PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Black (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Harrison Christopher (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.

Black
vs
Christopher

175 cm
23
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
18
186 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

Dangerous GnP
Counter striker
Granite chin

Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight 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, John Black!
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, Harrison Christopher!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Anthony Taglia and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Christopher blocks a head kick by Black.
Christopher doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Black counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Black.
Black postures up.
Christopher being controlled here, momentarily.
Black preventing the sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Christopher keeping moving, preventing Black from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

John Black has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Christopher doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Black counters with a nice low kick that buckles Christopher's knee momentarily.
Christopher showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Black.
Black will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Black tries to clinch

and Christopher decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Black's guard.
Christopher missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Black is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Well, if Black 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.
Black has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Black stands up out of the half guard.
Black lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Black doesn't manage to clinch there - Christopher circles away.

Christopher shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Black is trying to defend but Christopher finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Christopher is trying to work for a kimura but Black is defending well.
Christopher looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Christopher is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Black reverses the position - he's now on top in Christopher's guard.
Black's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Black has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Black pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Christopher is keeping the position for now.
Christopher has momentary wrist control but Black slips an elbow through the middle.
Christopher is trying to keep Black in close.
Black sitting in guard, not really doing much.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Black trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black controls from within his opponent's guard.
Christopher is trying to control the position but Black postures up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. John Black wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Black tries to clinch

so Christopher counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Black pulls Christopher in to control the position.
Christopher throws a strike but Black rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Black postures up.
Black is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Black stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Christopher swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Christopher wants to sweep here but Black controlling him for the moment.
Black stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Christopher swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Christopher not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Christopher showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Black.
Black throws a nice head kick!
A thudding body kick lands there by Black!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Black throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Christopher stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Black misses with a few strikes there.
Christopher has his takedown stuffed
and Black counters with a three punch combo that has Christopher backing up. Christopher nods at Black to acknowledge the strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

The fight stays on the outside here - Black looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Christopher circles away from the clinch attempt

and Christopher counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Christopher.
Black looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

Christopher drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Black dives on top into guard.
Black tries to free his leg and advance position but Christopher is retaining full guard.
Black trying to control but Christopher is working from the bottom.
Christopher is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Black slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Christopher is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. John Black wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Black fails to land with a series of punches.
Black scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Christopher with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Black to score with a decent uppercut.
John Black seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Black tries to clinch up but Christopher circles away and keeps his distance.
Christopher misses with a takedown
and Black counters with a series of strikes. Christopher will be more careful next time no doubt.
Black tries to clinch but Christopher is having none of it.
Christopher misses with a takedown attempt
and Black counters with a left and a right that stings Christopher.

Black drives through and clinches with Christopher against the cage.

Black breaks the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black misses with a few strikes there.
Black throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Christopher has his takedown stuffed
and Black makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Christopher really felt that one!
John Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Harrison Christopher.
Black swinging wildly here.
Black paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Black scores with a sloppy right hand. Christopher should have avoided that one.
Christopher takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Christopher takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Black swinging wildly here.

Black darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black tries to stand but can't do so whilst Christopher controls his leg.
Christopher trying to control from the bottom.
Still in half guard, Black seems content to control.
Black's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

The ref stands the fighters back up. John Black wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Black thows a body kick. Christopher tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Christopher gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Black counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black misses with a wild combination.
Black lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Black connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Christopher avoids a punch combination nicely.
Black throws a series of punches but Christopher avoids them all with ease.

Black rushes Christopher and presses him up against the cage.

Black pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Black tries to clinch up.
Black scores with a one two! Christopher had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Black misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Black dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Christopher shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Black counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Black misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Black throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Christopher.
Black tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Christopher paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Christopher takes one on the button.
Sloppy strikes from Black. Those never looked like landing.
Black lands a glancing blow to the side of Christopher's head.
Black misses with a head kick.
Black tries to clinch

and Christopher counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Christopher stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Black swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Christopher trying to move into half guard but instead Black has managed to sweep!
Christopher takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Black trying to control but Christopher is working from the bottom.
Christopher is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Black 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 John Black.
Black will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Black tries to close the distance and clinch but Christopher swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Christopher shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Black counters by clinching up.

Black breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Black tries to grapple but his opponent circles

so Christopher counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Black looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Black is on top in guard.
Black wanted to stand there but Christopher had control of the position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Christopher is trying to keep Black in close.
Black looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Christopher keeping moving, preventing Black from controlling successfully.
Christopher is trying to control the position from the bottom.

John Black has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Black rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Christopher moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Christopher doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Black counters with a two punch combo.
John Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Harrison Christopher.
A punch combination from Black misses.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Black!
Black comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Black connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Black misses with a head kick.

Christopher tries to sprawl but Black drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Harrison Christopher has got the better of the ground game so far.
Christopher wants to control but Black is keeping busy.
Black is taking a breather. Christopher says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Black is thwarting Christopher's attempts to control the position.
Black content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
John Black is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Black takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Harrison Christopher has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Black is figuring out what he wants to do next.

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 John Black.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Black, 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Black!