PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Maurice Bruneau (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Reuben Marduk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Bruneau
vs
Marduk

152 cm
23
161 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
23
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Good in bed

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Intelligent

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Maurice Bruneau!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Reuben Marduk!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, James Glass and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bruneau closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Marduk's guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Bruneau trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Marduk looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bruneau is one step ahead there.
Bruneau is stalling in the full guard.
Bruneau connects with a couple of short punches.

Marduk throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Bruneau has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Bruneau throws a strike but Marduk rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Bruneau on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Bruneau tries to get out of the position.
Marduk wants to control from the top but Bruneau keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marduk stands up over Bruneau, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Bruneau keeping full guard, as Marduk tries to pass.
Marduk missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Marduk throwing strikes from guard but Bruneau blocks nicely.
Bruneau utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Marduk preventing the sweep.
Marduk with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bruneau pulls Marduk in close to prevent any damage.
Bruneau wants to sweep here but Marduk controlling him for the moment.
Marduk is fighting to break Bruneau's control of his arms but Bruneau is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Marduk working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Bruneau's head.
Marduk trying to control but Bruneau is working from the bottom.
Marduk throwing strikes from guard but Bruneau blocks nicely.
Marduk preventing the sweep.
Bruneau might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Marduk accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bruneau wants to sweep but no luck.
Bruneau keeping moving, preventing Marduk from controlling successfully.
Bruneau could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marduk missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bruneau wants to sweep here but Marduk controlling him for the moment.
Marduk throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bruneau works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Marduk is looking to work some ground and pound but Bruneau has wrist control.
Marduk working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Marduk throwing strikes from guard but Bruneau blocks nicely.
Bruneau keeping moving, preventing Marduk from controlling successfully.
Bruneau trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marduk wants to pass the guard but Bruneau is keeping the position.
Bruneau trying to keep a closed guard but Marduk is proving a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marduk in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Bruneau had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Marduk defends it easily.
Bruneau looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Bruneau is trying to control the position from the bottom.
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 round but Reuben Marduk will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Bruneau shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Marduk as he jumps to the side.
Bruneau fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Bruneau really is built like a bowling ball. I wonder if he'd roll if you pushed him down a hill...
Bruneau fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Maurice Bruneau. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Marduk shoots in for a takedown but Bruneau shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Reuben Marduk seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bruneau shoots and misses

and Marduk counters with a shoot takedown. Bruneau fights it but they end up in guard.
Marduk postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Bruneau 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruneau is trying to keep Marduk in close.
Marduk throws a strike but Bruneau rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Bruneau distracts Marduk with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Marduk working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bruneau.
Marduk keeping moving, preventing Bruneau from controlling successfully.
Bruneau working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Marduk working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Bruneau doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Bruneau manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Marduk keeping moving, preventing Bruneau from controlling successfully.
Marduk is pulling down on Bruneau's head. It's preventing any offense from Bruneau, at least for the moment.
Reuben Marduk has got the better of the ground game so far.
Marduk looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bruneau is one step ahead there.

Marduk is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bruneau landing with the ground and pound.
Bruneau wants to control from the top but Marduk keeps moving.
Marduk utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Marduk wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Bruneau throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bruneau landing some decent shots from guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bruneau accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marduk working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bruneau.
Bruneau looking to pass the guard.
Bruneau is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Bruneau trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bruneau passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Marduk being controlled for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maurice Bruneau dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Marduk misses with a takedown attempt

and Bruneau decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Marduk's guard.
Marduk has his hands on Bruneau's head, controlling the position.
Marduk keeping full guard, as Bruneau tries to pass.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bruneau accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marduk trying to keep a closed guard but Bruneau is proving a slippery customer.
Bruneau pushes down on Marduk's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Bruneau wants to advance to full mount but Marduk doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruneau working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bruneau working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Marduk trying to keep a closed guard but Bruneau is proving a slippery customer.
Bruneau scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Bruneau wants to control from the top but Marduk keeps moving.
Bruneau with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Marduk avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bruneau accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Marduk keeping moving, preventing Bruneau from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Marduk working for a triangle but Bruneau defends it easily.
Marduk takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Bruneau trying to control but Marduk is working from the bottom.
Bruneau throwing strikes but missing.
Bruneau works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bruneau missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Bruneau lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Bruneau is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Marduk reverses the position - he's now on top in Bruneau's guard.

Bruneau has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Marduk can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Bruneau looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Marduk looking to pass the guard.
Bruneau controls Marduk momentarily but Marduk frees himself.
Bruneau looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Marduk wants to pass the guard but Bruneau is keeping the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Maurice Bruneau wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Marduk drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bruneau tries to improve position but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
Maurice Bruneau showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bruneau has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 William Gold scores the fight for Maurice Bruneau!
Judge James Glass scores the fight for Maurice Bruneau!
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight for Maurice Bruneau!

Maurice Bruneau wins by unanimous decision!