PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Andr De Fran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eliah Marshal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Fran comes to the cage accompanied by No Worries. Marshal has chosen "Straight Outta Compton" by NWA as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

De Fran
vs
Marshal

172 cm
31
158 lbs
24 - 12 - 2

179 cm
32
155 lbs
31 - 14 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Dead Orbit (Laundry out of stock)

Spartan Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 12 - 2, fighting out of New York, Andr De Fran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 31 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Eliah Marshal!
The judges for this bout are Chris Saunders, Ryoma Takatsuka and Paul Gruel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marshal throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
A shot to the liver by De Fran. Beautiful body shot.
De Fran fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Marshal checks it well.
Marshal fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt De Fran.
Marshal misses with a wild body shot.
De Fran lands a right hook to the body.
De Fran pulls out of a head kick attempt.
We've been informed that Marshal 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.
De Fran walks into a jab.
De Fran keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
De Fran catches Marshal with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Marshal throws a sloppy head kick and De Fran moves out of range easily.
Marshal buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Marshal misses with a hook.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
De Fran throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
De Fran misses with a few strikes there.
De Fran looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
De Fran just misses with a punch to the body.
De Fran fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Marshal manages to avoid it.
De Fran scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Fran misses with a lunging right hand
and Marshal counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Marshal stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from De Fran.
De Fran scoring well with a low kick there.
Marshal takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Marshal tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. De Fran manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Marshal tries a head kick but it misses.
De Fran chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Marshal tries to clinch
and Marshal takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Marshal goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
De Fran circles away from the clinch attempt.

Marshal gets tackled into the cage by De Fran. De Fran maintains the clinch.
Marshal has a couple of punches blocked by De Fran.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marshal.
Marshal lands a hook that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Marshal working some nice short punches in the clinch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Marshal.

It looks like Andr De Fran has been cut.
De Fran creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Marshal's defenses.

It looks like Eliah Marshal has been cut.
Nice body punch from De Fran - that landed with a thud.
Good body shot from De Fran.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marshal takes an elbow to the forehead.
Marshal makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
De Fran landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Marshal cracks De Fran with a nice body shot.
Still in the clinch, Marshal scores with a nice short uppercut.
Marshal misses with the head strike.
Marshal throws an elbow but it misses.
De Fran lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
De Fran lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
De Fran blocks the elbow strike.
Marshal goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Marshal misses with a punch on the inside.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Marshal.
Marshal digs a right hand into De Fran's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on De Fran's gas tank.
Marshal tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Marshal tries to throw a body punch but De Fran avoids it by throwing Marshal back against the cage.
Marshal takes a shot to the head.
Marshal working aggressively here.
Marshal throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
De Fran tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Fran lands with a short shot to the head.
De Fran tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Marshal avoids it.
De Fran connects with a knee to the head.
De Fran softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
De Fran dodges an elbow strike from Marshal.
Marshal tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
De Fran scores a nice knee to the body.
Marshal dodges an elbow strike from De Fran.
De Fran doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Marshal lands a nice uppercut.
Marshal misses with an elbow over the top.
A short right from De Fran on the inside.
De Fran blocking some punches.
Marshal lands an elbow inside.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Marshal working some nice short punches in the clinch.
De Fran is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Marshal is defending well for now.
De Fran swings wildly with an uppercut but Marshal uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice body punch from De Fran - that landed with a thud.
De Fran tries to work over Marshal's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Fran working aggressively here.
De Fran landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Marshal tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
De Fran avoiding damage.
De Fran creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Marshal's defenses.
De Fran misses with a hook to the ribs.
De Fran blocks an elbow strike from Marshal.
De Fran takes a shot to the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Marshal.
Marshal lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A nice left hand lands by Marshal.
De Fran throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Marshals head.
De Fran lands an elbow that stopped Marshal in his tracks for a moment.
Marshal lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marshal managing to block the knees to the body from De Fran.
Marshal unloads a knee to the mid-section. De Fran lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
De Fran avoiding damage as Marshal throws knees to the body.
A body shot lands from De Fran.
Marshal misses with the head strike.
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 Andr De Fran will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

