PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between OJ Skimpson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Martin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tom Martin has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Skimpson
vs
Martin

198 cm
25
230 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
21
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, OJ Skimpson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tom Martin!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Martin shoots in and drives through. Skimpson sprawls well.
Martin tries to clinch up.
OJ Skimpson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Skimpson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Martin moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Skimpson leaves Martin with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Martin shoots in but no luck this time.
OJ Skimpson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tom Martin.
Martin misses with a jab, cross combination.
Skimpson swinging wildly here.
Skimpson closes the distance and clinches up with Martin, looking for a takedown. Skimpson pushes Martin against the cage but Martin circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Martin ducks right into an uppercut from Skimpson.
Skimpson misses with a takedown attempt - Martin sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Skimpson misses with a few strikes there.
Skimpson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Martin counters with a shoot takedown. Skimpson fights it but they end up in guard.
Skimpson is breathing heavily.
Martin trying to stand up but can't free himself from Skimpson's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Martin drops back looking for a leg! Skimpson is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Skimpson manages to kick Martin off! Martin jumps back into Skimpson's guard.
Martin content to stall in guard here.
Skimpson on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Skimpson tries to get out of the position.
Skimpson keeping moving, preventing Martin from controlling successfully.
Skimpson lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Martin!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Skimpson thowing shots but they're missing.
Martin is trying desperately to improve position.
Skimpson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Martin is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Martin is bucking up trying to escape but Skimpson cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martin is looking to get to half guard.
Skimpson scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Martin?
Martin taking shots to the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Martin tries to hold on but Skimpson postures up.
Martin really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Skimpson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Skimpson working away from the top, dropping strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Skimpson punishing his opponent with strikes.
Skimpson fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Skimpson avoids the attempt from Martin to control.
The referee warns Martin that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Skimpson trying to control but Martin is having none of it.
Skimpson has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Skimpson landing strikes, looking to finish!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tom Martin will probably get the nod.
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.

Martin fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Skimpson avoids it really well and circles away.

Martin shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Skimpson is trying to defend but Martin finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Skimpson is looking to improve his position.
Skimpson pushes Martin off looking to stand but Martin dives back in and keeps control.
Skimpson is looking for a sweep. Martin is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Skimpson is not content to let Martin control the position.
Martin is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Martin wants to pass to mount but Skimpson is defending the position.
Skimpson is looking to escape.
Skimpson has his hands clasped together around Martin's back. He's all about the action.
Skimpson is trying to stand.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Martin takes a body punch but keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Skimpson doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Martin counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
A head kick misses from Martin.
Martin tries to score a power double leg takedown but Skimpson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Martin somewhat.
Skimpson fails to land with a series of punches.
Martin misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
OJ Skimpson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tom Martin.
Skimpson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Martin moves away.
Skimpson throws a combination. Martin tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Martin is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Skimpson's half guard.
Martin controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skimpson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Skimpson manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Skimpson changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Martin tries to avoid it but Skimpson manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Martin to the ground. Martin escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Martin scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Skimpson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Martin prevents Skimpson from escaping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Martin decides to stand back up.
Martin tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Skimpson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Skimpson doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Martin counters with a nice leg kick.
Skimpson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Skimpson!
Skimpson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Skimpson avoids the head kick by Martin.
Skimpson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Martin paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Skimpson throws a right and a left that Martin avoids nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Martin showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Martin throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Skimpson's head.
Skimpson shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Martin as he jumps to the side.
Martin scores with a three punch combo!
OJ Skimpson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Skimpson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Martin sprawls well. Martin wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Skimpson gets slowly back to his feet.

Martin gets a clinch.

Martin turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Martin manages to end up in side control.
Skimpson is not content to let Martin control the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Skimpson is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skimpson is looking for a sweep.
Martin lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Skimpson down.
Skimpson can't do much from the bottom here.
Martin wants to control but Skimpson is keeping him busy.

That's two 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.
Skimpson takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Skimpson is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Skimpson tries to buck Martin off but Martin is having none of it.
Skimpson is trying to escape the position but Martin is controlling the position.
Tom Martin has got the better of the ground game so far.
Martin tries to move into full mount but can't pass Skimpson's legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Martin shoots in and drives through. Skimpson sprawls well.
Martin circles away from the clinch attempt

and Martin counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Martin.
Skimpson is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Martin pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for OJ Skimpson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Skimpson looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A short uppercut from Martin.

Martin wants the takedown. Skimpson is fighting it off but Martin persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Skimpson's guard against the cage.
Skimpson trying to keep a closed guard but Martin is proving a slippery customer.
Martin looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martin trying to control the position from guard on top but Skimpson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Martin stopping the sweep attempt from Skimpson.
Skimpson pulls Martin in close to his closed guard and prevents Martin from doing any damage or advancing position.
OJ Skimpson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tom Martin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Martin forces his way into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tom Martin comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Martin 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 27:30
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom Martin!