PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Melbye (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chuck Norris (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Melbye
vs
Norris

183 cm
18
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
22
204 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Matt Melbye!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Chuck Norris!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Alyssa Summers and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Melbye takes a swing at Norris's ribcage but misses.
Norris should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Norris shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Melbye as he jumps to the side.
Melbye tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Norris shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Norris was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Melbye is wriggling around trying to escape.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Norris putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Melbye is working to get back to half guard.
Norris lands a nice shot to the head.
Norris wants to control the pace but Melbye is squirming around nicely.
Melbye is in a horrible position here. Norris smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Norris scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Norris working the ground and pound effectively.
Norris controlling from the full mount.
Melbye sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Melbye looking for submissions off his back.
Norris tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Norris lands a nice short elbow.
Norris working over Melbye with some ground and pound. Melbye looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Norris is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Melbye on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Norris lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Melbye tries to roll over but Norris keeps him under control.
Norris lands with a punch from half guard.
Norris looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Norris is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norris trying to mount his opponent but Melbye defends it.

Melbye looking for subs from the bottom but Norris mounts him!
Melbye is breathing heavily.
Melbye is looking to get to half guard.
Norris wants to control the pace but Melbye is squirming around nicely.
Norris scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Norris landing strikes, looking to finish!
Melbye is in all sorts of trouble here.
Norris is landing with some decent strikes but Melbye is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Melbye is squirming around, avoiding Norris's attempts to control the action.
Norris landing strikes, looking to finish!
Norris cracks Melbye with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Melbye is wriggling around trying to escape.
Melbye takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Norris connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Norris landing strikes, looking to finish!
Norris scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Melbye can't escape the position.
Melbye tries to hold on but Norris pushes him away.
Melbye tries to reverse the position but Norris maintains control.
Melbye is working hard here to advance position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Melbye bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Norris controls Melbye momentarily but Melbye frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melbye trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Melbye thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Melbye won't allow Norris to sweep him here.
Melbye trying to control the position from guard on top but Norris is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Melbye stopping the sweep attempt from Norris.
Norris trying to control the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Melbye rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Norris moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Melbye tries to clinch up but Norris circles away and keeps his distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Melbye throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Norris.
An elbow from Norris crashes against the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chuck Norris dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Norris shoots in looking for a takedown. Melbye tries to sprawl out of it but Norris keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Melbye manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Norris shoots in and drives through. Melbye sprawls well.
Norris shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Melbye as he avoids it easily.
Matt Melbye has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chuck Norris.

Norris feints and as Melbye raises his hands in defense, Norris changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Norris controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Norris connects with a couple of short punches.
Chuck Norris has got the better of the ground game so far.
Norris postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Norris content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Norris scoring with some ground and pound.
Norris scoring with punches to the head and body.
Norris makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Norris stopping the sweep attempt from Melbye.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Norris slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Norris lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Melbye down.
Norris wants to lay and pray for a moment but Melbye keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melbye tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Norris looks up at the clock and then as Melbye takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Norris smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Melbye tries to buck Norris off but Norris is having none of it.
Norris is looking to take a break and control but Melbye is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Melbye is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Norris's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Melbye moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Melbye working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Norris doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Norris manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Norris trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Melbye is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norris scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Norris won't allow Melbye to sweep him here.

Melbye looking for a guillotine here but Norris defends easily.
Norris landing some decent shots from guard.

Norris avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Norris slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Norris preventing the sweep.
Melbye is trying to control the position but Norris postures up.
Norris sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Melbye's guard.

Melbye looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Melbye actively working from the bottom here.
Norris looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Norris scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Melbye is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Norris jumps into side control!
Melbye is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Norris landing a few strikes.
Norris trying to control the position but Melbye is working away.
Melbye is trying to improve his position.

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

Norris shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melbye working to try and regain half guard.
Melbye is bucking up trying to escape but Norris cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Norris fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Norris cracks Melbye with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Norris is in the full mount, landing strikes.

Melbye is rocked!
Norris landing strikes, looking to finish!
Oh Melbye is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Norris working the ground and pound effectively.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Norris landing strikes from the mount and Melbye is in trouble!
A nice elbow there by Norris.
Norris looking to finish Melbye with some ground and pound. This is bad for Melbye!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chuck Norris showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Melbye stuffs the takedown.
Norris shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Melbye pinned against the cage. Melbye gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Nice sprawl there from Melbye as Norris shoots in.
Matt Melbye has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chuck Norris.
Horrible takedown by Norris or perhaps it was just good defense by Melbye which made him look bad.
Norris has a takedown stuffed.
Norris shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Norris misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Norris fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Melbye stuffs the takedown.
Norris closes the distance and clinches up with Melbye, looking for a takedown. Norris pushes Melbye against the cage but Melbye circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Norris closes this distance looking for a takedown but Melbye circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Norris will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norris misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Melbye seems to have got his legs back now.
Melbye tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Norris sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Melbye throws a nice inside leg kick.

Norris darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Melbye has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Norris is working away from the top position though.

Melbye looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Norris lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Norris thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Melbye's head.
Norris thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Melbye's head.
Melbye wants to improve his position but Norris is controlling well.
Norris stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Norris closes this distance looking for a takedown but Melbye circles away.
Norris doesn't manage to clinch there - Melbye circles away.
Horrible takedown by Norris or perhaps it was just good defense by Melbye which made him look bad.

Norris tries to keep at a distance but Melbye has taken the fight into the clinch.
Norris tries to pull guard but Melbye won't allow it.
Norris fails to pull guard.
Norris has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Melbye is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Norris can't get the takedown.

Melbye escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Melbye lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Melbye misses with a double jab.

Melbye has closed the distance and engaged Norris in a clinch.
Melbye is trying to break free.
Melbye gets underhooks to prevent Norris's takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norris looking for a takedown.
Melbye drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Norris tries for a takedown. No joy.
Norris changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Melbye fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Norris bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Melbye is trying to get back to half guard.
Norris working the ground and pound.
Norris landing strikes.
Norris cracks Melbye with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Melbye is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Melbye is trying to get back to half guard.
Norris working the head and body with strikes.
Melbye gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Norris punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Norris lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Norris unloading with bombs!
Melbye manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Norris prevents Melbye from improving his position.
Norris slips a nice elbow through Melbye's hands, connecting with Melbye's forehead.
Melbye is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Norris's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Norris's back!

Melbye looking for the choke from the back.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Norris tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Norris regains half guard.
Melbye trying to pass the guard but Norris defending well.
Norris trying to control here.
Matt Melbye has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Melbye is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Norris trying to hold on to Melbye's head to control him but Melbye postures up.
Norris moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Matt Melbye.
I think Norris has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chuck Norris!