De Fran slips a jab from Marshal.
Marshal defending well as De Fran loads up on a big left hand.
De Fran fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Marshal looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
De Fran staying out of range there.
Marshal cracks De Fran with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Marshal misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
De Fran wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
De Fran throws a leg kick that is checked
and Marshal connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Good work by De Fran as he checks the leg kick.
Marshal pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
De Fran missing with a left hand there. Marshal was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Marshal lands with an uppercut that bounces De Fran off the cage and back into range.
Marshal chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A jab lands there for De Fran.
Marshal thows a left - swing and a miss!
De Fran appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Marshal. De Fran does a little dance to reset his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De Fran ducks under a wild hook from Marshal.
A head kick by Marshal misses
and De Fran counters with an inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Fran throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
A big right from De Fran misses.
Andr De Fran is winning the standup battle so far.
De Fran throws a sloppy head kick and Marshal moves out of range easily.
De Fran fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
De Fran throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
De Fran lands a jab to the head.
Marshal misses with a body kick.
De Fran feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Marshals jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
De Fran walks into a stiff left hand from Marshal.
De Fran throws the kick towards the body but Marshal avoids it.
Marshal takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Marshal connects with a nice looking jab.
Marshal tries to clinch up.
Marshal checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
It seemed like Marshal was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
A head kick misses from Marshal.
A looping hook to the body misses from De Fran. Marshal does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Marshal throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
De Fran avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
De Fran appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Marshal is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by De Fran.
Good standup being displayed there by De Fran as he connects with a hook.
A chopping leg kick lands by Marshal.
A nice leg kick lands there from De Fran.
Marshal closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
De Fran stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Marshal.
De Fran throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
De Fran misses with a wild body shot.
Marshal wants to counter the offense by De Fran and move into the clinch position.
Marshal scores with a kick to the midsection.
De Fran throws a leg kick but Marshal sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Marshal fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Marshal ducks down and throws a hook to the body but De Fran moves away.
De Fran jabs Marshal right on the nose. Marshal blinks but takes it well.
De Fran swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Fran slips a jab from Marshal.
De Fran throws a head kick but Marshal moves out of range.
Marshal attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
A swing and a miss from De Fran.
Marshal looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Marshal tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but De Fran was well out of range. Poor timing from Marshal.
Marshal lands with a thumping leg kick.
Marshal throws out a loose jab but De Fran uses good head movement to avoid it.
Marshal throws a hook to the side of De Fran's head but De Fran sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Marshal tries to clinch there but De Fran circles away.
Marshal throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Nice shot by De Fran.
Marshal throws a shot from downtown. De Fran moves away and avoids it.
Nice jab there from De Fran.
Marshal throws a right and a left that both miss.
Marshal loads up on a big right hand but De Fran slips the punch.
Good exchange - De Fran coming out on top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The crowd cheers as Marshal lands an impressive looking overhand right. De Fran doesn't seem phased though.
Marshal steps to the side to avoid the strikes from De Fran.
Marshal uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De Fran.
De Fran looks to land a left hand but Marshal moved out of range nicely.
Marshal wants to counter the offense by De Fran and move into the clinch position.
De Fran throws a wild body kick that Marshal sees coming a mile off.
De Fran checks a leg kick.
Marshal throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
De Fran misses with a body kick.
De Fran throws the left hand but Marshal avoids the punch easily.
Marshal looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A slapping leg kick lands for De Fran.
Marshal ducks under a wild hook from De Fran.

Marshal gets in close and instigates a clinch.
De Fran has a couple of punches blocked by Marshal.
De Fran pushes Marshal back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
De Fran avoiding damage as Marshal throws knees to the body.
De Fran trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marshal tries to work over De Fran's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
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 Andr De Fran will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

De Fran moves to clinch but Marshal breaks away
and Marshal counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
De Fran throws a sloppy head kick and Marshal moves out of range easily.
Marshal is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
Marshal slips a straight right by De Fran.
De Fran throws a hook but Marshal blocks it.
De Fran throws a body shot but no joy.
Marshal lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Marshal forces De Fran back against the cage and clinches.
De Fran blocking some punches.
Marshal throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Marshal working aggressively here.
Marshal comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Fran lands with a light punch inside.
De Fran is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
De Fran putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Marshal in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Marshal scores with a shoulder strike.
De Fran misses with the head strike.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Fran lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Marshal or not.
De Fran lands an elbow that stopped Marshal in his tracks for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Fran avoids the elbow strike from Marshal, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from De Fran.
De Fran gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
De Fran tries to land a knee to the head but Marshal blocks with his arms.
De Fran lands a damaging elbow.
Good body shot from De Fran.
Marshal takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Marshal misses with an elbow over the top.
De Fran lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Marshal backwards.
Marshal's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
De Fran tries to land knees in the clinch but Marshal avoids the damage to the body.
Marshal blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Marshal blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
De Fran lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
A short uppercut from De Fran.
A right hand to the body from De Fran.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marshal lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De Fran lands a shoulder strike.
Marshal scores with a shoulder strike.
De Fran lands a nice knee to the body.
Marshal fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
De Fran is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Marshal is defending well for now.
Marshal looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
De Fran doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for De Fran.
De Fran crunches a lovely knee into Marshal's ribcage.
Marshal lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Marshal misses with a short punch on the inside.
De Fran avoiding damage as Marshal throws knees to the body.
De Fran tries a body shot but Marshal blocks it.
De Fran on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Marshal avoids a wild elbow strike from De Fran.

