PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Brandon Pierson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Walden Harper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Walden Harper will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Pierson
vs
Harper

165 cm
25
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

179 cm
25
157 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Great elbows
Granite chin

Sydney BEAST Clothing //*$10 Items!!*\\

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Brandon Pierson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Walden Harper !
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Donald Grub and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Harper tries to keep at a distance but Pierson has taken the fight into the clinch.
Harper lands an elbow inside that Pierson shrugs off.
Harper throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Harper can't get the takedown.
Harper tries to score a body lock takedown but Pierson shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Harper creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Harper has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Pierson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Brandon Pierson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Walden Harper .
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Pierson just misses with a elbow thrown towards Harper 's brow.
Knees in the clinch landing for Harper .
Harper is working for takedown but Pierson is calmly controlling the position for now.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Harper just misses with a elbow thrown towards Pierson's brow.
With the fighters up against the cage, Harper throws an elbow but misses.
Harper jumps guard but Pierson stands there with Harper around his waist. Harper gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Pierson missing with knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Harper .
Pierson takes an elbow to the temple.
Harper is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pierson is defending well for now.
Pierson managing to block the knees to the body from Harper .
Harper looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Harper lands an elbow inside that Pierson shrugs off.
Pierson dodges an elbow strike from Harper .
Harper looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Pierson avoids the elbow strike from Harper , against the cage.
Pierson blocks an elbow strike.
Pierson struggles to land a body shot inside as Harper controls his hands.
Harper unloads a knee to the mid-section. Pierson lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Harper throws an elbow but it misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pierson takes an elbow to the forehead.
Harper on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Pierson takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Harper is trying to drag Pierson to the mat but Pierson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Harper misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Pierson.

Harper ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Harper no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Pierson stays in close to Harper 's body and controls the position.
Harper is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Pierson might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Harper trying to control the position.
Harper really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pierson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pierson working some strikes from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pierson won't allow Harper to sweep him here.
Pierson 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.
Pierson won't allow Harper to sweep him here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Harper keeping moving, preventing Pierson from controlling successfully.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Pierson closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Harper pulls guard.
Pierson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Pierson passes Harper 's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Harper makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

Harper tries to sprawl but Pierson drives through with a takedown into half guard.
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!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Pierson controlling the pace.
Harper is looking to control Pierson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Harper avoid being mounted?
Pierson prevents Harper from improving his position.
Harper is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Pierson working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Pierson connects with a nice short shot to Harper 's temple.
Harper is looking to control Pierson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Harper avoid being mounted?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Walden Harper will probably get the nod.
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.

Horrible takedown by Pierson or perhaps it was just good defense by Harper which made him look bad.
A combination from Pierson does no damage.
Harper gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pierson counters with a single leg into guard. Harper didn't expect that.
Harper keeping moving, preventing Pierson from controlling successfully.
Pierson is really struggling to control Harper but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Harper looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Pierson sitting in guard here, content to control.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Harper wants to get back to his feet but Pierson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harper avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pierson 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.
Harper looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Harper shoots for a takedown but Pierson saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Pierson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Harper dodges the punch combination from Pierson.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Harper will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Brandon Pierson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Walden Harper .

Pierson clinches up against the cage.
Harper lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harper is looking to take this one to the mat.
Harper comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Harper misses with an elbow strike.
Pierson goes for a takedown in the clinch but Harper prevents it.

Harper pulls guard effortlessly.
Harper keeping moving, preventing Pierson from controlling successfully.

Harper wriggles free and stands up.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pierson stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Pierson wants it to stay on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Pierson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
No joy there for Pierson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Pierson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Harper .

Pierson shoots in and gets a takedown into Harper 's guard.
Harper is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Pierson is controlling him.
Pierson preventing the sweep.
Pierson looking to pass the guard.
Pierson sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Harper is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Harper wants to stand but Pierson is controlling the position.
Pierson preventing the sweep.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Harper can do anything to dispel that myth.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Pierson tries to work over Harper 's front leg with a kick but Harper checks it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pierson looks for a takedown but Harper sprawls well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A punch combination from Pierson misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brandon Pierson dominated that second 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Harper has taken the fight to the clinch.
Pierson managing to block the knees to the body from Harper .
Harper lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Pierson avoids the elbow strike from Harper , against the cage.
Pierson trying to stall but Harper improves his position.
Harper tries to score a body lock takedown but Pierson shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Harper prevents the takedown attempt.
Pierson changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Harper fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Pierson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Harper .
Harper fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Pierson avoids it really well and circles away.
Brandon Pierson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Walden Harper .

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harper is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Harper takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Harper shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pierson pinned against the cage. Pierson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Harper fails with an attempt to clinch.

Pierson scores a takedown into full mount!
The referee warns Harper that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Pierson working away from the top, dropping strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harper sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Harper manages to get to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harper looking for a sweep. Not yet Harper , not yet.
Harper pulls Pierson in close to his closed guard and prevents Pierson from doing any damage or advancing position.
Brandon Pierson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pierson postures up.
Harper avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pierson wants to control from the top but Harper keeps moving.
Harper wants to stand but Pierson is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Pierson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Harper tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Harper has a takedown stuffed.
Pierson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Harper moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Pierson clinches.
Harper managing to block the knees to the body from Pierson.
Pierson is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Harper is defending well.
Harper on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Harper has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Pierson after a bit of a struggle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierson takes an elbow to the temple.
Harper lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Pierson avoids the elbow strike from Harper , against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Harper throws an elbow but misses.
Pierson dodges an elbow strike from Harper .
Pierson changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Harper fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Pierson misses with an uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pierson leaves Harper with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Harper ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

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 Brandon Pierson.
I think Pierson has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 29:29
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Brandon Pierson!
Brandon Pierson was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.