PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Lars Thunstrom (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marshall Mathers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thunstrom's entrance music is Prodigy - Spitfire. A fine choice. Mathers has chosen Superman as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Lars Thunstrom has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Thunstrom
vs
Mathers

160 cm
37
160 lbs
31 - 19 - 1

180 cm
41
168 lbs
32 - 19 - 4

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Steel Penn\'s Laundry 80% LAUNDRY IS AVAILABLE

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 31 - 19 - 1, fighting out of New York, Lars Thunstrom!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 19 - 4, fighting out of Tokyo, Marshall Mathers!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Alyssa Summers and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A bone on bone clash there as Thunstrom blocks the leg kick.
Thunstrom misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mathers.
Mathers with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Thunstrom to score with a decent uppercut.
Mathers with a hook.
Thunstrom throws a sloppy body shot

and Mathers counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Mathers must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Mathers trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mathers trying to control but Thunstrom is working from the bottom.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thunstrom tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Thunstrom has momentary wrist control but Mathers slips an elbow through the middle.
Thunstrom working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mathers.
Mathers postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Mathers got a little sloppy there for a moment and Thunstrom has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Mathers has managed to get both his arms back between Thunstrom's legs - danger averted.
Thunstrom trying to keep a closed guard but Mathers is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunstrom avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Mathers throws a big right hand that misses.
Thunstrom has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Mathers won't allow Thunstrom to sweep him here.
Thunstrom working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mathers.

Thunstrom has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Mathers can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Mathers throwing strikes from guard but Thunstrom blocks nicely.
Mathers missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Mathers passes into half guard.
Mathers looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Mathers scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Mathers winds up and cracks Thunstrom with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mathers missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mathers working the head and body with strikes.
Mathers prevents Thunstrom from improving his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mathers missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Thunstrom is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Mathers scores with a couple of nice shots.
Mathers not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Thunstrom is staying active underneath Mathers, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Thunstrom trying to control from the bottom.
Thunstrom moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Thunstrom trying to control the position.

Thunstrom is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mathers defends well.
Mathers won't allow Thunstrom to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mathers trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Thunstrom might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Mathers distracts Thunstrom with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Mathers is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Mathers landing with the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Thunstrom is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Mathers is aware though and is defending well.
Mathers throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Thunstrom working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mathers.

Thunstrom is working an open guard so Mathers takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Mathers ducks under a wild hook from Thunstrom.
Mathers plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thunstrom throws a sloppy head kick and Mathers moves out of range easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mathers darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Thunstrom misses with an uppercut
and Mathers counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Thunstrom walks into a left hand.
Mathers avoids the body shot from Thunstrom.
Mathers misses the shot to the body.
Mathers walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Mathers scores with a leg kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Mathers slips a straight right by Thunstrom.
Thunstrom on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Mathers missing with a left hand there. Thunstrom was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marshall Mathers dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A telegraphed right hand from Mathers misses the target.
Mathers thows a body shot but no joy.
Thunstrom throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Mathers sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mathers looks to land a right hand but Thunstrom moved out of range.
Thunstrom closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Mathers scores with a kick to the midsection.
Mathers connects with a single shot there.
Mathers throws the left hand but Thunstrom avoids the punch easily.
Mathers has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Mathers slips a jab and a cross from Thunstrom.
Mathers slips under a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunstrom throws a lazy uppercut
and Mathers counters with a left to the body.
Thunstrom misses with a body shot
and Mathers connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Mathers thumps Thunstrom with a low kick.
Mathers throws a hook but Thunstrom blocks it.
Mathers displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Mathers looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Mathers misses with a few strikes there.
Mathers waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Thunstrom.
Mathers delivers a nice body kick.
Thunstrom misses with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thunstrom walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

Thunstrom gets a double leg takedown into Mathers's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mathers controls Thunstrom momentarily but Thunstrom frees himself.
Marshall Mathers has got the better of the ground game so far.
Thunstrom preventing the sweep.
Thunstrom tries to free his leg and advance position but Mathers is retaining full guard.
Thunstrom trying to control but Mathers is working from the bottom.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Mathers looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Marshall Mathers wasn't active enough on the ground.
Mathers throws a leg kick which misses Thunstrom's front leg but catches the back leg as Thunstrom tries to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick lands from Mathers.
Mathers is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Mathers slips under a jab from Thunstrom.
Mathers misses with a leg kick.
Thunstrom misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Mathers stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Mathers wants it to stay on the feet.
Mathers throws a wild body kick that Thunstrom sees coming a mile off.
Mathers throws a leg kick that misses.
A lazy left from Thunstrom finds it's target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thunstrom throws a shot from downtown. Mathers moves away and avoids it.
Mathers gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Thunstrom misses with a right hand
and Mathers counters with a thumping low kick.
Mathers misses with a body punch

and Thunstrom counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mathers trying to control the position.
Mathers is adopting a defensive guard.
Thunstrom seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thunstrom wants to control from the top but Mathers keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Marshall Mathers will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Thunstrom throws a looping overhand right but Mathers ducks down to avoid it.
Thunstrom is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mathers.
Mathers uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Thunstrom.
Mathers misses with a wild body shot.
Mathers thows a body shot but no joy.
Mathers scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
A jab from Thunstrom misses.
Thunstrom misses with a hook. Mathers ducked under it nicely.
Mathers throws an overhand right that lands on Thunstrom's shoulder, as Thunstrom tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunstrom lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Mathers circles away quickly and effectively.
Thunstrom throws a lazy right hand but Mathers sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Mathers lands with an uppercut that bounces Thunstrom off the cage and back into range.
Mathers chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Mathers avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Mathers works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Mathers misses with an uppercut. Thunstrom saw that one coming.
A slapping leg kick lands for Mathers.
Mathers slips a straight right by Thunstrom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mathers comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Thunstrom misses with a looping left.
Thunstrom is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Thunstrom pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Thunstrom looks to land a right hand but Mathers moved out of range.
Thunstrom throws a right hand that misses
and Mathers counters with a straight right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A telegraphed right hand from Thunstrom misses the target.
Thunstrom is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Mathers's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Thunstrom steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Mathers.
Mathers has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Mathers sizes up Thunstrom with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Mathers dodges the punch combination from Thunstrom.
Marshall Mathers is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mathers scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thunstrom shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Mathers pinned against the cage. Mathers gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A big right from Thunstrom misses.
Lars Thunstrom has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thunstrom looks to throw the jab but Mathers is out of range.
No joy there for Mathers, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Thunstrom misses with a lunging right hand

and Mathers counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Mathers lands with a punch from half guard.

Thunstrom looking for submissions off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mathers wants to pass the guard but Thunstrom is defending well.
Mathers drops an elbow to the side of Thunstrom's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mathers sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Thunstrom defending well though.
Thunstrom blocking the ground and pound attempt from Mathers.
Mathers missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Mathers lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Mathers trying to control from half guard but Thunstrom is working away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thunstrom keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Thunstrom punching from the bottom.
Mathers drops an elbow to the side of Thunstrom's head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marshall Mathers comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mathers 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 27:30

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