PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hugues De Payen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Kirk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

De Payen
vs
Kirk

185 cm
22
180 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

180 cm
21
176 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Gilop®

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Hugues De Payen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, James Kirk!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Ben Zyskovitsi and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kirk tries to work over De Payen's front leg with a kick but De Payen checks it.
A chopping leg kick lands by Kirk.
James Kirk seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Payen misses with an uppercut.
De Payen fails to land with a series of punches.
Kirk lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
A combination from Kirk does no damage.
De Payen throws a leg kick that is checked
and Kirk counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Kirk turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Kirk missing with a left hand there. De Payen was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Kirk fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and De Payen has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Kirk throws a leg kick that is checked
and De Payen connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
De Payen checks a leg kick.
Kirk thows a leg kick but De Payen checks it
and De Payen counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's one minute gone in the round.
A low kick from Kirk misses
letting De Payen counter with a right hand.
Kirk fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Kirk misses with a leg kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Kirk motions for De Payen to come forward. Kirk throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Kirk scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
De Payen sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Kirk missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kirk tries to pass to full mount but De Payen defends it.
Kirk missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kirk thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed De Payen's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Payen is controlling Kirk's position as best he can from this difficult position.
De Payen tries to kick Kirk off but Kirk keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Kirk passes the guard and advances to mount!
De Payen is working to get back to half guard.
Kirk looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Kirk lands a nice shot to the 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!
Kirk prevents De Payen from getting the reversal.
De Payen is bucking up trying to escape but Kirk cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kirk lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kirk unloads with some shots from mount but De Payen bucks and avoids them well.
Kirk throwing strikes here but De Payen is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Kirk lands with some strikes.
Kirk with good strikes from the mount here!

Kirk is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. De Payen can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Kirk prevents De Payen from getting the reversal.
Poor strikes thrown by Kirk there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Kirk sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
De Payen really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
De Payen taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kirk looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
De Payen wants to control but Kirk is having none of it.
Kirk thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Kirk postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. De Payen looks a forlorn figure.
Kirk can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as De Payen is looking to escape.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kirk thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Kirk looking to finish De Payen with some ground and pound. This is bad for De Payen!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Kirk dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Ouch! a nice leg kick from Kirk, right into the meat.
De Payen misses with a right hand
and Kirk makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. De Payen really felt that one!
Kirk is looking to chop away at De Payen's legs.
A good leg kick by Kirk.
Kirk misses with a leg kick
and Kirk takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Kirk fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt De Payen.
De Payen tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen counters with a nice uppercut.
A low kick from Kirk misses
and De Payen counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
De Payen connects with a solid leg kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!

De Payen gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kirk to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirk sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed De Payen's guard.
Kirk throws a strike but De Payen avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Kirk lands a couple of digs.

Kirk drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but De Payen manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Kirk has De Payen in his guard.
Kirk has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kirk is trying to control the position but De Payen postures up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kirk is on top in guard.
De Payen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kirk postures up and lands a big shot to De Payen's brow.
Kirk throws a strike but De Payen rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Kirk manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. De Payen manages to get himself to full guard.
Kirk trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
De Payen wants to sweep but no luck.
Kirk trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
De Payen not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
De Payen keeping moving, preventing Kirk from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kirk with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kirk accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kirk throwing strikes but missing.
De Payen keeping moving, preventing Kirk from controlling successfully.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kirk preventing the sweep.

That's four 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.
De Payen postures up.

Kirk working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. De Payen doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. De Payen manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
De Payen throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as De Payen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Kirk is working an open guard so De Payen takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kirk misses with a leg kick
and De Payen counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Kirk thinking.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but James Kirk will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

A low kick from Kirk misses
and De Payen makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
De Payen tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Hugues De Payen is winning the standup battle so far.
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen counters with an inside leg kick.
De Payen is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
De Payen thows a leg kick but Kirk checks it
and Kirk makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. De Payen really felt that one!
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen counters with a low kick, right behind Kirk 's knee.
De Payen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Kirk throws a leg kick but De Payen checks it.
A low kick from Kirk is predictable there
and De Payen counters with an outside leg kick.
Kirk will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kirk takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
De Payen tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Kirk is able to avoid easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirk thows a leg kick but De Payen checks it
and Kirk takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Kirk misses with a leg kick
and De Payen counters with a left to the body.
Hugues De Payen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice uppercut there from De Payen.
Kirk cracks the inside of De Payen's front leg.
De Payen feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kirk's calf.
Kirk checks a leg kick nicely.
De Payen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kirk.
Kirk scoring well with a low kick there.
Nice sprawl there from De Payen as Kirk shoots in.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kirk lands a jab to the nose.
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen counters with an inside leg kick.
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kirk fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but De Payen is out of range.
Kirk moves out of range as De Payen throws a body kick.
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
De Payen misses with a straight right.
De Payen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kirk.
Sloppy strikes from De Payen. Those never looked like landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kirk throws a front kick aimed at De Payen's knee but De Payen avoids it well.
Kirk scores with a leg kick.
Kirk on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
A lazy left from De Payen finds it's target.
De Payen misses with a lunging right hand
and Kirk counters with a good low kick that De Payen was not able to check.
Kirk dives in and grabs De Payen's left leg, looking for a takedown. De Payen pushes down on Kirk's head and hops out.
Hugues De Payen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Kirk.
Kirk buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kirk misses with a low kick.
Kirk throws a leg kick
and De Payen counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Kirk is predictable there
and De Payen counters with a straight right hand.
De Payen throws a head kick that misses.
De Payen misses with a jab to the body
and Kirk counters with a leg kick.
James Kirk is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
De Payen on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Kirk. Kirk obviously looking to wear him down.
A jab from Kirk misses.
Kirk ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Kirk tries to work over De Payen's front leg with a kick but De Payen checks it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De Payen throws a hook but Kirk blocks it.
Hugues De Payen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kirk throws a head kick that half lands.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hugues De Payen showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Kirk 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Kirk!