PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Leo Francis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thibault Albertini (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Francis
vs
Albertini

195 cm
23
210 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Leo Francis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Thibault Albertini!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Donald Grub and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A looping hook to the body misses from Albertini. Francis does a little dance to reset his feet.
Albertini fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Francis looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Albertini tries to bum rush Francis with a series of wild strikes but Francis uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Albertini throws a left and a right that both miss

and Francis counters with a takedown into side control.
Albertini sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Albertini tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Francis has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Francis controlling from the full mount.
Albertini tries to improve his position but instead Francis has taken his back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Albertini's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Francis is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Francis is not going to allow Albertini to sit and survive in this position.
Albertini is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Albertini wants to get back to his feet.
Francis is riding his opponent, not letting Albertini buck him off.
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.
Albertini tries to roll but Francis sticks to his back.
Francis controlling from the back.
Francis seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Albertini for as long as he can get away with.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Leo Francis just wasn't active enough.
Albertini uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Francis fails with the takedown.
Albertini throws an off balance right hand

so Francis counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Albertini being controlled here, momentarily.
Albertini trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Francis knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Albertini on the ground.
Francis looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Francis's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Leo Francis wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Francis ducks under a wild hook from Albertini.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Albertini throws a hook to the side of Francis's head but Francis sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Albertini throws a sloppy body shot

and Francis counters with a single leg into guard. Albertini didn't expect that.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Francis controlling from the top position.
Albertini is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Francis stays in close to Albertini's body and controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo Francis dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Albertini fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Francis manages to avoid it.
Albertini misses with a combination

and Francis counters with a shoot takedown. Albertini fights it but they end up in guard.
Francis stopping the sweep attempt from Albertini.
Albertini trying to strike off his back.
Francis won't allow Albertini to sweep him here.
Albertini is trying to keep Francis in close.
Francis wanted to stand there but Albertini had control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Albertini trying to keep a closed guard but Francis is proving a slippery customer.
Francis sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Albertini's guard.
Francis is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Sloppy strikes from Albertini. Those never looked like landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Albertini thows a body shot but no joy.
Albertini swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Francis counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Francis tries to free his leg and advance position but Albertini is retaining full guard.
Francis is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Albertini looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Francis passes into side control.
Leo Francis overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
A lull in the action here as Francis stalls from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Albertini is trying to improve his position.
Francis is staying tight to Albertini's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Albertini tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Francis wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
A lull in the action here.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Leo Francis just wasn't active enough.
Albertini throws a poor cross that misses

and Francis counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Albertini!
Francis controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Francis has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Albertini throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Francis controlling from mount.
Albertini is in all sorts of trouble here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leo Francis dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Francis shoots in for a takedown but Albertini shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Albertini will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Francis needs to keep his hands up - Albertini had a free shot at his head there.
Albertini lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Francis circles away quickly and effectively.
Albertini throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Albertini fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Francis manages to avoid it.
Albertini scores with a shot to the body.
Francis shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Albertini defends it nicely.
A left lands for Albertini.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Albertini throws a poor cross that misses

and Francis counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Francis got a little sloppy there for a moment and Albertini has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Francis has managed to get both his arms back between Albertini's legs - danger averted.
Albertini is looking to stand up but Francis isn't so interested in that idea.
Francis is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Leo Francis wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Albertini takes a swing at Francis's ribcage but misses.
Albertini looks to land a combination but Francis avoids it well.
Albertini just misses with a punch to the body.
Leo Francis is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Albertini misses with a straight right.
Albertini shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Francis eats them both and turns towards Albertini to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Francis shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Leo Francis. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Albertini rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Francis moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Albertini takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Albertini misses with a hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Albertini throws a body punch but Francis moves out of range.
Albertini pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Francis back to the cage. Albertini follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Albertini looks to score with a jab to the body but Francis is just out of range.
Francis avoids the body shot from Albertini.
Albertini moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
A swing and a miss from Albertini.
Albertini throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Francis shoots in but Albertini avoids the takedown attempt easily.
No luck for Francis with that takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Francis closes this distance looking for a takedown but Albertini circles away.
Albertini misses with a shot to the body

so Francis counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Thibault Albertini has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Albertini wants to stand and escape but Francis is having none of it.
Albertini keeping full guard, as Francis tries to pass.
Francis not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Albertini throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

Albertini throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thibault Albertini comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Francis 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight for Leo Francis!
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight for Leo Francis!
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight for Leo Francis!

Leo Francis wins by unanimous decision!