PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ben Harper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aj Santos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Harper comes into the arena with Welcome To Jamrock blaring out of the sound system. Aj Santos has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Harper
vs
Santos

175 cm
29
158 lbs
14 - 12 - 1

170 cm
25
166 lbs
7 - 9 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
Brawler
Powerful

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 14 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ben Harper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Aj Santos!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Harper gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A knee to the head by Harper.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Santos goes for a takedown attempt but Harper pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Harper closes the distance and clinches.
Harper has Santos pressed against the cage, preventing Santos from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Santos is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Harper gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Santos tries to score a body lock takedown but Harper shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Ben Harper has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aj Santos.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Santos tries to land a knee to the head but Harper blocks with his arms.
Harper throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Santoss head.
Harper using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Harper managing to block the knees to the body from Santos.
Harper blocks an elbow strike.
Harper landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
A nice right hand lands inside from Harper.
Santos is trying to pull guard but Harper has him pressed against the cage.
Harper using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Santos looks gassed!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos wants to break the clinch but can't.
Harper lands an elbow inside that Santos shrugs off.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Harper working Santos over with knees to the body.
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Knees to the body from Harper.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A knee to the head by Harper.
Harper lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Harper lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

Santos is rocked!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knees in the clinch landing for Harper.
Harper scores with a knee to the head.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Santos.
Harper landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Harper obliges.
Harper connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santos's face.
Harper with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Harper pushes Santos back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Harper looking to throw knees to the head but Santos is blocking nicely.
Harper connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santos's face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper lands a good knee to the midsection. Santos won't want to take too many of those.
Santos wants a takedown but no success here.
Harper with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Santos tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Harper with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Santos in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Harper lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Knees in the clinch landing for Harper.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Santos has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A knee to the head by Harper.
Harper throws a knee to the head but misses.
Harper lands with a light punch inside.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.
Santos has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Harper is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Harper landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Santos can't get the takedown.
Harper putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Santos in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Harper lands a knee to the head.
Harper landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Harper connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santos's face.
Harper lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Harper landing knees to the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Santos swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Harper using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Harper tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Harper.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Harper dominated that round.
That's time! Harper's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Harper tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Santos manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Santos motions for Harper to come forward. Santos throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
The fight stays on the outside here - Harper looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Harper tries to clinch but Santos is having none of it.
Santos shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Harper slaps away a takedown attempt from Santos, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Santos shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Santos is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Harper is just riding it out for now. Santos eventually gives up the hold.
Harper is trying to stand back up but Santos is controlling him
Santos is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Santos wants to work for an arm triangle but Harper is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Santos is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Harper sees it coming and defends easily.
Harper gets back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Santos postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Harper is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Santos, into his guard.

Santos looking for a guillotine here but Harper defends easily.
Harper sitting in guard here, content to control.

Santos is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Harper is aware though and is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Santos is keeping the position for now.

Santos is working an open guard so Harper takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Santos shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Harper sprawls well. Harper wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Santos gets slowly back to his feet.
Ben Harper has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aj Santos.

Harper clinches with his opponent.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Santos has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Harper lands a knee to the head.
Harper is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Santos can do to turn this around?
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Harper obliges.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Harper lands a nice elbow.
Nice elbow from Harper.
Nice elbow from Harper.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harper lands an elbow that stopped Santos in his tracks for a moment.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Harper with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A knee to the head by Harper.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.
Harper lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Harper lands an elbow inside.
Harper is pressed up against the cage. Santos has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Harper down to the mat. Harper avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Santos shoots in for a takedown but Harper shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Harper clinches up against the cage.
Harper with a knee to the head.
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Harper connects with a knee to the head.
Santos is still on wobbly legs! Can Harper finish him?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Harper scores with a knee to the head.
Harper scores a nice knee to the body.
Santos seems to have recovered his senses.
Harper landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Harper dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Harper has managed to clinch.
Harper lands a knee to the head.
Harper tries a knee to the head but Santos blocks it.
Harper with a knee to the head.
Harper with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Ben Harper has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Harper lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Santos is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Harper to keep the fight standing.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Harper misses with a knee strike.
Santos trying to control the position but instead, Harper has worked for underhooks and has pushed Santos into the cage.
Harper landing knees to the body.
Harper lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Harper connects with a nasty looking knee right to Santos's face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harper throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Santos blocks it with crossed arms.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Santos tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Santos takes an elbow to the forehead.
Nice elbow from Harper.
Santos is working for takedown but Harper is calmly controlling the position for now.
Santos has Harper pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Harper manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Ben Harper has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aj Santos.
Harper misses with a knee to the head.
Harper working Santos over with knees to the body.
A right handed body shot lands from Harper.
Harper with a knee to the head.
A knee to the head by Harper.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Knees in the clinch landing for Harper.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harper tries a knee to the head but Santos blocks it.
Santos looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Santos takes a knee right on the jaw!
Santos is looking to take this one to the mat.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Santos looking for a takedown.
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Harper is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Santos has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Harper after a bit of a struggle.
Harper with a knee to the head.
Harper unloads a knee to the mid-section. Santos lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Santos is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Harper gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
A knee to the head by Harper.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper tries to land a knee to the head but Santos blocks with his arms.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Santos.
Harper with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Santos can't get the takedown.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Harper creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Harper lands a nice knee to the body.

Santos's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Santos circles away from the clinch attempt.
Harper is looking to clinch but Santos is avoiding it.

Santos looking to score a takedown here. Harper is defending well but Santos drives through and ends up in Harper's guard.
Santos trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Harper manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Harper pushing down on Santos's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Harper postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Santos to stand up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Harper has Santos up against the cage in a clinch.
Harper throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Santos blocks it with crossed arms.
Santos tries to score a body lock takedown but Harper shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Harper obliges.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Harper lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Ben Harper is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Harper lands a nice knee to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Knees in the clinch landing for Harper.
Harper landing knees to the head.
Aj Santos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Harper with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Harper showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Harper, 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Harper!
A less than humble Ben Harper misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.