PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between George Armani (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hermes Hogan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). George Armani has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Armani
vs
Hogan

223 cm
24
305 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

200 cm
23
300 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

Good wrestler
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, George Armani!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hermes Hogan!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Luis Engracia and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hogan gets the takedown into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hogan trying to control the action but Armani is working from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Armani tries to bench press Hogan off him but Hogan keeps the position.
Hogan taking a breather here.
Armani wants to control but Hogan postures up.
Hogan lands a few punches from side control.
Hogan is looking to take a break and control but Armani is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hogan connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Armani some visible discomfort.
Hogan working the head with strikes.
Hogan is chipping away with strikes.
Armani tries to buck Hogan off but Hogan is having none of it.
Hogan in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
You can see the frustration on Armani's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sloppy strikes there by Hogan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Armani struggling a bit here.
Hogan in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Hogan just content to control the position.
Hogan wants to control but Armani is keeping him busy.
Hogan lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Hogan working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Armani is breathing heavily.
Armani is not content to let Hogan control the position.
An elbow from Hogan crashes against the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hogan is looking to take a break and control but Armani is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Armani is trying to escape the position but Hogan is controlling the position.
Hogan working the ground and pound.
Hogan is looking to take a break and control but Armani is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Check out the look on Hogan's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Armani taking punishment in the form of punches.
Hogan wants to control but Armani is keeping him busy.
Hogan connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Armani some visible discomfort.
Hogan is working Armani over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hogan trying to control the action but Armani is working from the bottom.
You can see the frustration on Armani's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Hogan trying to control the action but Armani is working from the bottom.

Despite being in the dominant position, Hermes Hogan just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hogan throws a series of punches but Armani avoids them all with ease.
Hogan shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Armani defends it nicely.

Hogan closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Hogan lands in his opponent's guard.
Hogan trying to control the position from guard on top but Armani is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hogan is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Hogan trying to control but Armani is working from the bottom.
Hogan tries to free his leg and advance position but Armani is retaining full guard.
Armani tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Armani is working hard here to advance position.
Armani is trying to keep Hogan in close.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Hogan looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Armani has hold of Hogan's hands but Hogan slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hermes Hogan dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Hogan shoots in and bounces Armani off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Hogan postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Hogan pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Armani is keeping the position for now.
Hogan postures up and lands a big shot to Armani's brow.
Armani will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Hogan stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Armani swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Hogan keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Armani's head.
Hogan's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Armani manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Hogan manages to get himself to full guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hogan is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hogan seems keen to control Armani's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hogan lands a decent punch to the body there.
Armani is fighting to break Hogan's control of his arms but Hogan is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Hogan looking to control.
Hogan tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Hogan bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Armani takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Armani on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Hogan working the ground and pound from side control.
Hogan lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Armani struggling a bit here.
Hogan is working Armani over with some ground and pound from side control.
Hogan trying to control the action but Armani is working from the bottom.
Hogan working away.
Hogan trying to control the position but Armani is working away.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Armani is trying to get back to half guard.
Hogan takes a little break here. Armani wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Armani taking punishment in the form of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hogan is looking to take a break and control but Armani is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Armani tries to buck Hogan off but Hogan is having none of it.
A lull in the action here as Hogan stalls from top position.
Hogan wants to control but Armani is keeping him busy.
Hogan taking a breather here.
Hogan scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Armani to see if he's OK.
Armani tries to bench press Hogan off him but Hogan keeps the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Hogan creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Armani is working to avoid the ground and pound but Hogan connects with a decent elbow.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Hermes Hogan has got the better of the ground game so far.

Despite being in the dominant position, Hermes Hogan just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Armani gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Hogan to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Hogan wants to control from the top but Armani keeps moving.
Hogan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Armani is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hermes Hogan showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Armani's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Hogan shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hogan showed some decent athleticism there.
Armani on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Armani avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hogan.
Armani on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Hogan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Armani with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hogan lands a nice short elbow.
Hogan seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Hogan is looking to take a break and control but Armani is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Armani keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hogan is trying to control the action in half guard but Armani is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hogan lands a nice short elbow.
Hogan looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Hogan has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
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. Hogan connects with a nice short shot to Armani's temple.
Hogan is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hogan lands a nice short elbow.
Hogan trying to control from half guard but Armani is working away.
Hogan wants to free his trapped foot but Armani is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Hogan working over Armani with some ground and pound. Armani looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Well, if Hogan is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Hogan trying to control the action but Armani is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hogan seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Hogan prevents Armani from improving his position.
Hogan is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Hogan winds up and cracks Armani with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Hogan tries to pass to full mount but Armani defends it.
Hogan seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Hogan takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Armani is trying to maintain the position but Hogan is very close to passing his half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Hogan seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Ground and pound from Hogan.
Hogan scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hogan looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Hogan working over Armani with some ground and pound. Armani looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Well, if Hogan is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Armani wants to improve his position but Hogan is controlling well.
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. Hogan connects with a nice short shot to Armani's temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hogan seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Armani is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hogan scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hogan is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Hogan throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Hogan keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Hogan wants to free his trapped foot but Armani is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Hogan is taking a breather. Armani 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.
Hogan is trying to control the action in half guard but Armani is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Armani is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hogan scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hogan is looking to take a break and control but Armani is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hogan lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hermes Hogan comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Hogan winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 25:30
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 24:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hermes Hogan!