PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Benji Hidori (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nigrondo Taylor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hidori comes into the arena with allejandro blaring out of the sound system. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Hidori
vs
Taylor

180 cm
19
170 lbs
0 - 18 - 0

175 cm
25
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

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 0 - 18 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Benji Hidori!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Nigrondo Taylor!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Michael Johnstone and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hidori tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Taylor paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Taylor avoids the head kick by Hidori.
Taylor throws a head kick but Hidori moves out of range.
No luck for Hidori with that takedown attempt.
Hidori stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hidori wants it to stay on the feet.
Hidori definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Taylor looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Taylor stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Taylor gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Hidori is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Taylor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Taylor looking to score a takedown here. Hidori is defending well but Taylor drives through and ends up in Hidori's guard.
Hidori knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Taylor on the ground.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hidori wants to get back to his feet but Taylor is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Taylor sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Taylor stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Taylor shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Taylor engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Taylor advances to half guard.
Taylor controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor tries to pass to full mount but Hidori defends it.
Taylor winds up and cracks Hidori with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Taylor looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Let's hope that Taylor 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Nigrondo Taylor was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Taylor cracks a nice hook into Hidori's ribs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hidori tries to clinch but Taylor moves out of range.
Taylor throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hidori's waist but Hidori gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Taylor off to one side.

Taylor closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Hidori goes for a takedown in the clinch but Taylor prevents it.
Taylor drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Benji Hidori has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nigrondo Taylor.
Taylor tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Hidori smiles and moves away.
Taylor circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hidori shoots in for a takedown but Taylor shows good takedown defense.
Taylor shoots in looking for a takedown. Hidori tries to sprawl out of it but Taylor keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Hidori manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Hidori tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Taylor swivels and escapes.
Hidori shoots for a takedown but Taylor saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Horrible takedown by Taylor or perhaps it was just good defense by Hidori which made him look bad.
Hidori shoots for a takedown but Taylor saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Taylor moves into the clinch.
Taylor keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hidori's efforts to push away.
Hidori wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nigrondo Taylor dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Taylor dives in and grabs Hidori's left leg, looking for a takedown. Hidori pushes down on Taylor's head and hops out.
Hidori shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Taylor as he jumps to the side.
Taylor shoots in for a takedown but Hidori shows good takedown defense.
Taylor fails to land the takedown.
Benji Hidori has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nigrondo Taylor.
Taylor throws a leg kick but Hidori sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Horrible takedown by Taylor or perhaps it was just good defense by Hidori which made him look bad.
Hidori stuffs the takedown attempt from Taylor. Taylor gets slowly back to his feet.
Hidori tries to score a power double leg takedown but Taylor sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Hidori somewhat.
Taylor closes the distance and clinches up with Hidori, looking for a takedown. Taylor pushes Hidori against the cage but Hidori circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hidori doesn't manage to clinch there - Taylor circles away.
Taylor fails with the takedown.
Taylor is breathing heavily.

Hidori shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Taylor napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Taylor sneaks back into half guard.
Hidori is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Taylor is trying to maintain the position but Hidori is very close to passing his half guard.
Hidori is looking to take a break and control but Taylor is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taylor trying to hold on to Hidori's head to control him but Hidori postures up.
Hidori stalling away here and it's allowed Taylor to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Taylor lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hidori!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hidori tries to buck Taylor off but he can't manage it.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Taylor cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Taylor scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Hidori?

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Taylor is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Hidori to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Hidori shrugs it off.
Hidori is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Taylor tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Hidori is bucking up trying to escape but Taylor cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Taylor controlling from mount.
Taylor with a couple of short strikes.

Taylor is working for a guillotine from mount but Hidori frees his head quite easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hidori really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hidori tries to hold on but Taylor pushes him away.
Taylor working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Taylor working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Taylor raining down shots from the mount!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Taylor is standing up, even though he is in mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nigrondo Taylor showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Taylor drives through and clinches with Hidori against the cage.

Taylor jumps guard.
Taylor keeping moving, preventing Hidori from controlling successfully.
Taylor wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Taylor manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Taylor takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Taylor raining down shots from the mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taylor controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

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

Hidori gets tackled into the cage by Taylor. Taylor maintains the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Hidori looking for a takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taylor prevents the takedown attempt.
Hidori is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Taylor is keeping busy.

Taylor escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Taylor drives through and clinches with Hidori against the cage.
Taylor avoiding damage as Hidori throws knees to the body.
Taylor prevents Hidori from breaking the clinch.

Taylor turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Taylor has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Taylor is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Hidori will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Taylor looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Taylor slows the pace down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taylor scores with a couple of short elbows.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Taylor controls the position.

Taylor has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Hidori throws a jab when Taylor was well out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hidori closes the distance but Taylor moves to the side
and Taylor counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Benji Hidori has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nigrondo Taylor is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Taylor fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Hidori sprawls well initially but Taylor persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nigrondo Taylor comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Taylor 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 Sandra Marshall scores the fight 27:30
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 27:30
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nigrondo Taylor!
In defeat, Benji Hidori stepped up to the mic, saying 'I have dishonored myself and my fans.'.