PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lay Pray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Herman Holmes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pray comes to the cage accompanied by Don't Fear the Reaper- Blue Oyster Cult. Holmes is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by F**king Hostile. Lay Pray has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Pray
vs
Holmes

225 cm
29
300 lbs
10 - 12 - 0

213 cm
26
285 lbs
21 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Great elbows
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lay Pray!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Herman Holmes!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Don Winkell and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pray shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Holmes pinned against the cage. Holmes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Holmes gets caught flat footed, as Pray shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Holmes escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Pray gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Pray trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Pray throws a big right hand that misses.
Pray controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Pray accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Holmes escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Pray gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Pray's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Pray will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Lay Pray wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Pray tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Holmes swivels and escapes.
Pray keeps the fight on the outside.
Pray looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lay Pray. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pray shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Holmes pinned against the cage. Holmes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pray fails to land the takedown.
Herman Holmes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Pray shoots and misses
and Holmes counters with a stiff right hand.
Holmes moves forwards but Pray connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Holmes is looking to clinch.
Holmes doesn't manage to clinch there - Pray circles away.
Holmes moves in looking to clinch but Pray pushes him off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes slaps away a takedown attempt from Pray, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Pray shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Holmes pinned against the cage. Holmes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pray is breathing heavily.

Pray gets the takedown into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Holmes is looking for a sweep.
Pray working away.
Pray just content to control the position.
Pray wants to control but Holmes is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holmes is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Pray is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

We're going to have a standup here because Lay Pray wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Pray fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Pray.
Pray shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Holmes pinned against the cage. Holmes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pray shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Holmes defends it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pray misses with a takedown attempt
and Holmes counters with a left and a right that stings Pray.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Holmes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Pray paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Pray fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Holmes tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Holmes tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Pray manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Holmes tries to clinch there but Pray circles away.
Pray misses with a takedown attempt - Holmes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Holmes lands a nice shot that snaps Pray's head back.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Holmes is looking to clinch.
Holmes doesn't manage to clinch there - Pray circles away.
Pray misses with a takedown attempt - Holmes sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Herman Holmes will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Pray shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Holmes defends it nicely.
Pray misses with a takedown attempt
and Holmes connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Holmes is looking to clinch.
Pray shoots in looking for a takedown. Holmes tries to sprawl out of it but Pray keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Holmes manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lay Pray. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Holmes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Pray paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Pray fails with the takedown.

Holmes gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Pray tries for a takedown but Holmes manages to get underhooks.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

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

Holmes has closed the distance and engaged Pray in a clinch.
Pray wants a takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pray wants a takedown but no success here.
Pray is trying to drag Holmes to the mat but Holmes just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Holmes breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Holmes defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Pray.

Holmes has taken the fight to the clinch.
Pray tries to circle away but Holmes has him pinned against the cage.
Pray tries to break free but Holmes pushes him back against the cage.

Holmes pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Holmes doesn't manage to clinch there - Pray circles away.
Holmes displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Pray.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holmes looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes tries to clinch but Pray is having none of it.
Holmes tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Pray manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Holmes misses with a wild body shot.
Pray swats away the attempt to clinch by Holmes.
Pray shoots and misses
and Holmes counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pray fails with the takedown.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holmes looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Pray looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Pray dives in and grabs Holmes's left leg, looking for a takedown. Holmes pushes down on Pray's head and hops out.
Pray avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
No joy there for Holmes, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Holmes closes the distance and clinches.

Holmes pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Holmes tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Holmes is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Lay Pray is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pray with a lazy takedown attempt
and Holmes counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Holmes tries to clinch but Pray moves out of range.
Pray circles away from the clinch attempt.
Holmes keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Holmes has managed to clinch.
Pray drops down looking for an ankle pick but Holmes pulls his leg out and moves away.

Holmes has closed the distance and engaged Pray in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holmes gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Pray.
Holmes is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Holmes's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Pray doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Holmes counter with a right hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Holmes drops Pray with a beautiful combination! Pray stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Holmes is looking for the KO!

It looks like Lay Pray has been cut.
Holmes is looking to clinch but Pray is avoiding it.

Holmes moves into the clinch successfully.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A left hand lands to the body for Holmes.
Pray is looking for a takedown.
Pray tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Holmes smiles and moves away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Herman Holmes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Lay Pray's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Holmes scores with a decent looking hook.

Pray throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Holmes was covering up waiting for the punch and Pray finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Holmes throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Holmes working for a triangle but Pray defends it easily.
Pray wants to control from the top but Holmes keeps moving.

Holmes escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Pray gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Pray is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Lay Pray overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pray seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Holmes for as long as he can get away with.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Lay Pray.
Pray doesn't succeed with the takedown
enabling Holmes to counter with a crisp jab.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Holmes stuffs the takedown attempt from Pray. Pray gets slowly back to his feet.
Holmes is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Holmes wants to clinch.
Holmes is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pray swats away the attempt to clinch by Holmes.
Pray fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lay Pray. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Holmes is looking to clinch but Pray is avoiding it.
Pray dives in and grabs Holmes's left leg, looking for a takedown. Holmes pushes down on Pray's head and hops out.
Holmes tries to clinch but Pray is having none of it.
Holmes throws a combination. Pray tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Holmes with a jab.
Pray shoots and misses
and Holmes counters with a huge head kick that drops Pray! The ref dives in to stop the fight and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Herman Holmes!
A relieved looking Herman Holmes thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.