PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between George North (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Johnny Whiteside (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). North's entrance music is Vince Staples- Norf Norf. A fine choice. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

North
vs
Whiteside

180 cm
26
135 lbs
4 - 4 - 1

160 cm
26
148 lbs
9 - 10 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

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 4 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, George North!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Johnny Whiteside!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Tarja Halkonen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
North lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Whiteside throws an off balance right hand
and North counters with a two punch combo.
North looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Whiteside tries to keep at a distance but North has taken the fight into the clinch.

Whiteside has picked North up - he's going for a ride! Whiteside dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
North tries to kick Whiteside off but Whiteside keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Whiteside trying to pass the guard but North defending well.
Whiteside looks to land a strike but North avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
North keeping moving, preventing Whiteside from controlling successfully.
Whiteside trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
North keeping moving, preventing Whiteside from controlling successfully.
Whiteside pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. North is keeping the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
North utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Whiteside trying to control but North is working from the bottom.
Whiteside slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Whiteside lands with a right hand.
North shoots in and drives through. Whiteside sprawls well.
And Whiteside tries to counter it with a takedown but North pushes his down on his head and steps out.

North clinches with his opponent.
North is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
North is pressed up against the cage. Whiteside has hold of a leg and is looking to drag North down to the mat. North avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whiteside works North's body with a nice hook.
Whiteside looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? North is fending him off so far but Whiteside persists. Nope, North circles away and we're back to standing.
North appears to be looking for a big counter.
Whiteside misses with a takedown attempt - North sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
George North has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Johnny Whiteside.

Whiteside clinches up against the cage.
A short left from North.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Knees to the body from North.
Whiteside tries to break the clinch but North is controlling the position.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whiteside looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

North gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
North is defending well against a takedown attempt.
North lands with a short punch from the clinch.

Whiteside lands a takedown into guard.
North 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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Whiteside accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
North keeping full guard, as Whiteside tries to pass.
Whiteside trying to control but North is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
North preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Whiteside prevents North from getting back to his feet.
Whiteside loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Whiteside won't allow North to get back to his feet.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A head kick from North lands but Whiteside takes it in his stride.
Whiteside misses with a looping left.
Whiteside shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. North defends it nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George North dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Whiteside misses with a takedown attempt - North sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Whiteside looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
As Whiteside looks to move away, North throws a big counter combo but Whiteside just gets out of the way.
The fight stays on the outside here - North looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A nice side step and Whiteside releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Whiteside takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Whiteside throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
North steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Whiteside.
North is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Whiteside can do to turn this around?

Whiteside drives through with a takedown into guard.
North keeping moving, preventing Whiteside from controlling successfully.
Whiteside is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whiteside wants to control from the top but North keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whiteside missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
North will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
North looking for a sweep. Not yet North, not yet.
Whiteside wants to control from the top but North keeps moving.
Whiteside throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Whiteside loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
North keeping moving, preventing Whiteside from controlling successfully.
Whiteside showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
North uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Whiteside.
Whiteside just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromNorth.
Whiteside looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
North tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
North avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

North rushes Whiteside and presses him up against the cage.
Whiteside wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Whiteside is looking for a takedown up against the cage. North gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
George North has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Johnny Whiteside.
North scores with an uppercut up the middle.
North lands a shoulder strike.
North lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A knee to the head by North.

North manages to break the clinch.
Whiteside looks to score with a jab to the body but North is just out of range.
Whiteside throws a body punch but North moves out of range.
Whiteside takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Johnny Whiteside seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice sprawl there from North as Whiteside shoots in.
Whiteside is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
North moves in looking to clinch but Whiteside pushes him off.

Whiteside takes the fight into the clinch.
Whiteside is looking to take this one to the mat.
North lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Nice elbow from North.
North working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
North is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Whiteside is defending well for now.
A short right hand to the side of the head by North.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
North just leaning against Whiteside, taking a breather.
Whiteside looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
North lands with a short head shot on the inside.

North breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

North closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
North lands a left hand.
George North has scored more points in the clinch so far.
North drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Whiteside gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Whiteside is trying to force a seperation but North has the dominant position.
Whiteside drops down looking for an ankle pick but North pulls his leg out and moves away.
North lands a high kick!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George North dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

North avoids the body shot from Whiteside.
North throws a counter high kick but Whiteside was just alert enough to avoid it.
Whiteside throws a jab when North was well out of range.
North keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Whiteside throws a hook to the side of North's head but North sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Whiteside throws a hook to the side of North's head but North sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
North throws a counter high kick but Whiteside was just alert enough to avoid it.
Whiteside throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
North tries to clinch there but Whiteside circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whiteside darts in looking for a takedown but North gets double underhooks and turns Whiteside into the cage.
North really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

North gets tackled into the cage by Whiteside. Whiteside maintains the clinch.

North's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Whiteside thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whiteside circles away from the clinch attempt.

North fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Whiteside, pushing him back against the cage.
North doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Whiteside.

North breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
North is looking to clinch.
North tries to close the distance and clinch up but Whiteside swats him away and circles back towards the center.
North takes one to the side of the head.
North lands a nice looking body kick.
Whiteside shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has North pinned against the cage. North gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
North tried to counter with a leg kick but Whiteside avoided it.
Johnny Whiteside has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
George North has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Johnny Whiteside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
North doesn't manage to clinch there - Whiteside circles away.
Whiteside drops down looking to force a counter takedown but North defends it well.
Whiteside ducks down and throws a hook to the body but North moves away.

Whiteside gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Whiteside is trying to break the clinch but North is controlling him.
Whiteside throws a punch but it's blocked by North.

North escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Whiteside looks to land a right hand but North moved out of range.
Whiteside looks to land a right hand but North moved out of range.
North tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Whiteside paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Whiteside lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but North circles away quickly and effectively.
The fight stays on the outside here - North looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A nice side step and Whiteside releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whiteside looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? North is fending him off so far but Whiteside persists. Nope, North circles away and we're back to standing.
North throws a nice head kick!
North fails in his attempt to clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Whiteside takes a shot to the head.
A head punch on the inside from North fails to land.
Whiteside is looking for a takedown.
A short uppercut from North.
Whiteside drops down looking for an ankle pick but North pulls his leg out and moves away.
Whiteside misses with an uppercut. North saw that one coming.
Whiteside slaps away a takedown attempt from North, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whiteside misses with a hook
and North counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Whiteside is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Whiteside misses with an uppercut. North saw that one coming.
Whiteside fails with the takedown
enabling North to counter with a crisp jab.
George North is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Whiteside gets the takedown into side control.
Whiteside takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
North struggling a bit here.

Whiteside goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, North rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Whiteside's guard! Nice work there by North!

Whiteside has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but North can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

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 George North.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for North, 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... George North!
George North thanked the fans post fight for their support.