PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jose Perez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Franco Hupp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Perez comes to the cage accompanied by Light It Up. Hupp is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Moustache Song. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Perez
vs
Hupp

167 cm
21
162 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

183 cm
20
159 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite 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 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Jose Perez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Franco Hupp!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Sam Margolis and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Perez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hupp moves away.
Hupp tries to close the distance and clinch up but Perez swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Perez throws a body shot but no joy.
Perez throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Hupp counter with a right hand.
Perez misses with a looping left.
Perez connects with a good right hand that stumbles Hupp. Hupp circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Perez looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Nice defenses there by Hupp.
Perez misses the shot to the body.
Perez swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hupp appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
A low kick from Perez is predictable there

and Hupp counters with a crisp one two that drops Perez! Hupp thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Perez to his feet! Perez is in big trouble!

Perez is rocked!
Perez misses with a hook. Hupp ducked under it nicely.
It seemed like Hupp was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Oh Perez is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Hupp moves in looking to clinch but Perez pushes him off.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Perez.
Hupp takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Perez seems to have got his legs back now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Perez fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hupp, pushing him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hupp is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
A short uppercut from Hupp.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
A nice right hand lands inside from Perez.
Perez throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Perez tries to throw a body punch but Hupp avoids it by throwing Perez back against the cage.
Hupp is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Hupp swings wildly with an uppercut but Perez uses good head movement to avoid it.
Perez blocking some punches.
Perez leaning against his opponent.
Perez slows down the pace here.
Perez pushes Hupp back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Hupp tries a body shot but Perez blocks it.
Perez lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Hupp backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Perez breaks from the clinch.
Perez swats away the attempt to clinch by Hupp.
Perez misses the shot to the body.
Perez thuds his right hand into Hupp's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Hupp is looking to clinch but Perez is avoiding it.
A shot to the liver by Perez. Beautiful body shot.
Hupp misses with a straight right.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Hupp has managed to clinch.
Perez lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Perez scores with a nice hook to the head.
Perez misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hupp.
Hupp looking to stall.
Perez pushes Hupp back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Perez blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Hupp.
A nice right hand lands inside from Perez.
Hupp's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Hupp swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hupp misses with some punches.
Perez lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hupp tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Hupp tries to stall but Perez uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Perez scores with a nice hook to the head.
Perez is stalling here.
Hupp working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Perez scores with a hook to the body.
Perez lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Perez takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
A short left from Perez.
Hupp misses with a knee to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hupp tries to break the clinch but Perez is controlling the position.
Perez taking a breather.
Hupp on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Perez fails to land.
Hupp working aggressively here.
Perez working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Perez blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Perez.
Perez stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

Perez gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Ground and pound from Perez.
Hupp keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Perez winds up and cracks Hupp with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Hupp really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Perez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Perez lands strikes from half guard.
Perez looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Hupp looks like he's trying to stand up.
Hupp on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Perez fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Hupp sprawls well initially but Perez persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Perez is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Perez thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hupp blocking the ground and pound attempt from Perez.
Perez scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Perez trying to control the pace.
Perez stops Hupp from getting back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Perez lands with a punch from half guard.
Hupp has hold of Perez's hands but Perez slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Perez connects with a nice short shot to Hupp's temple.
Hupp 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hupp is looking to improve his position.
Hupp is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Perez scores with a couple of nice shots.
Perez takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Perez is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Perez has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Perez working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Perez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Perez trying to control the pace.
Hupp is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Perez scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hupp is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Perez scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Perez controlling the pace.
Perez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Perez seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Perez looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Perez perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Perez prevents Hupp from standing back up.
Perez is pressing down on Hupp's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hupp is holding on for now.
Jose Perez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hupp trying to hold on to Perez's head to control him but Perez postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Perez working over Hupp with some ground and pound. Hupp looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Perez connects with a nice short shot to Hupp's temple.
Perez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hupp with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Perez slips a nice elbow through Hupp's hands, connecting with Hupp's forehead.
Perez controlling the action here.
Perez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Perez passes to side control.
Perez scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Hupp to see if he's OK.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Perez lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Hupp takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Perez working away.
Hupp takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Check out the look on Perez's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Hupp can do anything to dispel that myth.
Perez is working Hupp over with some ground and pound from side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Perez working the head with strikes.
Perez creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Hupp is being controlled here.
Perez scores with a couple of short elbows.
Perez scoring with punches from side control.
Perez in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jose Perez dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Perez drives through with a takedown into guard.
Perez makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Perez working some strikes from top position.
Perez is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Perez lands a couple of elbows.
Hupp not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hupp keeping full guard, as Perez tries to pass.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Perez's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Perez is in close to Hupp's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Perez looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Perez with a nice head shot there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Perez looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Perez lands a couple of elbows.
Perez makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Perez lands a couple of digs.
Perez passes Hupp's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Perez working over Hupp with some ground and pound. Hupp looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Perez seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Perez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Perez lands strikes from half guard.
Perez looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Perez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hupp can do to turn this around?
Perez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Perez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hupp with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Perez is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Hupp is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Perez scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hupp has hold of Perez's hands but Perez slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Hupp on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Hupp is trying to maintain the position but Perez is very close to passing his half guard.
Hupp takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Perez working Hupp over with strikes.
Hupp wants to get back to full guard.
Nice strikes from Perez there.
Perez is nestled in close to Hupp, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Perez working over Hupp with some ground and pound. Hupp looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Hupp on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Perez is taking a breather. Hupp says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Perez seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Perez controlling the action here.
Perez slips a nice elbow through Hupp's hands, connecting with Hupp's forehead.
Franco Hupp has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ground and pound from Perez.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Perez working over Hupp with some ground and pound. Hupp looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Perez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Jose Perez is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Perez is taking a breather. Hupp says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jose Perez showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Perez has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 William Gold scores the fight 30:25
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:25
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jose Perez!
Jose Perez decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
Franco Hupp was interviewed post fight and said 'Damn.. big mouth strikes again.'.