PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jarvan Atherton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Silver Back (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Atherton
vs
Back

166 cm
29
150 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

166 cm
37
155 lbs
17 - 7 - 1

Great wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Jarvan Atherton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Silver Back!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Aafke Stam and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Back has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Atherton.
Back ducks under a wild hook from Atherton.

Back closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Back tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Back has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Atherton is not content to let Back control the position.
Back tries to advance to mount but Atherton denies him.
A lull in the action here.
Atherton is looking to regain half guard here but Back keeps moving and retains side control.
Atherton is not content to let Back control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Back working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Back wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Atherton, who protects the arm well.
Back throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Back throwing strikes but Atherton manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Back is trying to control Atherton's posture but Atherton avoids it.
Back is not content to let Atherton control the position.
Back is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atherton working the ground and pound from side control.
Back tries to buck Atherton off but Atherton is having none of it.
Atherton has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Atherton misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Atherton misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Atherton scoring with punches from side control.
Back manages to get back to half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Atherton missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Back trying to control from the bottom.
Back gets back to full guard.

Back is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Back manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Atherton manages to get himself to full guard.

Atherton is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Atherton working for a triangle but Back defends it easily.
Back trying to control the position from guard on top but Atherton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Back throws a big right hand that misses.

Atherton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Back is aware though and is defending well.
Atherton doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Back wants to control from the top but Atherton keeps moving.
Back trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Back wants to control from the top but Atherton keeps moving.
Back loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Atherton looking for subs off his back but Back has passed one foot through into half guard.
Back throwing shots but Atherton is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Atherton throws a lazy body kick
and Back counters with a nice leg kick.
Back shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Atherton defends it nicely.
Atherton wants to slow Back down by chopping away at his legs.
Atherton throws a head kick but Back moves out of range.
Atherton dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Atherton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Atherton throws a head kick but Back moves out of range.
Back shoots in for a takedown but Atherton shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Back shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Atherton is trying to defend but Back finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
My spies in **CENTRUM GYM** inform me that Back has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Back throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Back is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Back wants to control the pace but Atherton is squirming around nicely.
Atherton taking shots to the head.
Back lands a nice shot to the head.
Back thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Back trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Back goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Atherton is on top in guard.
Back has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Atherton trying to control the position from guard on top but Back is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Back tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atherton is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Atherton showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Atherton stopping the sweep attempt from Back.
Atherton engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Back is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jarvan Atherton wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Back gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Back wants to sweep here but Atherton controlling him for the moment.

Back has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Atherton can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Back working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Atherton.
Atherton is fighting to break Back's control of his arms but Back is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Atherton trying to control but Back is working from the bottom.
Atherton is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Atherton won't allow Back to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Silver Back will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Atherton misses the jab.
Atherton misses with a straight left.
Atherton misses with an uppercut.
Atherton misses with a wild body shot.
Back throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Atherton's waist but Atherton gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Back off to one side.
Atherton misses with a straight left.

Atherton shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Atherton was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Back is trying to get back to half guard.
Atherton trying to control the position but Back is working away.

Atherton thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Atherton in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Back tries to buck Atherton off but Atherton is having none of it.
Atherton working the ground and pound but Back is defending the strikes.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Back striking from the bottom but nothing landed.
Back is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Atherton off and has taken his back!
You can see the frustration on Atherton's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Back gets his hands free as Atherton looks to control.

Back 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, Atherton has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Atherton tries to roll but Back sticks to his back.
Atherton rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Atherton wants to get back to full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Atherton is refusing to be controlled, as Back sits in half guard.
Atherton keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Back controlling the pace.
Jarvan Atherton has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Silver Back wasn't active enough on the ground.
Atherton keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Atherton is looking to land body kicks.
Atherton checks a leg kick.
Back shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

It looks like Silver Back has been cut.
Back with a lazy takedown attempt
and Atherton counters with a straight right hand.
Silver Back is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Back is rocked!
Jarvan Atherton has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Silver Back.
Atherton throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Back is still on wobbly legs! Can Atherton finish him?
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Atherton.
Back takes a swing at Atherton's ribcage but misses.
Back seems to have recovered his senses.
Atherton throws a predictable looking body shot
and Back counters with a straight right hand.
Back fails with a takedown attempt.
Atherton fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Atherton drops his shoulder and cracks Back with a huge uppercut! Back goes down! Can Atherton finish him?
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Atherton wants to control from the top but Back keeps moving.
Back is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Back has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

And that's the end of the fight!
Jarvan Atherton showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Back has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Albert Achterberg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Silver Back!
Silver Back seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.