Marshal breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Marshal checks the leg kick nicely there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marshal throws a jab when De Fran was well out of range.
Marshal is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by De Fran.
De Fran misses with an attempted mid kick.
Marshal swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Marshal moves out of range as De Fran throws a body kick.
De Fran takes one to the side of the head.
De Fran misses with a hook
and Marshal counters with an outside leg kick.
De Fran throws a quick inside leg kick.
De Fran looks to land a body kick but Marshal moved away.

Marshal closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
De Fran looks to throw an elbow but misses.
De Fran swings away with an uppercut that misses.
De Fran lands with a light punch inside.
Marshal landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Marshal lands with a left to the head.
De Fran can't find room to land a body shot as Marshal controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marshal lands an elbow that stopped De Fran in his tracks for a moment.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Marshal lands an uppercut.
Marshal stalling in the clinch but De Fran improves position.
Marshal on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A head punch on the inside from De Fran fails to land.
De Fran lands with a short shot to the head.
Marshal pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Marshal.
Marshal lands a nice elbow.
De Fran lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
De Fran swings wildly with an uppercut but Marshal uses good head movement to avoid it.
De Fran is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Marshal is defending well for now.
De Fran lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Marshal backwards.
Marshal lands with a left to the head.
Andr De Fran has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Marshal.
De Fran dodges an elbow strike from Marshal.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De Fran is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Marshal is keeping busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Andr De Fran did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Marshal throws a push kick but De Fran slaps the foot to one side.
Marshal moves away from the strike by De Fran.
Marshal tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
De Fran was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

Marshal closes the distance and clinches.
De Fran tries to land knees in the clinch but Marshal avoids the damage to the body.
De Fran trying to control the position but instead, Marshal has worked for underhooks and has pushed De Fran into the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Marshal.
Stalling in the clinch from De Fran.
De Fran tries to throw a body punch but Marshal avoids it by throwing De Fran back against the cage.
Marshal lands a hook that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Fran is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Marshal is defending well for now.
De Fran leaning against his opponent.
Marshal lands with a light punch inside.
The referee calls for De Fran to work.
Marshal fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Fran can't find room to land a body shot as Marshal controls the action.
Marshal working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Marshal lands a left hand.
Marshal lands with a short punch from the clinch.
De Fran tries to work over Marshal's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
De Fran is looking to control Marshal's arms but Marshal gets an underhook and turns him. Now De Fran has his back to the cage.
Marshal throws an elbow that misses.
Marshal swings away with an uppercut that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marshal.
Marshal lands a knee to the body.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Marshal lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Marshal scores with a shot to the side of De Fran's head.
De Fran tries to land knees in the clinch but Marshal avoids the damage to the body.
Marshal throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Marshal lands with a short shot to the head.
Marshal tries to throw a body punch but De Fran avoids it by throwing Marshal back against the cage.
Marshal looks to throw an elbow but misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for De Fran.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
De Fran throws a punch but it's blocked by Marshal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from De Fran.
De Fran tries to land knees in the clinch but Marshal avoids the damage to the body.
Marshal working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
De Fran is trying to stall.
Still in the clinch, Marshal scores with a nice short uppercut.
De Fran throws a head punch that misses.
De Fran tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Marshal on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Marshal lands an elbow inside that De Fran shrugs off.
De Fran's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Marshal lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
Marshal works on De Fran's body with a couple of short punches.
Marshal lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
De Fran stalling in the clinch but Marshal improves position.
A shot in the inside from Marshal.
A short body shot lands from De Fran as the two fighters clinch.
Marshal lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marshal lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
Marshal misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from De Fran.
De Fran lands an elbow that stopped Marshal in his tracks for a moment.
A short right from De Fran on the inside.
De Fran lands a body punch.
Marshal on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Marshal blocks the elbow strike.
Marshal misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from De Fran.
Marshal working hard to break the clinch.
Marshal lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
Marshal throws an elbow but it misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Marshal.
De Fran throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
De Fran scores a nice knee to the body.
Marshal looking to throw knees to the head but De Fran is blocking nicely.
Marshal lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
De Fran lands an elbow that stopped Marshal in his tracks for a moment.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Marshal throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marshal putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has De Fran in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Marshal is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Nice body punch from Marshal.
De Fran goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Marshal softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Marshal scores with a shoulder strike.
A head punch on the inside from De Fran fails to land.
De Fran tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Marshal's elbow.
De Fran avoiding damage as Marshal throws knees to the body.

