PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Howell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jackson Oman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Howell comes into the arena with Machine Spiritual blaring out of the sound system. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Howell
vs
Oman

189 cm
21
210 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

160 cm
24
215 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Thomas Howell!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jackson Oman!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, John Mangel and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Oman misses with a lunging right hand
and Howell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Oman misses with a series of wild punches.
A punch lands to the side of Howell 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Howell misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Howell lands with a shot to the body.
Oman throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Oman feints a jab promting Howell to slip. Oman then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Howell slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.

It looks like Thomas Howell has been cut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Oman bobbing and weaving well here. And he's unloaded with a massive right hand that drops Howell! He dives into his guard looking to finish!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Oman controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jackson Oman wasn't active enough on the ground.
Oman misses with a hook to the body
and Howell counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Oman rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Howell counters with a right hand to the body.
Oman takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Howell moves out of range of the strikes.
Howell misses with a two punch combination.
Oman throws a combination that misses
and Howell counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Oman misses the shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howell defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Oman.
Oman misses with an uppercut
and Howell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Howell throws a series of strikes that have Oman backpedaling.
Oman shoots in looking for a takedown but Howell manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Oman's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Oman misses with a body shot
and Howell counters with a stiff right hand.
Oman shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Howell pinned against the cage. Howell gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Thomas Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jackson Oman.
Oman looks gassed!
Oman falls off balance throwing a combination
and Howell makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Howell fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Oman manages to avoid it.
Thomas Howell is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Oman misses with an uppercut
and Howell counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Howell connects with a body shot that sends Oman's belly button to the back.
Howell lands a nice looking body shot.
Howell lands a jab to the nose.
Howell throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Oman stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Howell lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Oman at a distance.
Howell scores with a shot to the body.
Howell wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oman takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Howell!
Howell moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Howell is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Oman takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Howell thuds his right hand into Oman's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Nice uppercut lands for Howell. That snapped Oman's head back.
Howell scores with the left hand. Oman knows he should have avoided that one.
Oman swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Howell counters with a three punch combo that has Oman backing up. Oman nods at Howell to acknowledge the strikes.
Howell is looking to wear down Oman with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Oman on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
A shot to the liver by Howell. Beautiful body shot.
Howell lands a nice hook to Oman's body. Oman takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Oman with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Howell to score with a decent uppercut.
Oman misses with a hook
and Howell counters with a right hand to the body.
Howell connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Oman momentarily.
Oman is trying desperately to land a takedown but Howell is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Oman.
Howell fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Oman looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Howell dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Howell is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oman on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Howell lands a nice hook to Oman's body. Oman takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Howell digs a good body shot into Oman's ribs.
Nice jab there from Howell.
Howell clobbers Oman with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Howell jabs Oman right on the nose. Oman blinks but takes it well.
A shot to the liver by Howell. Beautiful body shot.
Howell scores with a sloppy right hand. Oman should have avoided that one.
Oman throws a right hand that misses
and Howell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Howell lands a really nice looking cross but Oman seems unphased.
Howell throws a nice looking combination but Oman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Oman misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Howell to counter with a crisp jab.
Oman throws a poor cross that misses
and Howell counters with a one-two to the body.
Oman takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Oman misses with a combination
and Oman takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Howell dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Howell's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Oman throws a body punch but Howell moves out of range.
Oman has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Howell displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Oman.
Howell smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Oman throws an off balance right hand
and Howell counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Thomas Howell is winning the standup battle so far.
Oman misses with an uppercut
and Howell counters with a stiff right hand.
Jackson Oman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Howell pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Oman back to the cage. Howell follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Oman throws a poor cross that misses
and Howell counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Howell lands a nice hook to Oman's body. Oman takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Howell throws a shot to the body.
Howell lands a jab to Oman's midsection.
Jab, jab by Howell - just one landing.
Oman misses with a left hand
and Howell counters with a two punch combo.
Oman takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Howell's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Howell duly obliges.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Oman takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Oman is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oman on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Oman throws a right hand that misses
enabling Howell to counter with a crisp jab.
Howell connects with a body shot.
Oman takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Oman moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Howell scores with a nice strike.
Howell scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Howell lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Nice body punch from Howell.
Jab, jab by Howell - just one landing.
Oman throws a combination that misses
and Howell counters with a one-two to the body.
Oman throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Howell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Oman takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Howell takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Oman takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Oman throws a lazy uppercut
and Howell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Howell is working the combinations to good effect here.
Howell throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Oman scores with a jab to the body.
Oman misses with a hook
and Howell counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Oman takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Howell digs a good hook to Oman's body.
Howell looks to land a combination but Oman avoids it well.
Howell with a body punch. A glancing blow.
A left lands for Howell.
Howell looks to score with a jab to the body but Oman is just out of range.
A left lands for Howell.
Howell moves forwards but Oman connects with a nice, crisp jab.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Oman.
Oman takes a body punch but keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howell comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Oman misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Howell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Howell listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Howell throws a shot to the body.
Oman drops his hands momentarily and Howell takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Oman dives in and grabs Howell's left leg, looking for a takedown. Howell pushes down on Oman's head and hops out.
Thomas Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jackson Oman.
Howell lands a jab to Oman's midsection.
Howell throws a nice looking combination but Oman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Oman throws an off balance right hand
and Howell counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Oman thinking.
Howell scores with the left hand. Oman knows he should have avoided that one.
Oman gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Howell.
Howell jabs at Oman's body.
Oman takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Oman gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Oman takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howell sizes up Oman with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Oman drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Oman throws a poor cross that misses
and Howell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Howell lands a nice hook to Oman's body. Oman takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Howell lands a glancing blow to the side of Oman's head.
Howell lands a right hook to the body.
Howell digs a good body shot into Oman's ribs.
Howell scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Oman doesn't seem bothered though.
Howell thuds his right hand into Oman's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
A shot to the body from Oman misses
and Howell counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Howell is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Oman can do to turn this around?
Oman tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Howell swivels and escapes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Oman misses with an uppercut
and Howell counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Howell connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Oman's hands.
Howell scores with a body shot.
Oman is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Howell moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Howell dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Howell's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Nice shot by Howell.
Oman throws a poor cross that misses
and Howell cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Oman.
Oman throws a predictable looking body shot
and Howell counters with a left to the body.
Howell connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Oman momentarily.
Howell misses with a few strikes there.
Oman misses with an uppercut
and Howell counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Oman takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Oman takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Oman fails with the takedown.
Howell digs a good body shot into Oman's ribs.
A decent looking cross lands there for Howell.
Oman throws a combination that misses
and Howell counters with a stiff right hand.
Oman takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oman gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Howell.
Howell connects with a nice looking jab.
Oman fails with a takedown attempt.
Thomas Howell has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jackson Oman.
Howell closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Oman takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Howell fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Oman on the side of the head.
Howell is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Oman takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Oman misses with a left hand
and Howell counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Oman swings widly with a right hand
and Howell counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Howell scores with a body shot.
Howell throws a shot to the body.
Howell jabs at Oman's body.
Howell cracks a nice hook into Oman's ribs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howell throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Howell rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Oman moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Howell connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Oman.
Howell dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Howell stuns Oman with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Howell's jab looks to have found its range, popping Oman under the eye.
Oman throws a right hand that misses
enabling Howell to counter with a crisp jab.
Oman has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Howell finds it's way round the side to connect with Oman's head.
Howell lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Oman throws an off balance right hand
and Howell counters with a straight right hand.
Oman takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Howell scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Howell lands a jab to Oman's midsection.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oman will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Howell fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Howell throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Howell throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Howell ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Oman moves away.

