up.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tray Denney. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gauge escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Gauge scores with a takedown into Denney's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Denney keeping moving, preventing Gauge from controlling successfully.

Gauge stands up from Denney's guard - Gauge perhaps looking for a knockout.
Gauge throws a series of punches but Denney moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Denney tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gauge swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Denney throws a head kick that misses
and Gauge counters with a left to the body.

Gauge shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Denney manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Denney is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Denney wants to free his trapped foot but Gauge is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Evan Gauge has got the better of the ground game so far.
Denney thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gauge's head.
Denney wants to stand up but Gauge has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Denney trying to control the action but Gauge is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gauge is positioning himself well to prevent Denney advancing to mount.
Denney wants to advance to full mount but Gauge doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Denney trying to control but Gauge is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gauge controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Evan Gauge showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Left hook, right uppercut from Gauge.

Gauge closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Denney wants to get back to his feet.

Gauge is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Gauge is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Gauge controlling the action here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Denney tries to roll over but Gauge keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Denney is defending against the submission attempts here by Gauge.
Gauge thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Denney's head.
Gauge is thwarting Denney's attempts to control the position.
Gauge seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Denney does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Gauge is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Denney doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gauge.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Denney is not content to let Gauge control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Gauge prevents Denney from standing back up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
A left and a right from Gauge both land. Nice combination.
Left hook, right uppercut from Gauge.

Gauge gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Gauge pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Tray Denney seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Gauge shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Denney is refusing to be controlled, as Gauge sits in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gauge is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Gauge controlling the action here.
Denney wants to control but Gauge is keeping busy.

Gauge is working for a submission of some sort.

Denney looking for submissions off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Denney looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Evan Gauge is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Denney misses with some strikes from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Gauge lands a jab-cross combination.
Tray Denney is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A right-left combo lands from Gauge.
Gauge lands a head kick!
Gauge lands a two punch combo.
Tray Denney has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Gauge works over Denney's head and body with a nice combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
Evan Gauge comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Gauge has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Suge Night scores the fight 25:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 25:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Evan Gauge!