PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Varsity Wrestler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas O Leary (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Wrestler
vs
O Leary

170 cm
18
152 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

167 cm
21
140 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Varsity Wrestler!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Thomas O Leary!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Viktor Lagutenko and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Wrestler shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches O Leary napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
O Leary is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
O Leary takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Wrestler in side control, just content to control the action for now.

Wrestler thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
O Leary can't do much from the bottom here.
Wrestler working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Wrestler working the ground and pound.
Wrestler taking a break here but O Leary is having none of it and regains half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Leary is not content to let Wrestler control the position.
Wrestler missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Wrestler wants to take a breather but O Leary is having none of it.
Wrestler is looking to advance position but O Leary won't allow it.
Wrestler content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Wrestler not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
O Leary throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Wrestler wants to control but O Leary is keeping him busy.
O Leary is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Wrestler scores with a couple of nice shots.
O Leary looks gassed!
Wrestler sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. O Leary defending well though.
O Leary is looking to control Wrestler's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can O Leary avoid being mounted?
O Leary has hold of Wrestler's hands but Wrestler slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Wrestler is trying to control. O Leary wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
O Leary moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Wrestler lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
O Leary keeping moving, preventing Wrestler from controlling successfully.
Wrestler is looking to work some ground and pound but O Leary has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wrestler postures up and lands a big shot to O Leary's brow.
Wrestler with a nice head shot there.
Wrestler trying to control the position from guard on top but O Leary is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wrestler scoring with some ground and pound.
Wrestler scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Wrestler is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Wrestler with a flurry of punches that miss.
O Leary keeping moving, preventing Wrestler from controlling successfully.
Wrestler works over O Leary with some ground and pound from guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Leary keeping moving, preventing Wrestler from controlling successfully.

Varsity Wrestler has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Wrestler looks for a takedown but O Leary sprawls well.
Wrestler changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. O Leary tries to avoid it but Wrestler manages to keep hold of a leg and drag O Leary to the ground. O Leary escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Wrestler looks for a takedown but O Leary sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Varsity Wrestler. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Wrestler drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Wrestler has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of O Leary is proving hard to escape from.
Wrestler wants to control from the top but O Leary keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Varsity Wrestler dominated that round.
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.

Wrestler closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. O Leary quickly recovers to half guard.
Wrestler is trying to control. O Leary wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
O Leary moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Wrestler trying to control the position from guard on top but O Leary is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wrestler in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Wrestler keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of O Leary's head.
Wrestler working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
O Leary is breathing heavily.
Wrestler wants to control from the top but O Leary keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wrestler works over O Leary with some ground and pound from guard.

Wrestler drops back looking for a leg! O Leary is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and O Leary manages to kick Wrestler off! Wrestler jumps back into O Leary's guard.
Wrestler lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Wrestler knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for O Leary on the ground.
O Leary has momentary wrist control but Wrestler slips an elbow through the middle.
O Leary keeping moving, preventing Wrestler from controlling successfully.

That's two 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.
O Leary tries to land a sweep but no joy.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Varsity Wrestler wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Wrestler shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with O Leary but O Leary pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Wrestler changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. O Leary tries to avoid it but Wrestler manages to keep hold of a leg and drag O Leary to the ground. O Leary escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Wrestler decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
O Leary has hold of Wrestler's hands but Wrestler slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
O Leary is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Wrestler scores with a couple of nice shots.
Wrestler scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Wrestler working over O Leary with some ground and pound. O Leary looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wrestler lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Wrestler drops an elbow to the side of O Leary's head.
Wrestler looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks O Leary with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Wrestler scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Wrestler is keen to just control but O Leary is a slippery customer.
Wrestler wants to stand up but O Leary has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Wrestler controlling the pace.
O Leary is staying active underneath Wrestler, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Wrestler is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Wrestler trying to mount his opponent but O Leary defends it.
O Leary is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Wrestler scores with a couple of nice shots.
O Leary is not content to let Wrestler control the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if O Leary can do anything to dispel that myth.
Wrestler tries to stand and escape but O Leary is controlling the position.
Wrestler takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Wrestler trying to control the action but O Leary is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Varsity Wrestler dominated that second round.
That's time! Wrestler's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Wrestler misses with a head kick.

Wrestler shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. O Leary manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Wrestler slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Wrestler wants to control from the top but O Leary keeps moving.
Varsity Wrestler overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Wrestler's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Wrestler wants to control from the top but O Leary keeps moving.
O Leary takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Wrestler controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Varsity Wrestler.

Wrestler throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. O Leary was covering up waiting for the punch and Wrestler finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wrestler cracks O Leary with a solid left hand.
O Leary keeping moving, preventing Wrestler from controlling successfully.
Wrestler's corner is telling him to maintain position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Varsity Wrestler has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Wrestler scores with a takedown into O Leary's guard.
Wrestler landing with the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wrestler trying to control but O Leary is working from the bottom.
Wrestler 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.
Wrestler trying to control the position from guard on top but O Leary is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

We're going to have a standup here because Varsity Wrestler wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Wrestler feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Varsity Wrestler is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wrestler controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Wrestler is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Wrestler content to stall in guard here.
O Leary wants to sweep here but Wrestler controlling him for the moment.
Wrestler trying to control the position from guard on top but O Leary is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Wrestler lands a couple of elbows.
Wrestler wanted to stand there but O Leary had control of the position.
Wrestler is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
O Leary can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Wrestler controls the pace.

We're going to have a standup here because Varsity Wrestler wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Wrestler changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. O Leary tries to avoid it but Wrestler manages to keep hold of a leg and drag O Leary to the ground. O Leary escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Wrestler looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for O Leary!
Thomas O Leary has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Wrestler trying to control but O Leary is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Varsity Wrestler showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Wrestler, 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Varsity Wrestler!