PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ben Franklin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jordan Graham (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Franklin
vs
Graham

180 cm
26
145 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

174 cm
23
135 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

CEC Nutrition Q160

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 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ben Franklin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jordan Graham!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Graham lands with an overhand left.
Graham fails to land with a series of punches.
No luck for Franklin with that takedown attempt.
Graham stuffs the takedown attempt from Franklin. Franklin gets slowly back to his feet.
Franklin shoots in for a takedown but Graham shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Franklin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Graham connects with a looping right hand.
Graham swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Franklin shoots in but no luck this time.
Graham moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Franklin really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Franklin fails to land the takedown.
Some wild striking there from Graham.

Franklin scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Franklin is working Graham over with some ground and pound from side control.
Franklin is looking to take a break and control but Graham is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graham dodges the ground and pound from Franklin.
Graham is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Franklin is controlling him well.
Franklin in side control, throwing shots but Graham defends.
Graham wants to get back to his feet but Franklin drags him back down.
Franklin cracks Graham with a big elbow.
Franklin working the ground and pound.
Franklin throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Franklin misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graham is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Franklin has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Franklin tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Franklin creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Franklin misses with the ground and pound.
Franklin works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Franklin connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Graham some visible discomfort.
The strikes coming from Franklin are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Franklin 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.
Graham is trying to get back to his feet.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

Franklin goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Graham rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Franklin's guard! Nice work there by Graham!
Graham prevents Franklin from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Franklin pushes Graham off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Ben Franklin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Franklin takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Graham misses with a double jab.
Franklin displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Graham throws out the jab.
Graham ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Franklin moves away.
Franklin is trying hard to land a takedown here. Graham sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Graham defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Franklin.
Graham smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Franklin looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Graham is fending him off so far but Franklin persists. Nope, Graham circles away and we're back to standing.
Franklin fails with a takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franklin takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Graham misses with a few strikes there.
Graham stuffs the takedown attempt from Franklin. Franklin gets slowly back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Franklin misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Franklin is breathing heavily.
Graham misses with the combination.
Graham stuffs the takedown.
Graham defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Franklin.
Graham's jab looks to have found its range, popping Franklin under the eye.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Franklin showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Graham.
Franklin looks for a takedown but Graham sprawls well.
Franklin gets cracked there but stands up to it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ben Franklin will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Graham fails to land with a series of punches.
Some wild striking there from Graham.

Franklin scores with a takedown into Graham's guard.
Franklin scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Franklin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Graham is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Franklin is controlling him.
Franklin looking to pass the guard.
Franklin throws a big elbow that misses.
Franklin scoring with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franklin is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Graham pushes Franklin off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Horrible takedown by Franklin or perhaps it was just good defense by Graham which made him look bad.
Jordan Graham is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Graham leaves Franklin with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Graham misses with the combination.
Graham lands a jab.
Franklin shoots in looking for a takedown but Graham manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Franklin's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Franklin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Franklin avoids a punch combination nicely.
Franklin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Graham circles away.
Jordan Graham seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Graham gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Franklin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Graham works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Franklin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Franklin connects with a couple of short punches.
Ben Franklin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Graham wants to stand up but Franklin is controlling him.
Franklin throws a big elbow that misses.

Graham has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Franklin off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Franklin fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Graham sprawls well initially but Franklin persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franklin thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Franklin missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Franklin takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Graham pushes Franklin off looking to stand but Franklin dives back in and keeps control.
Franklin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Franklin thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Graham's head.
Graham is trying to stand.

Franklin is working for a submission of some sort.
Graham looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franklin is keen to just control but Graham is a slippery customer.
Franklin is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
You get the feeling that Graham really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Franklin wants to control the pace but Graham is squirming around nicely.
Graham is trying to stand.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Franklin looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
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!
Franklin scoring with strikes but Graham is staying in there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Franklin 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. And we move into the final round!

Graham missing with a left hand there. Franklin was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

Franklin dives in and scores a takedown into Graham's guard.
Franklin looking to sit in guard and control but Graham gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Graham tries to stand but Franklin is controlling from the bottom.
Graham wants to stand and escape but instead Franklin has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franklin connects with a couple of short punches.
Graham avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Franklin throws a big right hand that misses.
Franklin prevents Graham from getting back to his feet.
Franklin pushing down on Graham's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Franklin missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Franklin drops an elbow to the side of Graham's head.
Graham on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Graham takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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. Franklin connects with a nice short shot to Graham's temple.

Graham is rocked!
Franklin trying to control the action but Graham is working from the bottom.
Franklin is nestled in close to Graham, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Graham is still in real trouble! Can Franklin finish him?
Nice strikes from Franklin there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Graham makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Franklin looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Franklin throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Graham tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Franklin is in Graham's guard.
Franklin won't allow Graham to get back to his feet.
Franklin passes Graham's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Franklin drops an elbow to the side of Graham's head.
Graham taking some punishment here, with Franklin in his half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franklin working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Franklin stops Graham from getting back to his feet.
Franklin passes to side control.
Graham on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Franklin is looking to take a break and control but Graham is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Franklin controlling from side mount.
Franklin landing strikes.
Jordan Graham has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Franklin tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Franklin has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Franklin cracks Graham with a big right hand but Graham just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franklin working the head and body with strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Franklin wants to control but Graham is keeping him busy.

Franklin wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Graham, who protects the arm well.
Franklin scoring with punches from side control.
Ben Franklin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Graham parries the strikes from Franklin easily there. Franklin is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Graham to escape.
Franklin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Graham keeps working.
Franklin landing a few strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Franklin showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Franklin, 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Franklin!