PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Pope Bard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Striker Rage (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Bard
vs
Rage

187 cm
20
200 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

195 cm
25
200 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Pope Bard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Striker Rage!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rage slips a jab and a cross from Bard.
Rage is looking to clinch.
Bard keeps the fight on the outside.
Rage tries to clinch but Bard moves out of range.
Rage keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Bard misses with a looping left.
Rage throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rage is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A head kick misses from Rage.

Rage clinches up against the ropes.

Bard breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rage moves in looking to clinch but Bard pushes him off.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rage looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bard fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rage misses with a head kick.
Rage steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bard.
Rage tries to clinch but Bard moves out of range.
Rage leaves Bard with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Bard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Bard connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Bard tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rage was well out of range. Poor timing from Bard.
Rage is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A telegraphed right hand from Bard misses the target.

Rage rushes Bard and presses him up against the ropes.

Bard gets control of Rage's arms and successfully pulls guard. Bard will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Rage is looking to stand up but Bard won't let him.
Bard controls Rage momentarily but Rage frees himself.
Rage wants to stand but Bard has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bard seems keen to control Rage's posture.
Bard looking to control.
Rage stopping the sweep attempt from Bard.

Rage avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Bard trying to control the position.
Rage stopping the sweep attempt from Bard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rage being controlled here momentarily.
Bard working a defensive guard here.
Bard seems keen to control Rage's posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Pope Bard.
Bard throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Bard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Rage moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Rage tries to clinch up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rage tries to clinch up.
Rage takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Rage is looking to clinch but Bard is avoiding it.
Rage takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Bard takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rage is looking to clinch but Bard is avoiding it.
Bard takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rage looks gassed!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bard connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Rage moves forwards but Bard connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Bard paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Bard keeps the fight on the outside.
Bard keeps the fight on the outside.
Rage bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Rage on the wrong end of a nice hook.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rage takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Bard looks to land a combination but Rage avoids it well.

Rage instigates a clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pope Bard dominated that round.
That's time! Bard's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Bard swats away the attempt to clinch by Rage.
Bard lands a head shot.
Rage uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Bard.
A telegraphed right hand from Bard misses the target.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Bard avoiding damage as Rage throws knees to the body.
Bard on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rage throws a knee to the head but misses.

Bard escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rage takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Bard catches Rage napping and connects with a big right hand that sends Rage to the canvas!

Rage is rocked!

Bard drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Bard jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Rage is still in real trouble! Can Bard finish him?
Bard looking to pass the guard.
Rage seems to have recovered his senses.
Rage really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Bard. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Bard advances position into side control!
Rage is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bard tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Bard has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Bard advances nicely into full mount.

Bard moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Rage has worked his arm free - good work by Rage!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Rage can do anything to dispel that myth.

Bard tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Bard has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Rage is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Bard asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Bard tries for a kimura but Rage is defending well.

Bard wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Rage, who protects the arm well.

Bard thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Rage wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bard thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Bard looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Rage wants to get back to his feet.

Bard is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Rage is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Rage tries to escape but Bard is in control.

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.

Bard wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Rage, who protects the arm well.
Rage is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

Bard is trying to get an arm triangle but Rage is defending well.

Bard looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Rage is pushing Bard's head away, looking to escape. Bard manages to hold on to the position though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pope Bard dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Rage ducks under a wild hook from Bard.
Rage looks to land a body kick but Bard moved away.
Bard throws a shot from downtown. Rage moves away and avoids it.
Striker Rage is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bard lands with a cross.

Rage clinches with his opponent.
Rage is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Bard is defending well for now.
Rage throws a knee to the head but misses.
Bard is trying to break free.
Bard wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Rage has him pressed against the ropes.

Bard pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Bard thows a body shot but no joy.

Bard clinches up against the ropes.
Bard tries to pull guard but Rage won't allow it.
Bard jumps guard but Rage stands there with Bard around his waist. Bard gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Bard has had enough of the clinch but Rage keeps him there for the moment.
Rage tries a knee to the head but Bard blocks it.
Rage crunches a lovely knee into Bard's ribcage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rage keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Bard's efforts to push away.
Rage with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Bard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rage has Bard pressed against the ropes, preventing Bard from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Bard tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pope Bard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rage with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bard wants to get back to striking at distance but Rage won't allow it.

Bard has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Rage uses from the top position.
Bard wants to sweep here but Rage controlling him for the moment.

Rage is sitting in close to Bard's body. Bard has gone for a guillotine from the bottom. Oh damn, that looks pretty tight! Rage is panicking - it looks like this one could be all over! Yes, Rage is tapping! That was a very nice submission by Bard.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:35 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Pope Bard!