PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Ryan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Graham Marsh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Ryan
vs
Marsh

195 cm
19
265 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

205 cm
19
260 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Tends to cut

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Matt Ryan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Graham Marsh!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Richard Clark and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Marsh gets a clinch.

Ryan pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ryan throws a lazy head kick
and Marsh counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Marsh doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Ryan counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ryan.
Ryan trying to control but Marsh is working from the bottom.
Ryan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ryan pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Marsh is keeping the position for now.
Marsh is trying to keep Ryan in close.
Ryan keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Marsh's head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Marsh keeping full guard, as Ryan tries to pass.
Ryan with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marsh wants to stand but Ryan is controlling the position.
Ryan works over Marsh with some ground and pound from guard.
Marsh wants to stand but Ryan is controlling the position.
Ryan's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Marsh wants to sweep but no luck.

Marsh looking for subs off his back but Ryan has passed one foot through into half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ryan lands a nice short elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marsh wants to improve his position but Ryan is controlling well.
Ryan wants to take a breather but Marsh is having none of it.
Marsh wants to get back to his feet.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Marsh is trying to control but can't.
Ryan trying to control the action but Marsh is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Matt Ryan.
Marsh has his takedown stuffed

and Ryan counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ryan.
Marsh tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marsh wants to control but Ryan passes easily into half guard.
Marsh looks gassed!
Marsh trying to hold on to Ryan's head to control him but Ryan postures up.

Ryan escapes and gets back to his feet.
Marsh tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Ryan counters by clinching up.
Knees in the clinch landing for Ryan.
Marsh trying to land knees to the body.
Marsh tries to score a body lock takedown but Ryan shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Matt Ryan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Graham Marsh.
Ryan with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Ryan pulls guard.
Ryan is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marsh pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ryan is keeping the position for now.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

Ryan has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Marsh can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Ryan working a defensive guard here.
Ryan is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ryan is working hard here to advance position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Ryan dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Marsh shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Ryan counters with a single leg into guard. Marsh didn't expect that.
Ryan wants to control from the top but Marsh keeps moving.
Ryan looking to sit in guard and control but Marsh gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Ryan looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Marsh puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Marsh wants to stand up but Ryan manages to regain full guard.
Marsh trying to control but Ryan is working from the bottom.
Ryan looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ryan has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Ryan is trying to control the position but Marsh postures up.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

We're going to have a standup here because Matt Ryan wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Marsh throws a right hand that Ryan ducks under and follows up with a left that Ryan also avoids with ease.
Marsh connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Marsh lands a slapping body shot.
Marsh shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Ryan counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ryan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ryan seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Marsh keeping moving, preventing Ryan from controlling successfully.
Marsh trying to keep a closed guard but Ryan is proving a slippery customer.
Matt Ryan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Matt Ryan.
Marsh ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ryan moves away.
Marsh feints a jab promting Ryan to slip. Marsh then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Ryan slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ryan throws a sloppy body shot

and Marsh counters with a single leg into guard. Ryan didn't expect that.
Marsh trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Marsh postures up.
Marsh trying to control the position from guard on top but Ryan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Marsh decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Ryan, up you get!
Marsh is breathing heavily.
Marsh shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Ryan counters with a nice double leg into side control. Marsh won't be happy with that.
Matt Ryan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Graham Marsh.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Marsh is not content to let Ryan control the position.
Ryan lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marsh is looking to regain half guard here but Ryan keeps moving and retains side control.
Ryan taking a break here but Marsh is having none of it and regains half guard.
Ryan is nestled in close to Marsh, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marsh is trying to get back to full guard.
Ryan sitting and controlling from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Matt Ryan will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Ryan drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Marsh working a defensive guard but Ryan manages to pass into side control anyway.

Ryan has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Marsh misses with a takedown attempt

and Ryan counters by clinching up.
Marsh tries to break the clinch but Ryan is controlling the position.
Ryan content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Ryan fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Ryan pulls Marsh into guard.
Ryan keeping moving, preventing Marsh from controlling successfully.
Marsh won't allow Ryan to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marsh postures up and lands a big shot to Ryan's brow.
Marsh trying to control the position from guard on top but Ryan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ryan bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Marsh's guard.

Marsh looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Marsh takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ryan trying to control but Marsh is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Ryan throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Marsh works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ryan wants to control from the top but Marsh keeps moving.
Ryan is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Marsh is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Ryan showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Matt Ryan.
Marsh throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Marsh with a poor takedown

and Ryan counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Marsh's guard now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ryan trying to control but Marsh is working from the bottom.
Ryan has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Ryan decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Marsh, up you get!

Ryan feints and as Marsh raises his hands in defense, Ryan changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Marsh avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Marsh manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Ryan is looking to get to half guard.
Marsh landing strikes from the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marsh looking to land elbow strikes but Ryan uses the position to regain half guard.
Marsh wants to stand up but Ryan has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Ryan is looking to control Marsh's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Ryan avoid being mounted?
Marsh looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Ryan is looking to control Marsh's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Ryan avoid being mounted?

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Ryan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ryan, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 James Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Ryan!