PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between James Panther (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luna Nevermore (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Panther comes to the cage accompanied by Slam Smack by jim Johnston. Luna Nevermore will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Panther
vs
Nevermore

160 cm
20
130 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

155 cm
18
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, James Panther!
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, Luna Nevermore!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, David Schapiro and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nevermore throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Panther.
Nevermore changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Panther tries to avoid it but Nevermore manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Panther to the ground. Panther escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Luna Nevermore seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nevermore thuds his right hand into Panther's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Panther tries a head kick but it misses.
Nevermore misses with a body kick.
Nevermore tries to bum rush Panther with a series of wild strikes but Panther uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nevermore misses with a takedown attempt

and Panther counters with a flying knee that sends his opponent to the canvas! Panther looking to finish!

Nevermore is rocked!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Panther throwing strikes from guard but Nevermore blocks nicely.
Nevermore working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Panther.
Nevermore avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nevermore utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Panther postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Panther landing some decent shots from guard.
Nevermore looking to control.
Panther throws a big right hand that misses.
Panther chips away with some ground and pound.
Panther postures up and lands a big shot to Nevermore's brow.
Panther is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Panther working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Panther makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Nevermore is trying to control the position but Panther postures up.
Nevermore utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Panther connects with a couple of short punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Panther missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Nevermore is pulling down on Panther's head. It's preventing any offense from Panther, at least for the moment.
Panther trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nevermore is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Panther working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Panther has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Nevermore is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Luna Nevermore wasn't active enough on the ground.
A combination from Nevermore does no damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Panther swats away the attempt to clinch by Nevermore.
Nevermore misses with a takedown attempt
and Panther counters with a big head kick but Nevermore shrugs it off.
James Panther has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luna Nevermore.
Nevermore tries to clinch but Panther moves away
and Panther counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Panther is breathing heavily.
Panther stuffs the takedown attempt from Nevermore. Nevermore gets slowly back to his feet.
Panther takes a body punch but keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nevermore fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Nevermore shoots in looking for a takedown but Panther manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Nevermore's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Nevermore fails in his attempt to clinch.
Nevermore swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nevermore takes a kick to the side of the head.
Nevermore is still on wobbly legs! Can Panther finish him?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Panther is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Nevermore.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Panther dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

The fight stays on the outside here - Nevermore looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nevermore seems to have recovered his senses.
Nevermore tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Panther swivels and escapes.
Nevermore shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Panther as he jumps to the side.
Nevermore gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Panther counters with a flying knee that sends his opponent to the canvas! Panther looking to finish!
James Panther has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luna Nevermore.
Nevermore wants to sweep here but Panther controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Panther postures up in Nevermore's guard and throws a big left but Nevermore blocks it.
Nevermore should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Panther throwing strikes from guard but Nevermore blocks nicely.
Panther throwing strikes from guard but Nevermore blocks nicely.
Panther lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Panther trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nevermore not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Nevermore avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Nevermore avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Panther postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Panther content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Panther trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nevermore not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nevermore wants to sweep but no luck.
Panther postures up in Nevermore's guard and throws a big left but Nevermore blocks it.
Panther throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nevermore works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Panther loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Panther postures up.
Nevermore wants to sweep but no luck.
Panther throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nevermore works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Panther missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Panther in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Panther in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Nevermore trying to control the position here.
Nevermore not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Nevermore looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Panther distracts Nevermore with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Panther with a flurry of punches that miss.
Panther being controlled here momentarily.
Nevermore avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Panther throws a strike but Nevermore rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Nevermore tries to stand but Panther is controlling from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Panther scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Panther stuffs the takedown.
Nevermore is looking to clinch but Panther is avoiding it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nevermore punishes Panther's body with a nice straight punch.
Nevermore scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Panther dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Nevermore looks for a takedown but Panther sprawls well.
Nevermore shoots in for a double leg but Panther sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Nevermore misses with the body kick

and Panther counters with a head kick that drops Nevermore!
Panther postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Nevermore is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Panther in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Panther postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Panther connects with a couple of short punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Panther throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Panther throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Panther accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Nevermore preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Panther throws a big right hand that misses.
Nevermore bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Panther's guard.
Nevermore wants to get up but he can't break Panther's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nevermore is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nevermore fails with a takedown attempt.
James Panther has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Luna Nevermore.
A punch combination from Nevermore misses.
James Panther is winning the standup battle so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nevermore tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Panther manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Panther has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Nevermore shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Panther sprawls well. Panther wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Nevermore gets slowly back to his feet.
Panther misses with a head kick.
Panther tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

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.
Nevermore ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Nevermore tries to clinch up but Panther circles away and keeps his distance.

Nevermore clinches.
Nevermore jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Panther walks away with a smile on his face. Nevermore gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Nevermore throws a head kick but Panther moves out of range.
James Panther is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nevermore looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

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 James Panther.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Panther, 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:28
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28

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