PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Because I Can (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Damien Conner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

I Can
vs
Conner

155 cm
21
145 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

179 cm
21
157 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Because I Can!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Damien Conner!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Tarja Halkonen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Conner gets a clinch.

Conner manages to break the clinch.
An inside leg kick lands from Conner.
I Can goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

I Can drops Conner with a left right combo! I Can follows him down to the ground into side control.

Conner is rocked!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An elbow from I Can crashes against the mat.
Conner is still in real trouble! Can I Can finish him?

I Can looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

I Can tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no I Can has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Conner felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.

I Can is trying to get an arm triangle but Conner is defending well.
Conner seems to have recovered his senses.
Conner pushes I Can away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, I Can gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Conner struggling a bit here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Conner is looking to reverse the position.

I Can is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Conner knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
I Can in side control, throwing shots but Conner defends.

I Can goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Conner rolls with the submission and now he's on top in I Can's guard! Nice work there by Conner!
Conner trying to stand up but can't free himself from I Can's guard.
I Can looking to hit a scissor sweep but Conner is one step ahead there.
I Can is trying to control the position from the bottom.
I Can looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

I Can has his foot on Conner's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Conner works his way back into a safe position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
I Can wants to sweep here but Conner controlling him for the moment.

I Can has his foot on Conner's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Conner works his way back into a safe position though.
Conner must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
I Can is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Conner controls from within his opponent's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
I Can 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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Conner controlling from the top position.
Conner wants to get up but he can't break I Can's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's four 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.
I Can is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now I Can is on top in guard.

We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Conner can do anything to dispel that myth.
Conner looking to hit a scissor sweep but I Can is one step ahead there.
I Can controlling from the top position.
Conner preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

I Can fails with an attempt to clinch.
Conner lands a nice shot to the body.
Conner misses with a hook. I Can ducked under it nicely.

I Can tries to keep at a distance but Conner has taken the fight into the clinch.
Conner controlling the action here for a moment.
I Can misses with a hook from the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice right hand lands inside from Conner.
Conner lands a body shot in the clinch.

Conner breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

I Can tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no I Can has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
I Can trying to control the action but Conner is working from the bottom.

I Can tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Conner is trying to control I Can's posture but I Can avoids it.
Conner is looking to regain half guard here but I Can keeps moving and retains side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
I Can tries to move into full mount but can't pass Conner's legs.
Conner is trying to improve his position.
Conner is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Check out the look on I Can's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Conner tries to escape but I Can is in control.
I Can wants to control but Conner is keeping him busy.

I Can working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

I Can is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Conner is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

I Can in side control, working for a kimura. He's got hold of an arm and he's torquing it... Conner is tapping! That's the end of the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:38 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Because I Can!
Because I Can is the new featherweight champion!
Because I Can bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.