PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mr Red (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Herzog (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Red might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Method Man and Redman - Da Rockwilder. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Red
vs
Herzog

180 cm
39
265 lbs
30 - 19 - 0

175 cm
45
158 lbs
40 - 27 - 3

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Spartan Nutrition
GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 30 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mr Red!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 40 - 27 - 3, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Chris Herzog!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Fedor Mirinova and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Herzog throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Red's head.
Red throws a looping overhand right but Herzog ducks down to avoid it.
Red swings for the body but Herzog moves out of range.
Red uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Herzog has time to react.
Herzog fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Red checks it well.
Red throws a big shot that misses.
Herzog paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Herzog shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Red manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Red has his hands on Herzog's head, controlling the position.
Red is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Herzog being controlled here momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Red keeping moving, preventing Herzog from controlling successfully.
Red working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Herzog.
Red wants to sweep here but Herzog controlling him for the moment.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Red has his foot on Herzog's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Herzog works his way back into a safe position though.
Red seems keen to control Herzog's posture.
Herzog sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Red working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Herzog doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Herzog manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Red keeping moving, preventing Herzog from controlling successfully.
Herzog postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Herzog wants to control from the top but Red keeps moving.
Red is adopting a defensive guard.
Herzog throwing strikes but missing.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Herzog jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Red shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Red wants to control from the top but Herzog keeps moving.
Red trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Herzog can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Red controls the pace.
Red wants to control from the top but Herzog keeps moving.
Herzog looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Red is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Red postures up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Herzog connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Herzog walks into a left hand.
Red tries for a takedown but Herzog sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Red closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Herzog's guard.
Red sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Herzog's guard.
Red is stalling here. Herzog is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Red seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Herzog has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Mr Red will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Herzog throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Herzog connects with a solid leg kick.
Red shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Herzog sprawls well. Herzog wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Red gets slowly back to his feet.
Red closes this distance looking for a takedown but Herzog circles away.
Red shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
enabling Herzog to counter with a crisp jab.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mr Red. 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.
Horrible takedown attempt by Red or perhaps it was just good defense by Herzog, which made it look bad.
And Herzog tries to counter it with a takedown but Red pushes his down on his head and steps out.

Red bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Herzog is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.
Red trying to control the action but Herzog is working from the bottom.
Red moves into full mount!
Red controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Red wants to control the pace but Herzog is squirming around nicely.
Red tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Red's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Red is looking to take Herzog's back but instead Herzog gets back to half guard. Nice work.
Mr Red overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Red stalling.
Further stalling from Red.

That's four 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.

Red wants to work for an arm triangle but Herzog is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Red works his foot free and advances to mount.
Red takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Herzog slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Herzog is looking to improve his position.
Red wants to take a breather but Herzog is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mr Red dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Red shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Herzog as he jumps to the side.
Herzog scores with a slapping inside leg kick.

Red closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Red lands in his opponent's guard.
Red trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Red controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Herzog working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Red engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Herzog is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Red is aware though and is defending well.
Red wants to pass the guard but Herzog is keeping the position.
Red passes into half guard.
Red is pressing down on Herzog's thigh, looking to free his foot. Herzog is holding on for now.
Chris Herzog has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
The fighters are battling for position here. Herzog manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Red pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Herzog is keeping the position for now.
Red is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Herzog can do to turn this around?
Red sitting in guard here, content to control.
Red advances to half guard.
Herzog wants to control the action here but instead Red manages to pass to full mount!
Red looking to control but Herzog is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Red prevents Herzog from getting the reversal.
Mr Red is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Red goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Herzog is on top in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Herzog trying to control but Red is working from the bottom.
Red seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Herzog stands and throws Red's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Red wants to control but Herzog postures up.
Herzog throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's four 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.
Red prevents Herzog from moving into mount.
Herzog looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Red is avoiding damage well.
Herzog lands a decent elbow from side control.

Herzog tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Herzog has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Red manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Herzog missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Red slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Red looking for a sweep. Not yet Red, not yet.
Herzog loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Herzog with a flurry of punches that miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mr Red showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Red, 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mr Red!
Mr Red was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.