PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Peckerson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and George Leonard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). George Leonard has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Peckerson
vs
Leonard

185 cm
18
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
22
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Good elbows
Solid chin

Elite Sydney Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Michael Peckerson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, George Leonard!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Steve Erwin and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Peckerson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Leonard is fending him off so far but Peckerson persists. Nope, Leonard circles away and we're back to standing.

Peckerson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Peckerson is looking to pass Leonard's guard but actually Leonard recovers to full guard.
Peckerson throws a big right hand that misses.
Peckerson trying to control but Leonard is working from the bottom.
Leonard wants to sweep here but Peckerson controlling him for the moment.
Leonard utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Leonard thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Peckerson slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Peckerson postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Leonard prevents Peckerson from moving into mount.
Peckerson 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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Peckerson keeps the fight on the outside.
Peckerson fails to land the takedown.
Peckerson shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

Peckerson gets a takedown into half guard.
Peckerson controlling the pace.
Peckerson is looking to advance position but Leonard won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Peckerson trying to control the action but Leonard is working from the bottom.
Leonard avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Peckerson.
Leonard wants to get back to his feet.
Peckerson is tying to control. Leonard wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Peckerson working the head and body with strikes.
Leonard wants to control but Peckerson is keeping busy.
Peckerson trying to control from half guard but Leonard is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Peckerson tries for a takedown but Leonard sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michael Peckerson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leonard slips a jab and a cross from Peckerson.

Peckerson bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Peckerson creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Leonard sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Peckerson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Leonard keeps working.
Peckerson connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Leonard some visible discomfort.
Leonard wants to control but Peckerson postures up.
Peckerson is looking to take a break and control but Leonard is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Peckerson is working Leonard over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Peckerson landing a few strikes.
Leonard manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Peckerson is nestled in close to Leonard, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Peckerson seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Peckerson trying to control from half guard but Leonard is working away.
Peckerson is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Peckerson dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Peckerson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Peckerson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Peckerson trying to control the action but Leonard is working from the bottom.
Peckerson not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Nice strikes from Peckerson there.
Peckerson throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Peckerson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Leonard's head.
Peckerson is pressing down on Leonard's thigh, looking to free his foot. Leonard is holding on for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Peckerson trying to control from half guard but Leonard is working away.
Peckerson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Leonard's head.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Peckerson lands a nice short elbow.
Peckerson is keen to just control but Leonard is a slippery customer.
Peckerson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Peckerson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Leonard fails in his attempt to clinch.
Peckerson swats away the attempt to clinch by Leonard.
Peckerson shoots for a double leg takedown but Leonard sprawls well. He's pushed Peckerson's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Peckerson gets a takedown into half guard.
Peckerson not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonard avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Peckerson.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Peckerson lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Peckerson throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Leonard avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Peckerson.
Peckerson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Peckerson is pressing down on Leonard's thigh, looking to free his foot. Leonard is holding on for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Peckerson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Leonard with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Peckerson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Peckerson seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Leonard does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Leonard blocking the ground and pound attempt from Peckerson.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Leonard tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Peckerson shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Leonard but Leonard pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michael Peckerson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leonard wants to clinch.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

Excellent takedown into side control there by Peckerson.
Peckerson slows the pace down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Peckerson trying to control the action but Leonard is working from the bottom.
Peckerson working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Peckerson scores with a couple of short elbows.
Peckerson throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Peckerson with the ground and pound but Leonard regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Leonard trying to hold on to Peckerson's head to control him but Peckerson postures up.
Peckerson wants to control but Leonard is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Peckerson 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. This is the final round!

Peckerson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Leonard wants to control but Peckerson is keeping busy.
Peckerson controlling the pace.
Peckerson stalling away here and it's allowed Leonard to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Peckerson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Peckerson is looking to work some ground and pound but Leonard has wrist control.
Peckerson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leonard keeping moving, preventing Peckerson from controlling successfully.
Peckerson advances position into side control!
Peckerson tries to move into full mount but can't pass Leonard's legs.
Peckerson with the ground and pound but Leonard regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Peckerson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Peckerson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Leonard's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Peckerson is tying to control. Leonard wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Peckerson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Michael Peckerson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Leonard taking some punishment here, with Peckerson in his half guard.
Leonard is trying to stand up here but Peckerson is controlling him well.
Peckerson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Peckerson working the head and body with strikes.
Peckerson 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.
Peckerson is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Peckerson controlling the position easily from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonard is trying to stand.
Peckerson lands a big shot there that rocks Leonard but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
George Leonard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Peckerson putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Peckerson connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Peckerson lands a heavy elbow.
Leonard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Peckerson looking to finish Leonard with some ground and pound. This is bad for Leonard!

Leonard is rocked!

It looks like George Leonard has been cut.
Peckerson landing shots from mount.
Leonard is still in real trouble! Can Peckerson finish him?
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Peckerson takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leonard taking shots to the head.
Peckerson landing strikes from the mount.
Leonard seems to have recovered his senses.
Peckerson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Leonard can do to turn this around?
Peckerson lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Peckerson can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Leonard is looking to escape.
Peckerson punishing his opponent with strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Peckerson lands with some strikes.
Peckerson dominating with strikes here.
Peckerson cracks Leonard with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Peckerson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Peckerson, 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 30:26
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:26
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Peckerson!