PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Brandon Martin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jon Holmes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Martin
vs
Holmes

182 cm
20
198 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

190 cm
21
198 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Brandon Martin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jon Holmes!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Kenichi Hosakawa and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holmes scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

It looks like Brandon Martin has been cut.
Holmes changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

Holmes shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Martin napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Martin avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Holmes.
Martin on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Martin tries to get out of the position.
Martin is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Holmes in side control, throwing shots but Martin defends.
Holmes looking to control but instead Martin has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Holmes throwing shots but Martin is blocking nicely.
Holmes scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Holmes is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Holmes is nestled in close to Martin, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Holmes thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Holmes thows a huge punch but Martin dodges it nicely.
Holmes missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Martin holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Martin keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Martin gets back to full guard.
Martin pulls Holmes in close to his closed guard and prevents Holmes from doing any damage or advancing position.
Martin wants to sweep here but Holmes controlling him for the moment.
Holmes looking to sit in guard and control but Martin gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Holmes is trying to keep Martin in close.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martin postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Martin distracts Holmes with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Holmes trying to keep a closed guard but Martin is proving a slippery customer.
Martin loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Martin trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Martin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Holmes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Martin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Martin wants to pass the guard but Holmes is keeping the position.
Martin lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Martin in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martin loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Martin accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Martin with a flurry of punches that miss.
Martin with a flurry of punches that miss.
Holmes is trying to control the position but Martin postures up.
Martin throwing strikes from guard but Holmes blocks nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Martin postures up in Holmes's guard and throws a big left but Holmes blocks it.
Holmes preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Holmes manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Holmes throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jon Holmes dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Brandon Martin's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Holmes misses with a double jab.
Martin fails with a takedown attempt.
Holmes slaps away a takedown attempt from Martin, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Jon Holmes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Holmes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Martin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Holmes circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brandon Martin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Martin lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

Holmes changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Martin looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Holmes throws a strike aimed at the side of Martin's head but Martin avoids it well.
Sloppy strikes there by Holmes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Holmes working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Holmes misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmes working the ground and pound but Martin is defending the strikes.
Holmes has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Holmes wants to control but Martin is keeping him busy.
Holmes tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Martin takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Martin wants to control but Holmes postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Martin avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Holmes.
Holmes throwing strikes but Martin manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes defending against the ground and pound.
I wouldn't like to be where Holmes is right now.
Holmes is trying to control Martin's posture but Martin avoids it.
Holmes is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Martin's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Martin thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Holmes's head.
Holmes is looking to control Martin's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Holmes avoid being mounted?
Martin winds up and cracks Holmes with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Holmes trying to control but Martin postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Martin throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Martin looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Holmes with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Martin working the head and body with strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Martin lands with a punch from half guard.
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. Martin connects with a nice short shot to Holmes's temple.
Martin is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Martin.

Holmes is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Holmes avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Martin.
Martin prevents Holmes from improving his position.
Holmes gets back to full guard.
Martin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Martin with a nice head shot there.
Martin distracts Holmes with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Holmes working a defensive guard here.
Martin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Martin trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Martin keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Holmes's head.
Martin with a flurry of punches that miss.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Holmes throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Holmes trying to control the position.
Martin throws a big right hand that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brandon Martin dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Brandon Martin's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Decent striking displayed by Holmes there.
Martin fails with a takedown attempt.

Holmes closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Holmes tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Holmes wants to lay and pray for a moment but Martin keeps working.
Martin is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Holmes working away.
Martin wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Holmes working the ground and pound.
Martin manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmes is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Holmes throwing shots but Martin is blocking nicely.
Martin regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Holmes.
Martin preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Holmes drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Martin dives on top into guard.
Martin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Martin throws a big elbow that misses.
Martin is looking to advance position but Holmes has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martin can't escape the position.
Martin blocking the ground and pound.
Martin is working to get back to half guard.
Holmes looking to ground and pound but Martin is blocking nicely.
Holmes working the ground and pound effectively.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Martin is bucking up trying to escape but Holmes cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Holmes throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Holmes with a couple of short strikes.

Brandon Martin's cut is getting worse.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holmes trying to control but Martin is having none of it.
Martin is looking to improve his position but Holmes isn't that keen on the idea.
Jon Holmes has got the better of the ground game so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The referee warns Martin that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

Jeez, Brandon Martin's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Brandon Martin's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:54 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Jon Holmes!
After winning the bout, Jon Holmes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.