PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mike Richard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Christopher Norman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Richard
vs
Norman

185 cm
23
170 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

175 cm
22
171 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Great elbows
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, Mike Richard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Christopher Norman!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, John Kavanagh and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Richard moves out of range as Norman throws a body kick.
Richard looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Richard pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Norman goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Norman tries to clinch up but Richard circles away and keeps his distance.
Richard tries to work over Norman's front leg with a kick but Norman checks it.
Norman wants to clinch up but Richard keeps it at a distance.
Richard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mike Richard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Richard swats away the attempt to clinch by Norman.
Richard throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Richard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Norman doesn't manage to clinch there - Richard circles away.
Norman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Norman is looking to clinch.
Richard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Norman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richard paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Norman rushes Richard and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Richard wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Norman has him pressed against the cage.
Richard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Norman manages to break the clinch.
Richard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Richard throws a head kick but Norman moves out of range.
Norman moves in looking to clinch but Richard pushes him off.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Norman shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Richard but Richard pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Richard keeps the fight on the outside.
Norman blocks a head kick by Richard.
Norman is looking to clinch but Richard is avoiding it.
Richard tries a head kick but it misses.
Good work by Richard as he checks the leg kick.
Richard stuffs the takedown attempt from Norman. Norman gets slowly back to his feet.

Norman moves into range and clinches up with Richard.
Richard managing to block the knees to the body from Norman.
Norman lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Mike Richard has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Richard is trying to break the clinch but Norman has him pressed against the cage.

Norman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Richard keeps the fight on the outside.
Norman wants to clinch up but Richard keeps it at a distance.
Richard avoids the head kick by Norman.
Norman throws a jab but it's blocked by Richard.
The fight stays on the outside here - Norman looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Norman clinches.

Norman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Richard throws the kick towards the body but Norman avoids it.
Norman is looking to clinch but Richard is avoiding it.
Norman misses with a low kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Norman looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Norman pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Norman moves in looking to clinch but Richard pushes him off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norman fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Mike Richard has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Christopher Norman.
Norman doesn't manage to clinch there - Richard circles away.
Richard swats away the attempt to clinch by Norman.

Norman closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Norman landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Nice elbow from Norman.
Norman lands a nice knee to the body.
Richard takes an elbow to the forehead.
Richard avoiding damage as Norman throws knees to the body.
Norman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Norman missing with knees to the body.
Norman trying to land knees to the body.
Norman lands a damaging elbow.
Norman missing with knees to the body.
Norman keeps control of Richard as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Norman tries to land knees in the clinch but Richard avoids the damage to the body.
Norman landing some nice looking knees to the body.

Norman breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Norman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Norman moves in looking to clinch but Richard pushes him off.

Norman takes the fight into the clinch.
Norman trying to land knees to the body.
Richard managing to block the knees to the body from Norman.
Richard tries to break the clinch but Norman is controlling the position.

Norman breaks the clinch.

Norman closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Norman lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Norman prevents Richard from breaking the clinch.
Norman creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Richard's defenses.
Norman trying to land knees to the body.
Norman lands a damaging elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Christopher Norman dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mike Richard's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Richard throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Norman tries to clinch up but Richard circles away and keeps his distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Norman looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Norman tries to clinch up but Richard circles away and keeps his distance.
Norman misses with a few strikes there.
No luck for Norman with that takedown attempt.
Richard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Richard swats away the attempt to clinch by Norman.
Richard throws a sloppy head kick and Norman moves out of range easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Norman looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Norman doesn't manage to clinch there - Richard circles away.

Norman closes the distance and clinches.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Norman tries to land knees in the clinch but Richard avoids the damage to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richard on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Richard managing to block the knees to the body from Norman.
Richard on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Norman missing with knees to the body.
Richard avoiding damage as Norman throws knees to the body.
Richard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Richard takes an elbow to the temple.
Norman scores a nice knee to the body.
Norman landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Norman missing with knees to the body.
Norman lands a nice elbow.
Richard avoiding damage as Norman throws knees to the body.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Richard is trying to break the clinch but Norman has him pressed against the cage.

