PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Chris Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marco Polo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Polo has chosen On The Floor as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Thomas
vs
Polo

190 cm
23
145 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

178 cm
22
153 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Chris Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Marco Polo!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thomas keeps the fight on the outside.
Polo looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Thomas is fending him off so far but Polo persists. Nope, Thomas circles away and we're back to standing.
Thomas dives in and grabs Polo's left leg, looking for a takedown. Polo pushes down on Thomas's head and hops out.
Chris Thomas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Thomas drives through with a takedown into guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Polo has a closed guard, preventing Thomas from standing up.
Polo manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

Polo goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Thomas is on top in guard.
Thomas has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Thomas wants to control from the top but Polo keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Polo uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Thomas throws a sloppy head kick and Polo moves out of range easily.
Thomas fails to land the takedown.
Thomas will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Thomas shoots in but Polo avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris Thomas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Polo tries to bum rush Thomas with a series of wild strikes but Thomas uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Thomas doesn't manage to clinch there - Polo circles away.
Polo slaps away a takedown attempt from Thomas, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Polo is looking to clinch.
Polo fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Thomas tries to clinch but Polo is having none of it.
Polo's coach down at Diamond In The Rough Training Facility was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Polo's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.

Polo tries to sprawl but Thomas drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Polo is positioning himself well to prevent Thomas advancing to mount.
Polo is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thomas wants to pass to mount but Polo is defending the position.
Polo makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Polo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas throws a strike but Polo rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Polo controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Thomas preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Thomas really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Polo wants to control from the top but Thomas keeps moving.
Polo is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Marco Polo.
Thomas with a poor takedown
and Polo counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Polo leaves Thomas with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Thomas is breathing heavily.

Polo closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Polo has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Polo working the ground and pound effectively.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Polo gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!

Polo gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marco Polo dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Thomas closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Polo quickly recovers to half guard.
Thomas is stalling here. Polo is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Thomas seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Polo has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.

Polo is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Thomas has escaped the position, nice work there.
Polo wants to control but Thomas is keeping him busy.
Polo content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Marco Polo has got the better of the ground game so far.
Thomas is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Thomas's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Thomas is trying to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Polo has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Thomas tries to close the distance and clinch but Polo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Polo tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Thomas defends well and Polo ends up having to push Thomas into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Polo pulls guard effortlessly.

Polo has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Thomas has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas is looking to control Polo's arms but Polo gets an underhook and turns him. Now Thomas has his back to the cage.
Polo is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Polo has Thomas pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Thomas manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Polo pressing his opponent against the cage.
Polo wants to get back to striking at distance but Thomas won't allow it.
Thomas is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Chris Thomas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marco Polo.
Polo throws an elbow but it misses.
Polo is working for takedown but Thomas is calmly controlling the position for now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Thomas breaks the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Polo throws a sloppy head kick
and Thomas counters with a head kick.
Polo slaps away a takedown attempt from Thomas, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Thomas changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Polo tries to avoid it but Thomas manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Polo to the ground. Polo escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Polo tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thomas manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Thomas tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Polo counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Polo.
Thomas can't break the clinch.

Polo manages to break the clinch.
Thomas stuffs the takedown attempt from Polo. Polo gets slowly back to his feet.

Polo has closed the distance and engaged Thomas in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is keeping an eye on Polo - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Polo goes for a takedown attempt but Thomas pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Thomas scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Both fighters take a look at the clock.

Thomas stands up and beckons Polo to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Marco Polo will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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!

Thomas defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Polo.
Thomas fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Polo fails in his attempt to clinch.
Thomas shoots for a double leg takedown but Polo sprawls well. He's pushed Thomas's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Polo moves into the clinch successfully.
A knee to the head by Polo.
Thomas changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Polo fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris Thomas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Polo keeps the fight on the outside.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Polo ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thomas moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Polo shoots in but Thomas avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Thomas looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Polo!
An elbow from Thomas crashes against the mat.
Polo struggling a bit here.
Polo regains half guard.

Polo kicks off Thomas and gets to his feet.
Thomas dives in and grabs Polo's left leg, looking for a takedown. Polo pushes down on Thomas's head and hops out.
Some wild striking there from Polo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas dives in and grabs Polo's left leg, looking for a takedown. Polo pushes down on Thomas's head and hops out.

Polo looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Thomas!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Polo in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Thomas on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Thomas tries to get out of the position.
Polo lands a few punches from side control.
Thomas knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Polo on the ground.
A lull in the action here as Polo stalls from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Polo is looking to take a break and control but Thomas is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Polo lands a decent elbow from side control.
Polo trying to control the action but Thomas is working from the bottom.

Polo stands up and beckons Thomas to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Polo decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Polo seems to be looking for submissions.
Marco Polo is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Polo not doing much here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thomas is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Polo jumps into side control!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Polo just content to control the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marco Polo comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Polo winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marco Polo!
During a confident post fight interview, Marco Polo thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
The defeated Chris Thomas had this to say: 'Well I had an ok fight. He just had a better fight.'.