PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Darius Gold (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gap Turner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Gold
vs
Turner

182 cm
19
160 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

177 cm
20
166 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Big right hand

Good wrestler
Good kicks
Solid chin

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Darius Gold!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Gap Turner!
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, John Kavanagh and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Gold.
Gold is looking to land body kicks.
Turner has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Gold blocks the body kick.
Turner fails with the takedown.

Turner shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Gold controlling the position well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Turner winds up and cracks Gold with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gold is holding on to half guard well.
Gold's coaches at Montreal Elite Gym have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.

Turner is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Gold has managed to free his arm - good work.
Gold on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Gold tries to get out of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Turner sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gold defending well though.
Turner thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Gold trying to control but Turner postures up.
Gold has hold of Turner's hands but Turner slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Turner is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Turner lands with a punch from half guard.

Turner is looking for a kimura here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Turner is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Turner throwing shots but Gold is blocking nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gold wants to get back to full guard.
Turner is looking to advance position but Gold won't allow it.
Turner working Gold over with strikes.

Turner is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Gold is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Turner scores with a couple of nice shots.
Gold knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Turner on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Turner is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Gold doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Turner.
Gold blocking the ground and pound attempt from Turner.
Gold keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Turner thows a huge punch but Gold dodges it nicely.
Turner not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Turner slows the pace down in half guard.
Turner prevents Gold from improving his position.
Turner has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's four 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.

Turner is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Turner sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gold defending well though.
Turner missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Gold tries to roll over but Turner keeps him under control.
Gold is doing well to control the position and prevent Turner from advancing to side control.
Turner sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gold defending well though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Turner is looking to advance position but Gold won't allow it.
Turner thows a huge punch but Gold dodges it nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gap Turner dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Turner throws a nice outside leg kick.

Turner shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Gold's guard.
Turner throwing strikes from guard but Gold blocks nicely.
Gold utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Turner 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.
Gap Turner has got the better of the ground game so far.
Turner is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Turner preventing the sweep.
Gold controlling Turner's posture.
Turner scoring with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Turner is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Gold manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Turner manages to get himself to full guard.

Turner wants to sweep but no luck.
Gold trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Gold stopping the sweep attempt from Turner.
Turner bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Gold's guard.

Turner throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Turner distracts Gold with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Turner content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Turner being controlled here momentarily.
Turner trying to control the position from guard on top but Gold is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gold keeping full guard, as Turner tries to pass.
Gold pulls Turner in close to prevent any damage.
Gold is trying to control the position but Turner postures up.
Gold avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Turner scoring with punches to the head and body.
Gold wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Gold working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Turner.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Turner is looking to work some ground and pound but Gold has wrist control.
Turner makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Gold looking to hit a scissor sweep but Turner is one step ahead there.
Turner throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gold works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Turner postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Turner trying to control the position from guard on top but Gold is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Turner postures up in Gold's guard and throws a big left but Gold blocks it.
Turner tries to free his leg and advance position but Gold is retaining full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Turner fakes the leg kick and cracks Gold in the body.
Gold moves out of range of the body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Turner goes for a double leg but Gold avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Gold continues to drive forward.
Turner throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Gold on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Turner wants to land a leg kick but Gold is out of range.
Gold pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Turner misses with a wild combination.
Turner fails with a takedown attempt.
Gold jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gold gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Turner.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gap Turner showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Turner fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gap Turner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Turner fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Gold jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
Gold throws a half hearted mid kick.
Turner tried to score with a low kick but Gold checks it.
Gold throws a quick counter kick to the body but Turner avoids it.

Turner manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Gold on his heels. He'll look to pass Gold's guard now, I'm sure.
Gold utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Turner wants to control from the top but Gold keeps moving.
Turner has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Turner is working Gold over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Turner drops back, looking for a kneebar! Gold looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Gold looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Gold!

Turner is trying to escape the position but Gold is controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Turner striking from the bottom but nothing landed.
Gold tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
You can see the frustration on Turner's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Turner tries to bench press Gold off him but Gold keeps the position.
Turner is trying to escape the position but Gold is controlling the position.
Darius Gold has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.
Turner is looking for a sweep.
Well,Gold is on his way to losing a decision here. Can he use his experience to pull something off in the closing minutes?
Gold trying to control the position but Turner is working away.
Turner tries to strike from the bottom but misses.
Turner tries to buck Gold off but Gold is having none of it.
Turner is still trying to improve position.
Turner throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Turner shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Gold but Gold pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Darius Gold has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gap Turner.
Turner throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Turner lands with an overhand left.
Gold on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Turner. Turner obviously looking to wear him down.
Gold goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Gold turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Gold doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Gold just misses with a punch to the body.
A solid body kick from Gold.
Turner scoring well with a low kick there.
Gold jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Gold misses with a body kick.
Turner throws a counter combo.
Turner throws a head kick but Gold moves out of range.
Good work by Turner as he checks the leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick lands from Turner.
Gold connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Gold takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A good leg kick by Turner.
Darius Gold is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gold throws a push kick but Turner slaps the foot to one side.
Turner shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gold as he jumps to the side.
Gold throws a looping overhand right but Turner ducks down to avoid it.
Gold pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Turner fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gold avoids it really well and circles away.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Darius Gold.
Well Turner 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 Reed Andrews scores the fight for Gap Turner!
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight for Gap Turner!
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight for Gap Turner!

Gap Turner wins by unanimous decision!