PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Malcolm West (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eysteinn Thornsteisson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

West
vs
Thornsteisson

202 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

180 cm
18
175 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Malcolm West!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Eysteinn Thornsteisson!
The judges for this bout are Josh West, Paul Gruel and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

West has taken the fight to the clinch.
Thornsteisson looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Thornsteisson throws a punch but it's blocked by West.
West tries to pull guard but Thornsteisson forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
West tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Thornsteisson just stands there and leans against the cage.
Thornsteisson leaning against his opponent.
Thornsteisson prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Malcolm West. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A frustrated look appears on West's face as he tries to break the clinch.
West wants a takedown but no success here.
We've been informed that Thornsteisson 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.

Thornsteisson drags the fight down to the ground.
West working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
West loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Thornsteisson wants to get back to his feet but West is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
West postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
West really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
West throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Thornsteisson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Thornsteisson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

West has taken the fight to the clinch.

West pulls guard effortlessly.
West bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Thornsteisson's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
West throws a big elbow that misses.
West throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Thornsteisson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Thornsteisson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from West.
West throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thornsteisson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
West throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as West accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
West throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Thornsteisson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
West in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

West moves into the clinch.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
A frustrated look appears on West's face as he tries to break the clinch.
West wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

West pulls Thornsteisson into guard.
Thornsteisson trying to control the position from guard on top but West is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thornsteisson postures up.
West looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Thornsteisson trying to control but West is working from the bottom.
Thornsteisson preventing the sweep.
Thornsteisson won't allow West to get back to his feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thornsteisson tries to free his leg and advance position but West is retaining full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
West tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Despite the aggression on Thornsteisson's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Thornsteisson swats away the attempt to clinch by West.
Thornsteisson stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Thornsteisson wants it to stay on the feet.
West is looking to clinch.
Thornsteisson wants to counter the offense by West and move into the clinch position.

West drives through and clinches with Thornsteisson against the cage.
Thornsteisson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Thornsteisson wants a takedown.
Thornsteisson is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
West tries to throw a body punch but Thornsteisson avoids it by throwing West back against the cage.
West is looking to take this one to the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Malcolm West. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thornsteisson prevents West from breaking the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
West is looking for a takedown.

West is trying to trip Thornsteisson. He has hold of a leg but Thornsteisson is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. West persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
West postures up in Thornsteisson's guard and throws a big left but Thornsteisson blocks it.
West makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
West throwing strikes from guard but Thornsteisson blocks nicely.
Thornsteisson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
West has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
West with a flurry of punches that miss.
West throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as West accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
West darts in looking for a takedown but Thornsteisson gets double underhooks and turns West into the cage.
West tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Thornsteisson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
West fails with the takedown.
Thornsteisson changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
West is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thornsteisson can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Thornsteisson swivels and escapes.
West fails to land the takedown.
Thornsteisson closes the distance and clinches up with West, looking for a takedown. Thornsteisson pushes West against the cage but West circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
West looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Malcolm West seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
West tries to clinch up but Thornsteisson circles away and keeps his distance.
West is looking to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
West looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
West fails with a takedown attempt.
Malcolm West is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
West tries to clinch there but Thornsteisson circles away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
West tries to close the distance and clinch but Thornsteisson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

West rushes Thornsteisson and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
West gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Thornsteisson.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Malcolm West will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A head kick by Thornsteisson misses
and West counters with a two punch combo.
West tries to clinch up.
West shoots in but Thornsteisson avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Thornsteisson is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
West changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Thornsteisson tries to avoid it but West manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Thornsteisson to the ground. Thornsteisson escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
West tries to score a power double leg takedown but Thornsteisson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten West somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Malcolm West. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Excellent takedown into side control there by West.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thornsteisson is trying to get back to half guard.
Malcolm West overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
West scoring with punches and elbows.
West working the ground and pound from side control.
West is working Thornsteisson over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
West working the ground and pound.
Thornsteisson struggling a bit here.
West throws a strike aimed at the side of Thornsteisson's head but Thornsteisson avoids it well.
Thornsteisson is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, West asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
West scoring with punches and elbows.
The ground and pound from West seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
West throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
West creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thornsteisson wants to get back to his feet but West is dominant here and he's now got Thornsteisson's back!
West lands with a hammerfist to the side of Thornsteisson's head.
Thornsteisson grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
West throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
West throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Thornsteisson!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
West connects with a big shot to the side of Thornsteisson's head.
West missing with strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Malcolm West showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for West, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Josh West scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Malcolm West!