PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Blaze (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricky Hernandez (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.

Blaze
vs
Hernandez

180 cm
21
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
22
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Johnny Blaze!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Ricky Hernandez!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Bruno Hogan and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blaze looks to land a combination but Hernandez avoids it well.
Blaze shoots in and drives through. Hernandez sprawls well.
Blaze misses with a takedown
and Hernandez counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Blaze fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Blaze. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Blaze stuffs the takedown.
A big left from Blaze misses.
Hernandez displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Blaze.
Hernandez lands a nice looking body shot.

Blaze drives through and clinches with Hernandez against the cage.

Hernandez gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Blaze regains guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Hernandez would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hernandez pushes down on Blaze's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blaze is trying to control but Hernandez manages to pass to mount!
Hernandez has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Blaze's face.
Blaze is trying to escape the mount.
Hernandez landing strikes from the mount and Blaze is in trouble!
Blaze's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Blaze is breathing heavily.
Hernandez with a couple of short strikes.
Hernandez controlling from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez lands a nice shot to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Hernandez looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Blaze holds of for dear life.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Blaze that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Hernandez with good strikes from the mount here!
Hernandez landing strikes from the mount and Blaze is in trouble!
Hernandez with a couple of short strikes.
Hernandez scoring with strikes but Blaze is staying in there.
Hernandez scoring with strikes but Blaze is staying in there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Blaze looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blaze breaks Hernandez's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Hernandez is on top in guard.
Hernandez content to stall in guard here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hernandez preventing the sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Hernandez dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hernandez drives through with a takedown into guard.
Ricky Hernandez has got the better of the ground game so far.

Hernandez got a little sloppy there for a moment and Blaze has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Hernandez has managed to get both his arms back between Blaze's legs - danger averted.
Hernandez not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Hernandez stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Blaze swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Hernandez controls from within his opponent's guard.
Blaze wants to stand up but Hernandez is controlling him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hernandez controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ricky Hernandez has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Hernandez fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Blaze avoids it really well and circles away.

Hernandez looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Blaze!
Blaze is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Hernandez's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Hernandez tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez controlling the pace.
Blaze trying to control but Hernandez postures up.
Hernandez 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.
Hernandez slips a nice elbow through Blaze's hands, connecting with Blaze's forehead.
Blaze missing with punches from the bottom.
Hernandez is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Hernandez tries to control but Blaze wriggling away.
Blaze in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Hernandez controlling his opponent.
Hernandez trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Blaze knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hernandez on the ground.
Blaze is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Blaze wants to hold on but Hernandez pushes him away.
Hernandez looking to control but Blaze is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Blaze manages to regain half guard. Good work.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hernandez prevents Blaze from standing back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Hernandez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Hernandez closes the distance and clinches up with Blaze, looking for a takedown. Hernandez pushes Blaze against the cage but Blaze circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Blaze moves into range and clinches up with Hernandez.
Hernandez can't break the clinch.
Blaze is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Hernandez to keep the fight standing.
Blaze with a knee to the head.
Hernandez tries to circle away but Blaze has him pinned against the cage.

Blaze has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Hernandez uses from the top position.
Hernandez preventing the sweep.
Hernandez is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Hernandez missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hernandez passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hernandez trying to control the pace.
Hernandez's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
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. Hernandez connects with a nice short shot to Blaze's temple.
Blaze tries to get to full guard but Hernandez has control of the leg.
Hernandez controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blaze is not content to let Hernandez control the position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Ricky Hernandez wasn't active enough on the ground.

Hernandez drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Hernandez tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Blaze is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Hernandez looks up at the clock and then as Blaze takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Hernandez smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez controls the position from side control.
Blaze is trying to get back to half guard.
Hernandez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Blaze keeps working.
Hernandez is putting a hurting on Blaze here, landing some big shots from side control.
Hernandez controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blaze throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

Hernandez dives in and scores a takedown into Blaze's guard.
Hernandez is pushing down on Blaze's leg trying to pass to half guard. Blaze is fighting to maintain full guard but Hernandez has managed to sneak the leg through.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hernandez lands a nice short elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Blaze wants to improve his position but Hernandez is controlling well.

Hernandez is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! Blaze is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Ricky Hernandez!