Marshal's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
De Fran moves out of range of the body kick from Marshal.
De Fran misses with a body kick.
De Fran throws a leg kick that misses.
De Fran slips under a jab from Marshal.
A lazy left from Marshal finds it's target.
Marshal has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Marshal there as he acknowledges the shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eliah Marshal dominated that fourth round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

De Fran avoids a kick to the body.
De Fran moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
De Fran slips a straight right by Marshal.
De Fran motions for Marshal to come forward. De Fran throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Marshal tries a quick counter leg kick but De Fran is wise to it.

De Fran has taken the fight to the clinch.
Marshal lands a hook to the side of the head.
De Fran makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
De Fran's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A nice glancing elbow lands by Marshal.
De Fran struggles to land a body shot inside as Marshal controls his hands.
De Fran has a couple of punches blocked by Marshal.
De Fran tries to work over Marshal's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marshal throws a head punch that misses.
Marshal throws a punch but it's blocked by De Fran.
De Fran scores with a shoulder strike.
De Fran tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Marshal's elbow.
Marshal lands with a short shot to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De Fran throws a head punch that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Fran lands a body shot.
Nice elbow from Marshal.
De Fran throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Marshal blocks it with crossed arms.
De Fran misses with an elbow over the top.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marshal.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Marshal.
Marshal controlling the action here for a moment.
A short right hand to the side of the head by De Fran.
De Fran lands an uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by De Fran.
De Fran blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
De Fran stalling in the clinch but Marshal improves position.
De Fran makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Marshal's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Marshal clinches up with De Fran and pushes him back against the cage.
De Fran avoiding damage as Marshal throws knees to the body.
Eliah Marshal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marshal takes an elbow to the temple.
De Fran creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Marshal's defenses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Marshal throws a punch but it's blocked by De Fran.
Marshal with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
De Fran misses with an elbow over the top.
Marshal stalling in the clinch but De Fran improves position.
Marshal throws a head punch that misses.
Marshal takes an elbow to the forehead.
De Fran blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
De Fran trying to land knees to the body.
De Fran lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Marshal backwards.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for De Fran.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Marshal.
De Fran is trying to maintain a safe position but Marshal gets an underhook and turns De Fran into the cage.
De Fran trying to land knees to the body.
De Fran tries to throw a body punch but Marshal avoids it by throwing De Fran back against the cage.
Marshal looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Marshal is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but De Fran is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Fran softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
De Fran misses with the head strike.
A short left from De Fran.
Marshal comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Marshal with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
De Fran throws an elbow that misses.
De Fran struggles to land a body shot inside as Marshal controls his hands.
Marshal lands a hook that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
Marshal throws an elbow that misses.
De Fran lands a nice uppercut.
Marshal scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Marshal lands a left hand.
Marshal avoiding damage as De Fran throws knees to the body.
De Fran lands a nice knee to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Fran using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Marshal has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Marshal lands a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Fran misses with the head strike.
Marshal using the Thai plumb to throw knees but De Fran has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
De Fran is trying to maintain a safe position but Marshal gets an underhook and turns De Fran into the cage.
De Fran misses with a hook to the ribs.
Marshal softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Marshal unloads a knee to the mid-section. De Fran lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
De Fran misses with some punches.
Marshal lands an elbow inside that De Fran shrugs off.
Marshal lands an elbow inside that De Fran shrugs off.
De Fran misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Marshal.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Marshal just misses with a elbow thrown towards De Fran's brow.
Marshal landing knees to the head.
De Fran takes a knee right on the jaw!
Marshal misses with a hook from the clinch.
Marshal lands an uppercut.

De Fran is rocked!
Marshal misses with a hook from the clinch.
De Fran lands a right hand.
De Fran misses with the head strike.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marshal lands a hook to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Eliah Marshal.
I think De Fran has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 48:48
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 49:46
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Andr De Fran!
A relieved looking Andr De Fran thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.