PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Hassan Justice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joel Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Thompson's choice of entrance music: Real American. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Justice
vs
Thompson

207 cm
20
177 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

183 cm
23
170 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Hassan Justice!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Joel Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Russell Pearce and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Thompson looking to score a takedown here. Justice is defending well but Thompson drives through and ends up in Justice's guard.
Thompson sitting in guard here, content to control.
Justice not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Thompson stays in close to Justice's body and controls the position.

We're going to have a standup here because Hassan Justice wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Thompson manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Justice on his heels. He'll look to pass Justice's guard now, I'm sure.
Justice will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Thompson passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Thompson tries to move into full mount but can't pass Justice's legs.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Justice wants to control but Thompson postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson is staying tight to Justice's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Justice is looking to regain half guard here but Thompson keeps moving and retains side control.
Thompson tries to advance to mount but Justice denies him.
Thompson controls the position.
Thompson tries to advance to mount but can't.
Thompson controlling from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Thompson swinging wildly here.

Justice shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Thompson's guard.
Justice wants to control from the top but Thompson keeps moving.
Justice would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Thompson is pulling down on Justice's head to control his posture.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Let's hope that Thompson has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Thompson feints and as Justice raises his hands in defense, Thompson changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Thompson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thompson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Justice looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Justice keeping moving, preventing Thompson from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thompson slips nicely into half guard.
Justice is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Justice is working hard here to advance position.
We've been informed that Thompson has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson slows the pace down in half guard.
Justice really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Joel Thompson has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Justice shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Thompson's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Thompson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Thompson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Justice prevents Thompson from moving into mount.
Thompson wants to control but Justice is keeping him busy.
The referee asks Thompson politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Thompson prefers to stall for the moment though.

Thompson goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Justice has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Thompson but great work by Justice.
Justice throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Justice tries to stand but Thompson is controlling his head.
Thompson isn't going anywhere.
You can see the frustration on Thompson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Justice is staying active.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Thompson tries to bench press Justice off him but Justice keeps the position.
Justice wants to lay and pray for a moment but Thompson keeps working.
Justice wants to stand but Thompson has his arm trapped.
Thompson is trying to control Justice's posture but Justice avoids it.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Joel Thompson.

Justice shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Thompson is trying to defend but Justice finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Justice throwing shots but Thompson is blocking nicely.
Justice seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Thompson is trying to maintain the position but Justice is very close to passing his half guard.
Thompson manages to get to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson trying to control the position here.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Joel Thompson.

Thompson pushes Justice up against the cage in a clinch.

Thompson has picked Justice up - he's going for a ride! Thompson dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Thompson is controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Justice looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Joel Thompson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Still in half guard, Thompson seems content to control.
Justice is trying to maintain the position but Thompson is very close to passing his half guard.
Thompson controlling the pace.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

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

Thompson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joel Thompson 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!

Justice gets caught napping as Thompson dives in and scores a takedown. Justice manages to retain guard.
Thompson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Thompson trying to control but Justice is working from the bottom.
Thompson won't allow Justice to get back to his feet.
Thompson showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Joel Thompson hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Justice dives in and scores a takedown into Thompson's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Justice wants to stand but Thompson has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Thompson is controlling Justice's posture.

Justice stands up and waves to Thompson to follow him.

Thompson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Thompson passes Justice's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Justice is refusing to be controlled, as Thompson sits in half guard.
Justice is looking to control Thompson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Justice avoid being mounted?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Justice moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Thompson looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thompson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Justice is keeping the position for now.
Thompson sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joel Thompson was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Thompson shoots in and gets a takedown into Justice's guard.
Joel Thompson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Thompson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Justice keeping full guard, as Thompson tries to pass.
Thompson's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Thompson wants to control from the top but Justice keeps moving.
Thompson slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Joel Thompson has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Justice looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Justice seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

Justice is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Thompson can do anything to dispel that myth.
Thompson is trying is best to control the position here.
Thompson is looking to improve his position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Justice is looking for a kimura here.
Hassan Justice has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Justice lands a nice short elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joel Thompson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Thompson has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joel Thompson!
During a confident post fight interview, Joel Thompson thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.