PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between George Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eric Diggler (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.

Pierre
vs
Diggler

185 cm
22
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
18
169 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, George Pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Eric Diggler!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Elvis Blanc and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Pierre has managed to clinch.
Diggler wants to break free but Pierre has control.
Diggler has had enough of the clinch but Pierre keeps him there for the moment.
Pierre crunches a lovely knee into Diggler's ribcage.
Diggler misses with a knee to the head.
Diggler wants to break the clinch but can't.
Diggler is trying to push Pierre away but Pierre has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Diggler looking to slow down the pace here.

Pierre works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Diggler looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Pierre is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pierre stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Diggler swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Diggler can't keep his opponent in guard - Pierre advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Pierre with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Diggler tries to roll over but Pierre keeps him under control.
Pierre wants to pass the guard but Diggler is defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pierre sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Pierre seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Diggler for as long as he can get away with.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of George Pierre.

Pierre gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Diggler lands a good knee to the midsection. Pierre won't want to take too many of those.

Pierre breaks the clinch.
Diggler fails with the takedown
and Pierre cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Pierre shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Pierre showed some decent athleticism there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pierre throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pierre controlling the pace.
Pierre frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Diggler looks winded!
Pierre controlling the pace for now.
Diggler really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pierre controlling from mount.
Diggler is looking to improve his position but Pierre isn't that keen on the idea.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pierre controlling from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George Pierre dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Diggler misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Eric Diggler seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Diggler slips a jab and a cross from Pierre.
George Pierre is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Pierre throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Diggler was covering up waiting for the punch and Pierre finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Pierre controlling from the top position.
Diggler wants to stand but Pierre is controlling the position.
Pierre is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pierre has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of George Pierre.
Diggler fails with an attempt to clinch.
Diggler shoots for a takedown but Pierre saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Diggler shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Diggler tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Pierre counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Diggler is fighting off a takedown attempt but Pierre is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Diggler to the mat. Diggler regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Diggler is breathing heavily.
Diggler wants to stand and escape but Pierre is having none of it.
Pierre controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. George Pierre wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Diggler misses with a takedown

and Pierre counters with a single leg into guard. Diggler didn't expect that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pierre scoring with punches to the head and body.
Pierre controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Pierre has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Pierre throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Pierre is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up. George Pierre wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Diggler gets caught napping as Pierre dives in and scores a takedown. Diggler manages to retain guard.
Pierre content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Pierre slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diggler is trying to keep Pierre in close.
Diggler being controlled here, momentarily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

We're going to have a standup here because George Pierre wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Diggler crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Pierre - the referee stops the clock and Diggler gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Pierre. Diggler manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George Pierre dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Pierre feints a jab promting Diggler to slip. Pierre then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Diggler slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Pierre avoids a punch combination nicely.
Diggler misses with the combination.

Pierre clinches up with Diggler and pushes him back against the cage.
Diggler tries to break free but Pierre pushes him back against the cage.
Pierre keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Diggler's efforts to push away.
Diggler is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Diggler takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Diggler stalling in the clinch but Pierre improves position.

Pierre breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Pierre decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Pierre is controlling the pace.
George Pierre overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pierre thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Diggler's head.
Pierre sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Diggler defending well though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pierre controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of George Pierre.
Diggler doesn't manage to clinch there - Pierre circles away.

Pierre closes the distance and pushes Diggler back into the cage.

Pierre breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Pierre moves into range and clinches up with Diggler.
Pierre stops a takedown attempt from Diggler.

Pierre gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Diggler can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Pierre controls the pace.
Pierre is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Diggler can do to turn this around?
Pierre pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Diggler is keeping the position for now.
Pierre sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. George Pierre wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Diggler misses with a leg kick

and Pierre counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Pierre.
Diggler can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Pierre controls the pace.
Diggler keeping full guard, as Pierre tries to pass.
Diggler can't keep his opponent in guard - Pierre advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diggler tries to kick Pierre off but Pierre keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Pierre keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Pierre moves nicely into side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A lull in the action here.

And that's the end of the fight!
George Pierre showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pierre 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 Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... George Pierre!