PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Josh Ferguson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Albert (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Ferguson
vs
Albert

165 cm
28
128 lbs
12 - 14 - 1

170 cm
25
135 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
Powerful

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 12 - 14 - 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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Albert!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Chris Downing and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Albert misses with a two punch combination.
Albert misses with a takedown

and Ferguson counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Ferguson decides to return to a standing position.
Ferguson circles away from the clinch attempt

and Ferguson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
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!
Albert throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Ferguson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Albert striking off his back but it's not causing Ferguson any problems.
Albert 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.
Ferguson is in close to Albert's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Albert is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ferguson is looking to work some ground and pound but Albert has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Albert working a defensive guard here.
Albert is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Ferguson drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Ferguson jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Ferguson pushing down on Albert's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Albert is looking for a sweep. Ferguson is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ferguson controlling the pace.
Albert wants to control but Ferguson is keeping busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson slows the pace down in half guard.

Ferguson decides to return to a standing position.

Ferguson clinches up with Albert and pushes him back against the cage.
Ferguson is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Albert wants to break free but Ferguson has control.
Ferguson taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Ferguson.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Ferguson manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Ferguson holds on and takes a little breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Albert wants to get up but he can't break Ferguson's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Ferguson is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Josh Ferguson.
Albert has his takedown stuffed

and Ferguson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Ferguson passes into half guard.
Albert is trying to maintain the position but Ferguson is very close to passing his half guard.
Ferguson is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ferguson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Albert with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ferguson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Ferguson escapes and gets back to his feet.
Albert looks for a takedown but Ferguson sprawls well.
Josh Ferguson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Albert.
Albert looks winded!
Albert shoots in looking for a takedown. Ferguson tries to sprawl out of it but Albert keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Ferguson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Ferguson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Ferguson dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ferguson gets a double leg takedown into Albert's guard.
Ferguson sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Albert's guard.
Ferguson lands strikes from half guard.
Ferguson perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Albert is looking for a sweep. Ferguson is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ferguson looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ferguson lands a nice short elbow.
Albert trying to control from the bottom.
Ferguson is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ferguson is working for a kimura but Albert is defending it quite comfortably.
Ferguson uses his free foot to push down on Albert's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Albert.

Ferguson has hold of Albert's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Albert manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Ferguson raining down shots from the mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Albert wants to control but Ferguson is having none of it.
Ferguson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Albert can do to turn this around?
Ferguson manages to capitalize on a mistake by Albert to take his back!

Ferguson is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Albert defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Good control from Ferguson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Albert for as long as he can get away with.
Ferguson'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.
I really don't envy Albert right now.
Ferguson cracks Albert with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Albert from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.
Albert is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Ferguson.
The referee is taking a good look at Albert as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Ferguson!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ferguson has good solid back control here.

Ferguson has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Albert has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Albert is in bad spot here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Albert preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Ferguson.
Ferguson throwing damaging strikes from the back! Albert could be in trouble here!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Ferguson dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

No luck for Albert with that takedown attempt.
Albert has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Albert fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Josh Ferguson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Albert misses with a takedown attempt

and Ferguson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Josh Ferguson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Albert.

Ferguson stands up and waves to Albert to follow him.
Albert closes the distance looking to clinch

and Ferguson counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Ferguson pulls guard successfully.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ferguson controlling Albert's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferguson wants to sweep here but Albert controlling him for the moment.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Ferguson is on top in guard.
Ferguson is stalling in the full guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

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

Ferguson has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Albert is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ferguson to keep the fight standing.
Albert wants a takedown.
Ferguson is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

Ferguson has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Albert uses from the top position.

Ferguson is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Albert defends well.
Ferguson looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Josh Ferguson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Albert trying to control the position from guard on top but Ferguson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ferguson is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Ferguson looking for a sweep. Not yet Ferguson, not yet.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Ferguson throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Albert was covering up waiting for the punch and Ferguson finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Albert is looking for a triangle here but Ferguson uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Albert takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Ferguson decides to stand up, so the ref orders Albert to his feet.

Ferguson closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Albert is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ferguson scores with a couple of nice shots.
Ferguson has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
John Albert has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Josh Ferguson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ferguson controlling his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Ferguson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ferguson 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis 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. (10-11-1)'.