PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Josh Ferguson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Duran Duran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Duran has chosen Hungry like the wolf as his entrance music. Duran Duran is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Ferguson
vs
Duran

165 cm
27
128 lbs
8 - 11 - 1

225 cm
19
130 lbs
3 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Josh Ferguson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Duran Duran!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, George Francis and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Duran as Ferguson shoots in.
Ferguson with a lazy takedown attempt
letting Duran counter with a right hand.
Duran looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Duran buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Ferguson moves to clinch but Duran breaks away
and Duran counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Duran misses with a wild combination.
Ferguson throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Duran's waist but Duran gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ferguson off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Ferguson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Duran moves into range and clinches up with Ferguson.
Duran tries to break free but Ferguson pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Duran breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ferguson slips under a jab.
Ferguson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Duran keeps the fight on the outside.
Ferguson defending well as Duran loads up on a big left hand.
Duran throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Duran is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Ferguson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Duran stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Ferguson is looking to clinch but Duran is avoiding it.

Ferguson drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Ferguson decides to stand back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duran throws a chopping leg kick but Ferguson manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Duran misses with a body shot.

Ferguson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Ferguson looking to sit in guard and control but Duran gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Ferguson is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Duran defends well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ferguson scrambles and gets back to his feet.
An inside leg kick from Duran misses.
Good shot there by Duran.
Ferguson wants to clinch.
Duran lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Ferguson circles away quickly and effectively.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson fails to land the takedown.
Josh Ferguson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ferguson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Duran, pushing him back against the cage.
Duran is trying to force a seperation but Ferguson has the dominant position.
Duran wants to break the clinch but can't.
Duran looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Duran's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Duran fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Ferguson on the side of the head.
Ferguson moves to clinch but Duran breaks away
and Duran counters with an inside leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Ferguson dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Duran leaves Ferguson with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Ferguson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Duran as he avoids it easily.
Duran lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Ferguson doesn't manage to clinch there - Duran circles away.
Duran has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Ferguson is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Ferguson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ferguson fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Ferguson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Duran circles away from the clinch attempt.
Duran connects with a solid leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferguson looks for a takedown but Duran sprawls well.
Duran misses with a jab, cross combination.
Duran is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Ferguson shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Duran pinned against the cage. Duran gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Ferguson shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Duran napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Duran taking punishment in the form of punches.

Ferguson stands up and beckons Duran to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A combination from Ferguson does no damage.
Duran throws a big shot that misses.
Duran misses with a few strikes there.
Ferguson shoots in and drives through. Duran sprawls well.
Ferguson has a takedown stuffed.

Ferguson drives through with a takedown into Duran's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Ferguson decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Duran, up you get!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Duran but Duran pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ferguson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Duran swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Duran throws out a powerful jab.
Duran scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Josh Ferguson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ferguson swings for the body but Duran moves out of range.
Duran throws a right and a left that both miss.
Duran Duran seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Duran fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ferguson manages to avoid it.
Duran throws a shot from downtown. Ferguson moves away and avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duran misses the jab.
Duran throws the left hand but Ferguson avoids the punch easily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ferguson shoots in for a takedown but Duran shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Duran jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Duran misses with a left hand

and Ferguson counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Duran!
Duran really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ferguson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Duran sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Ferguson is looking for a kimura here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ferguson looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Ferguson dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

Ferguson throws a right hand that misses
and Duran counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Ferguson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Duran listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Ferguson walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Duran scores with a nice head shot.

Ferguson bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

Duran sneaks out the side door and pushes Ferguson away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Ferguson is looking to clinch but Duran is avoiding it.
Ferguson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Duran is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferguson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Duran.
Duran tries to bum rush Ferguson with a series of wild strikes but Ferguson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Duran pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Duran stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Duran wants it to stay on the feet.

Duran closes the distance and clinches.

Duran pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Duran fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Ferguson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Duran can pounce on him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ferguson.

Ferguson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Duran's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Duran misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Duran fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ferguson avoids it really well and circles away.
Ferguson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Duran enables Ferguson to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Duran manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Ferguson is pushing down on Duran's leg trying to pass to half guard. Duran is fighting to maintain full guard but Ferguson has managed to sneak the leg through.
Ferguson is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Duran is looking to escape.
Duran Duran has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Duran takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Duran is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duran is refusing to be controlled, as Ferguson sits in half guard.
Josh Ferguson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Josh Ferguson has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Ferguson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Duran sprawls well. Duran wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Ferguson gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Ferguson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ferguson changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Duran tries to avoid it but Ferguson manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Duran to the ground. Duran escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ferguson tries to clinch there but Duran circles away.
Ferguson blocks a low kick nicely.
Josh Ferguson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Ferguson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

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 Josh Ferguson.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ferguson, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josh Ferguson!
Post fight, an emotional Josh Ferguson said 'I new coming in he was gonna be tough. But tonight I was tougher. We need a flyweight division! Do it! Make it happen please. (8-11-1)'.