PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Brad Marchand (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Holmes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Marchand
vs
Holmes

175 cm
22
168 lbs
7 - 6 - 0

181 cm
24
166 lbs
8 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Brad Marchand!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alex Holmes!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Stewart Dunkirk and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A right-left combo lands from Marchand.
Holmes tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Marchand paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Holmes slips a jab and a cross from Marchand.
Marchand throws a poor cross that misses
and Holmes counters with a three punch combo that has Marchand backing up. Marchand nods at Holmes to acknowledge the strikes.
Holmes wants to clinch up but Marchand keeps it at a distance.
Holmes ducks under a wild hook from Marchand.
Holmes takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Marchand tries for a takedown but Holmes circles away easily

and Holmes counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Holmes.
With the fighters up against the cage, Marchand throws an elbow but misses.
Marchand throws a punch but it's blocked by Holmes.
Marchand letting Holmes take a breather here.
Holmes is trying to maintain a safe position but Marchand gets an underhook and turns Holmes into the cage.
We've been informed that Holmes has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marchand being controlled against the cage.
Marchand throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Holmes leaning his opponent against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Alex Holmes.
Holmes tries to close the distance and clinch up but Marchand swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Marchand misses with a wild body shot.
Marchand throws a hook but Holmes blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes wants to clinch up but Marchand keeps it at a distance.
Holmes tries to clinch up but Marchand circles away and keeps his distance.
Marchand swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Holmes counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Holmes.
A short right from Marchand on the inside.
Holmes just leaning against Marchand, taking a breather.
Marchand goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Holmes trying to control the position but instead, Marchand has worked for underhooks and has pushed Holmes into the cage.
Marchand wants to break the clinch but can't.
Marchand avoids the elbow strike from Holmes, against the cage.
Marchand wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Holmes has him pressed against the cage.
Marchand goes for a takedown in the clinch but Holmes prevents it.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marchand misses with the head strike.
Holmes slowing the pace effectively.
Marchand has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Holmes after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brad Marchand. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A head punch on the inside from Marchand fails to land.
Holmes lands a nice knee to the body.
Marchand trying to stall but Holmes improves his position.
Marchand tries to circle away but Holmes has him pinned against the cage.
Marchand wants to break the clinch but can't.
Marchand lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Marchand wants a takedown but no success here.
Marchand is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Holmes is defending well.
I was talking to Marchand's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Marchand misses with an elbow over the top.
Holmes has Marchand pressed against the cage, preventing Marchand from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Marchand wants to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marchand can't find room to land a body shot as Holmes controls the action.
Marchand wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Marchand wants to break the clinch but can't.
Holmes lands an elbow inside.
Marchand misses with a body punch.
Marchand misses with a hook from the clinch.
Marchand changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Holmes fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Holmes takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Holmes tries to close the distance and clinch up but Marchand swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Holmes shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brad Marchand dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

No luck for Marchand with that takedown attempt.
Marchand misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Marchand throws a hook but Holmes blocks it.
Marchand scores with a decent looking hook.
Marchand throws a series of punches but Holmes avoids them all with ease.
Marchand throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Holmes lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Holmes.
Holmes tries to move into range but Marchand moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmes slips a jab from Marchand.
Marchand tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Holmes swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brad Marchand. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Holmes ducks under a wild hook from Marchand.
Holmes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Holmes dodges the punch combination from Marchand.
A slow jab from Marchand misses its intended target.
Marchand fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Marchand clinches.
Marchand has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Holmes is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for Holmes to work.
Holmes has Marchand pressed against the cage, preventing Marchand from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Marchand blocks the elbow strike.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Holmes takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Marchand lands a nice elbow.
Marchand is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Marchand wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Holmes has him pressed against the cage.
Marchand is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Holmes just misses with a elbow thrown towards Marchand's brow.
A bit of stalling here from Holmes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marchand.
Marchand is trying to push Holmes away but Holmes has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Marchand throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Marchand misses with a short punch on the inside.
Marchand throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Holmes slowing the pace effectively.
Holmes blocks an elbow strike.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Alex Holmes.
Marchand throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Holmes.
Holmes drops his hands momentarily and Marchand takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Marchand is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Marchand rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Holmes counters by moving into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marchand is trying to push Holmes away but Holmes has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Marchand swings wildly with an uppercut but Holmes uses good head movement to avoid it.
Holmes trying to stall but Marchand improves his position.
Holmes is pressed up against the cage. Marchand has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Holmes down to the mat. Holmes avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Holmes slips a straight right by Marchand.
Holmes fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

Marchand drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Marchand postures up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marchand stopping the sweep attempt from Holmes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marchand postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brad Marchand dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Marchand tries for a takedown but Holmes manages to get underhooks.
Marchand can't get the takedown.
Marchand is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Holmes pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brad Marchand. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Marchand is trying to break free.
Holmes avoiding damage.
Marchand tries for a takedown. No joy.
Holmes lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Holmes just misses with a elbow thrown towards Marchand's brow.
Holmes prevents a takedown attempt there.
Marchand wants to break free but Holmes has control.
With the fighters up against the cage, Marchand throws an elbow but misses.
Marchand struggles to land a body shot inside as Holmes controls his hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marchand tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Holmes's elbow.
Holmes leaning against his opponent.
Marchand is looking to break free of the clinch but Holmes has double underhooks.
Marchand changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Holmes fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Marchand shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Holmes defends it nicely.
Marchand circles away from the clinch attempt.
Marchand misses with a shot to the body

and Holmes moves into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes lands a knee to the head.
Holmes keeps control of Marchand as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Marchand is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Holmes pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Holmes gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Marchand drops down looking for an ankle pick but Holmes pulls his leg out and moves away.
Marchand misses with a right hand

and Holmes counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Holmes.
Alex Holmes seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Holmes controlling the action here for a moment.
Holmes has Marchand pressed against the cage, preventing Marchand from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Holmes tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Holmes dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Marchand is trying to break the clinch but Holmes is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marchand wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Holmes keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Marchand's efforts to push away.
Marchand looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Holmes taking a breather.
Holmes is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Marchand is keeping busy.
Marchand wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Marchand misses with a shot to the kidneys.

Marchand's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Marchand shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Holmes pinned against the cage. Holmes gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Marchand swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Holmes moves into the clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Holmes takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Marchand tries to break the clinch but Holmes is controlling the position.
Brad Marchand is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holmes lands an elbow that stopped Marchand in his tracks for a moment.
Holmes content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Alex Holmes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Holmes trying to stall but Marchand improves his position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Alex Holmes.
Some wild striking there from Marchand.
Holmes staying out of range there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alex Holmes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Marchand has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brad Marchand!
A very excited looking Brad Marchand made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.