Norman breaks from the clinch.
Richard throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Richard fails to land with a series of punches.

Norman clinches.

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

Norman gets a clinch.
Richard is trying to break the clinch but Norman has him pressed against the cage.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Richard wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Norman has him pressed against the cage.
Norman using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Richard wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Richard tries to break the clinch but Norman is controlling the position.
Richard takes an elbow to the temple.
Norman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Norman tries to land knees in the clinch but Richard avoids the damage to the body.
Richard takes an elbow to the temple.
Norman trying to land knees to the body.
Norman trying to land knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Richard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Norman breaks from the clinch.
Norman on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Richard. Richard obviously looking to wear him down.
Richard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick misses from Richard.

Norman gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
The is referee keeping an eye on Norman - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Norman lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Richard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Norman lands an elbow inside that Richard shrugs off.
Richard avoiding damage as Norman throws knees to the body.
Richard is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Norman landing knees to the body.
Norman wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Richard has him pressed against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Richard managing to block the knees to the body from Norman.
Norman lands a nice elbow.
Richard is looking to break free of the clinch but Norman has double underhooks.
Richard throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Norman blocks it with crossed arms.
Norman unloads a knee to the mid-section. Richard lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Norman breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Norman doesn't manage to clinch there - Richard circles away.
Richard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Richard throws a sloppy head kick and Norman moves out of range easily.
Norman tries to clinch but Richard is having none of it.
Richard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Richard is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Norman.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Norman fails with an attempt to clinch.
Richard throws a nice looking combination but Norman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Norman throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Norman fails with an attempt to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Christopher Norman showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mike Richard's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Norman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Norman moves in looking to clinch but Richard pushes him off.
Richard looks for the body kick but Norman saw that one coming.
Norman is looking to clinch but Richard is avoiding it.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch but Richard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Horrible takedown by Richard or perhaps it was just good defense by Norman which made him look bad.
Richard throws a head kick that misses

and Norman moves into the clinch.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Norman tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Norman lands an elbow just above Richard 's eye.
Norman lands a nice elbow.
Richard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Norman lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Norman manages to break the clinch.
Norman misses with a body kick.
Richard misses with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Norman is looking to clinch but Richard is avoiding it.
Richard throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Norman is looking to clinch but Richard is avoiding it.
Richard pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Richard swats away the attempt to clinch by Norman.
Norman tries to clinch but Richard is having none of it.
Norman wants to clinch up but Richard keeps it at a distance.
Richard throws a head kick that misses.
Norman doesn't manage to clinch there - Richard circles away.

Norman has closed the distance and engaged Richard in a clinch.
Norman tries to land a knee to the head but Richard blocks with his arms.
Richard on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Norman breaks from the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Norman looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Richard swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Richard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Norman tries to clinch there but Richard circles away.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Richard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Norman keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Richard tries a head kick but it misses.
Richard swats away the attempt to clinch by Norman.

Norman clinches with his opponent.
Norman trying to control the position but instead, Richard has worked for underhooks and has pushed Norman into the cage.
Norman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Richard is trying to break free.
Richard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Richard manages to break the clinch.
Norman is looking to clinch.

Richard darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Norman is trying to stand up here but Richard is controlling him well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Richard postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Norman to stand up.
Mike Richard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Richard tries a head kick but it misses.
Norman tries to clinch up but Richard circles away and keeps his distance.
Norman tries for a takedown but Richard sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch but Richard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Norman tries to clinch up but Richard circles away and keeps his distance.
Norman fails with an attempt to clinch.
Norman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Richard throws a head kick that misses
and Norman counters with a low kick, right behind Richard 's knee.
Norman throws a push kick but Richard slaps the foot to one side.
Richard tries a head kick but it misses.
Richard swats away the attempt to clinch by Norman.

Norman rushes Richard and presses him up against the cage.
Christopher Norman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Richard wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Norman has him pressed against the cage.
Richard throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Norman blocks it with crossed arms.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Norman missing with knees to the body.
Norman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Richard.
Richard with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Richard looking to throw knees to the head but Norman is blocking nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Christopher Norman.
I've got Norman winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 27:30
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Christopher Norman!