Oman scores with a takedown into Howell's guard.
Oman trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Oman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Howell wants to sweep but no luck.
Oman prevents Howell from getting back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oman is pushing down on Howell's leg trying to pass to half guard. Howell is fighting to maintain full guard but Oman has managed to sneak the leg through.
Well, if Oman 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.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Howell clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Howell's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Howell misses with an uppercut.
Howell slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Oman gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Howell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Oman throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Howell tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Oman was well out of range. Poor timing from Howell.
Oman throws a series of punches but Howell avoids them all with ease.

Oman gets a takedown into half guard.
Oman not doing much here.
Oman is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oman passes to full mount!
Oman connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oman controlling from mount.
Oman thowing shots but they're missing.
Howell knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Oman on the ground.
Oman controlling the pace for now.
Oman breaks from Howell's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oman looking to control and managing it successfully.
Howell is trying to escape the mount.
Oman takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Howell on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Howell tries to get out of the position.
Oman punching from mount but Howell doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Oman raining down shots from the mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oman tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Oman working Howell over with strikes here.
Oman unloading with bombs!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Oman goes for an armbar but Howell turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Howell.
Oman managing to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jackson Oman dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Howell's cut.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Oman connects with a body shot that sends Howell's belly button to the back.
Oman is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Howell.

Oman closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Howell quickly recovers to half guard.

Oman seems to be looking for submissions.
Oman thows a huge punch but Howell dodges it nicely.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Oman in particular looking to stall.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Let's hope that Oman has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jackson Oman wasn't active enough on the ground.
Howell misses with a hook. Oman ducked under it nicely.
Oman throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A telegraphed right hand from Oman misses the target.
Oman works the jab nicely.
Nice defenses there by Oman.
Oman catches Howell with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Howell takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Oman closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Howell did well to prevent Oman getting side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Oman throwing shots but Howell is blocking nicely.
Oman is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Oman missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Oman keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Oman moves nicely into side control.
Oman lands a nice forearm strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oman slows the pace down.
Oman lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Oman throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Oman working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Oman is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

Oman has hold of Howell's arm. He's looking for a kimura. Howell seems comfortable defending it but Oman has shifted his position slighty and is cranking on the arm! Howell is real pain and he's forced to tap out! Howell is disgusted with himself for not defending it better but Oman couldn't care less - he's delighted!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:54 of round 5, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Jackson Oman!
Jackson Oman is the new light heavyweight champion!