PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dan Hammer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Landon Graves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Landon Graves has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hammer
vs
Graves

195 cm
25
185 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

193 cm
21
192 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Dan Hammer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Landon Graves!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fray, Jeff Smith and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hammer closes this distance looking for a takedown but Graves circles away.
Graves lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Graves looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Hammer tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hammer fails to land the takedown.
Hammer tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Graves paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hammer shoots and misses
and Graves finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dan Hammer. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Hammer pushes Graves up against the cage in a clinch.

Hammer breaks the clinch.
Graves lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Hammer really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Hammer gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Hammer manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Hammer is trying to pull guard but Graves has him pressed against the cage.
Graves is trying to break the clinch but Hammer has him pressed against the cage.

Hammer escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Hammer is looking to clinch but Graves is avoiding it.
Hammer shoots in for a double leg but Graves sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Graves misses with a low kick.
Graves is looking to slow Hammer down with leg kicks.
Graves lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Graves misses with a few strikes there.
Graves checks the leg kick nicely there.
Graves cracks the inside of Hammer's front leg.

Graves gets caught flat footed, as Hammer shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Hammer stands up and waves to Graves to follow him.
Hammer throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Graves's waist but Graves gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hammer off to one side.
Hammer is breathing heavily.
Graves pulls out of a head kick attempt.
That kick from Graves tenderised Hammer's leg. Hammer is trying to keep his angry face on.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hammer shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Graves pinned against the cage. Graves gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graves throws a lazy right hand but Hammer sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hammer tries to clinch but Graves is having none of it.
Hammer checks the leg kick.
Some wild striking there from Hammer.

Hammer gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Graves is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Hammer scores a nice knee to the body.
Hammer taking a breather.
Graves working hard to break the clinch.
Graves wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Graves breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Hammer ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Hammer looks for a takedown but Graves sprawls well.

Graves gets caught flat footed, as Hammer shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Hammer stands up from Graves's guard - Hammer perhaps looking for a knockout.
Graves displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hammer throws out the jab.
Hammer avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hammer bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Hammer.
Graves misses with a kick to the body.
Nice body kick there by Graves.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hammer gets a double leg takedown into Graves's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hammer wants to pass the guard but Graves is keeping the position.
Hammer prevents Graves from getting back to his feet.

Hammer gets to his feet - Graves follows without any prompting.
Graves with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Graves does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Both fighters circling a little - Graves finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Hammer throws a series of punches but Graves avoids them all with ease.
Graves jabs at Hammer's body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Graves throws a leg kick but Hammer checks it.

Hammer clinches up against the cage.
Graves wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Graves tries to circle away but Hammer has him pinned against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Hammer shoots in for a double leg but Graves sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Hammer tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dan Hammer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hammer has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Graves.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Hammer is defended easily by Graves.
Good leg kick by Graves there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Graves lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Hammer has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Hammer and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Graves throws a leg kick that misses.
Hammer tries to clinch but Graves moves out of range.
Graves scores with a push kick.

Hammer looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Hammer is pushing down on Graves's leg trying to pass to half guard. Graves is fighting to maintain full guard but Hammer has managed to sneak the leg through.

Hammer is trying to work for a kimura but Graves is defending well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves trying to control but Hammer postures up.

Hammer is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Graves moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Hammer is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Graves is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Graves has escaped and now he's on top!
Graves trying to control the position from guard on top but Hammer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammer being controlled here, momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Landon Graves has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Hammer checks a leg kick nicely.
Graves wants to slow Hammer down by chopping away at his legs.

Hammer clinches up against the cage.
Hammer tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Graves avoids it.
Hammer avoiding damage.
Graves tries to break free but Hammer pushes him back against the cage.
Hammer is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

Hammer has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Graves regains guard immediately.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Hammer is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Graves is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Graves has escaped and now he's on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Graves content to stall in guard here.
Hammer keeping moving, preventing Graves from controlling successfully.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Landon Graves will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Graves works Hammer's body with a nice hook.

Hammer drives through and clinches with Graves against the cage.

Hammer pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Graves tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hammer throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Graves's waist but Graves gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hammer off to one side.

Hammer shoots in and gets a takedown into Graves's guard.
Graves is pulling down on Hammer's head to control his posture.
Hammer stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Graves swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Hammer stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Graves does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Graves with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Hammer. Those never looked like landing.
Hammer is looking to clinch but Graves is avoiding it.
Hammer changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Graves tries to avoid it but Hammer manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Graves to the ground. Graves escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Graves avoids the body shot from Hammer.
Hammer doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Graves counters with a leg kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dan Hammer. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Graves throws a leg kick which misses Hammer's front leg but catches the back leg as Hammer tries to avoid it.
Hammer has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Graves.

Hammer takes the fight into the clinch.
Hammer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Graves's efforts to push away.
Hammer has Graves pressed against the cage, preventing Graves from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hammer misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graves is trying to break the clinch but Hammer has him pressed against the cage.
Graves is trying to break free.
Hammer is trying to drag Graves to the mat but Graves just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Hammer stalling in the clinch but Graves improves position.
Graves looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Hammer prevents Graves from breaking the clinch.

Hammer has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Graves uses from the top position.
Graves wants to control from the top but Hammer keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Graves looking to sit in guard and control but Hammer gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Hammer looking to pass the guard.
Graves looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Hammer drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Graves dives on top into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Graves wants to control from the top but Hammer keeps moving.
Hammer pulls Graves in close to his closed guard and prevents Graves from doing any damage or advancing position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Landon Graves hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Graves throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hammer blocks the body kick.
Hammer closes the distance looking to clinch
and Graves counters with a thumping low kick.

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 Dan Hammer.
I think Hammer 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 Colin Fray scores the fight 29:29
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Dan Hammer!
Dan Hammer decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.