PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rob Kelly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Scott Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rob Kelly has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kelly
vs
Hardy

180 cm
20
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

174 cm
18
160 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Rob Kelly!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Scott Hardy!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, James Ackerman and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kelly fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Kelly wants to clinch.

Hardy gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kelly wants to get up but he can't break Hardy's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Kelly controls from within his opponent's guard.

Kelly stands up and waves to Hardy to follow him.
Kelly has a takedown stuffed.

Kelly decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kelly is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Hardy is looking to control Kelly's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hardy avoid being mounted?

Kelly is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Kelly is breathing heavily.
Hardy pushes Kelly off looking to stand but Kelly dives back in and keeps control.
Hardy trying to control from the bottom.
Hardy controlling the position for now.
Kelly thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Hardy throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Kelly's waist but Kelly gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hardy off to one side.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kelly moves away from the strike by Hardy.
Kelly tries to clinch up but Hardy circles away and keeps his distance.

Hardy moves into range and clinches up with Kelly.
Hardy blocks an elbow strike from Kelly.

Kelly pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kelly swinging wilding here.
A head kick misses from Hardy.
Hardy chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Kelly keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hardy.

Hardy gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Kelly wants to control from the top but Hardy keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kelly lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Kelly postures up in Hardy's guard and throws a big left but Hardy blocks it.
Hardy wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Hardy is trying to keep Kelly in close.
Kelly pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hardy is keeping the position for now.
Kelly is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Hardy working a defensive guard here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Kelly tries to clinch but Hardy moves away
and Hardy counters with a big head kick but Kelly shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hardy swats away the attempt to clinch by Kelly.

Kelly shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Kelly was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Kelly looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Hardy tries to lock up and control but Kelly gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Hardy is just holding on here. Kelly manages to take his back.
Hardy is covering up but some of the strikes from Kelly are getting through and doing damage.
Hardy tries to break free.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Kelly shoots in but no luck this time.
Kelly keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hardy.
Kelly tries to clinch up but Hardy circles away and keeps his distance.
Hardy shoots and misses

and Kelly counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Kelly wants to control from the top but Hardy keeps moving.
Kelly postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Hardy working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Kelly doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Kelly manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Kelly wants to stand but Hardy has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy controls Kelly momentarily but Kelly frees himself.
Hardy tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hardy working a defensive guard here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Kelly misses with a takedown attempt
and Hardy counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Kelly is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Kelly takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Kelly wants to clinch.
Hardy will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

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.
Hardy avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kelly doesn't manage to clinch there - Hardy circles away.

Hardy closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Kelly tries to kick Hardy off but Hardy keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Hardy is stalling here. Kelly is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Hardy seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Kelly has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Kelly is chipping away with strikes.

Kelly is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hardy knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
You can see the frustration on Hardy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Kelly easily slips into full mount!
Kelly takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kelly with shots to the head and body - Hardy looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kelly takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Rob Kelly overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hardy is desperately trying to improve his position but Kelly has a good base and remains in mount.
Hardy is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Hardy wants to control but Kelly is having none of it.
Hardy tries to reverse the position but Kelly maintains control.

Kelly is working for a guillotine from mount but Hardy frees his head quite easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hardy is trying to escape the mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rob Kelly dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Hardy throws a hook to the side of Kelly's head but Kelly sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hardy misses with a takedown attempt

and Kelly counters with a takedown into side control.

Kelly stands up.
Kelly throws a head kick that half lands.
Kelly shoots for a takedown but Hardy saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Kelly moves out of range as Hardy throws a body kick.
Kelly tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Kelly closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Hardy using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Kelly has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Kelly breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kelly tries to clinch there but Hardy circles away.

Kelly bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Kelly is looking to take a break and control but Hardy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Hardy throws a couple of elbows from the bottom.

Kelly decides to stand back up.
Kelly takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Hardy gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Kelly counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Hardy looking to control.
Hardy wants to hit a switch here but Kelly passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Hardy there!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kelly landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kelly avoids the attempt from Hardy to control.

Kelly with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Kelly content just to control the position here.
Kelly wants to control the pace but Hardy is squirming around nicely.
Hardy is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy tries to hold on but Kelly pushes him away.
Hardy slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Kelly controlling the action here.
Kelly missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kelly is thwarting Hardy's attempts to control the position.
Kelly takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Hardy trying to control here.
Hardy gets back to full guard.
Kelly controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Hardy trying to control the position here.
Kelly postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rob Kelly showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kelly, 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rob Kelly!