PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bring Ithome (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikey Walsh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mikey Walsh has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Ithome
vs
Walsh

189 cm
22
210 lbs
3 - 6 - 0

190 cm
20
212 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Bring Ithome!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mikey Walsh!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ithome chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Walsh feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Ithome pushes Walsh off and gets back to his feet.

Walsh fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Ithome to the ground. Walsh is now in Ithome's guard.
Walsh prevents Ithome from getting back to his feet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Walsh loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Walsh won't allow Ithome to get back to his feet.
Walsh forces his way into half guard.
Ithome wants to get back to his feet.
Walsh moves into full mount! Ithome won't be happy about that!
Walsh looking to finish Ithome with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ithome!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Walsh there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Walsh sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Walsh raining down hammerfists from mount.
Walsh working Ithome over with strikes here.
Walsh controlling the position easily from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ithome wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Walsh landing strikes from the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ithome wants to try and get back to his feet.
Walsh unloading with bombs!

Walsh jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Ithome manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Walsh postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Ithome is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Walsh asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ithome is not content to let Walsh control the position.
Walsh prevents Ithome from escaping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ithome tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Ithome trying desperately to get to his feet.
Walsh raining down hammerfists from mount.
Walsh has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ithome is squirming around, avoiding Walsh's attempts to control the action.
BOOM! Walsh connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Walsh scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Ithome?
Walsh lands a couple of good shots and Ithome has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

Ithome is rocked!
Ithome trying to get back to his feet but Walsh is in full control for now.
Walsh wants to control the position but Ithome frees himself and scrambles - Walsh manages to regain control in side control.
Ithome takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ithome is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Walsh lands a decent elbow from side control.

Walsh looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Ithome avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Walsh.
Ithome is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Walsh asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Ithome is not content to let Walsh control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikey Walsh dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Walsh thuds a left hand into Ithome's body.
Ithome looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Walsh drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Ithome sneaks out the side door and pushes Walsh away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Sloppy strikes from Ithome. Those never looked like landing.
Walsh looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Walsh takes a head kick and keeps coming.

It looks like Mikey Walsh has been cut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Walsh drops his hands momentarily and Ithome takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Ithome throws a hook but Walsh blocks it.
Some wild striking there from Ithome.
Ithome takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Ithome throws a head kick but Walsh moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walsh scores with a hook to the body. Ithome takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Walsh slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Walsh swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ithome misses with a two punch combination.
Ithome throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Ithome chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Walsh can pounce on him.
Walsh fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Ithome looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Walsh tries to clinch up but Ithome circles away and keeps his distance.

Walsh darts in and clinches Ithome up against the cage.
Ithome throws a punch but it's blocked by Walsh.

Walsh breaks the clinch.

Walsh throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Ithome tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Walsh is in Ithome's guard.
Walsh has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ithome wants to stand but Walsh is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walsh landing some decent shots from guard.
Walsh working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Ithome manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Walsh keeps control of Ithome as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Walsh manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Ithome tries to stand but Walsh is controlling from the bottom.
Walsh is striking off his back. Ithome thinks nothing of it though and passes easily into half guard.
Walsh is trying to get back to full guard.
Mikey Walsh has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ithome wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walsh trying to hold on to Ithome's head to control him but Ithome postures up.
Ithome wants to stand but his hand is trapped. Walsh uses the opportunity to regain full guard.

Walsh throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Ithome got a little sloppy there for a moment and Walsh has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ithome has managed to get both his arms back between Walsh's legs - danger averted.
Walsh is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Ithome wants to get up but he can't break Walsh'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.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Walsh is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ithome defends well.
Ithome won't allow Walsh to sweep him here.

Ithome stands up and waves to Walsh to follow him.
Walsh has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Bring Ithome is winning the standup battle so far.
Walsh shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Ithome is looking for a counter combo.
Walsh throws a leg kick but Ithome sees it coming and checks it nicely.

Walsh fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Ithome, pushing him back against the cage.
Walsh jumps guard but Ithome turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Walsh pressing his opponent against the cage.
Walsh goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
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 Bring Ithome will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Mikey Walsh's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

A nice combination there by Ithome.
Ithome throws a series of punches but Walsh moves out of range.
Walsh changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Sloppy strikes from Ithome. Those never looked like landing.
Ithome lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Walsh circles away quickly and effectively.
Ithome misses with a two punch combination.
Walsh is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Ithome rather than just go for the knockout.
Walsh avoids a punch combination nicely.

Ithome gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Walsh to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Walsh working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Walsh is pushing down on Ithome's leg trying to pass to half guard. Ithome is fighting to maintain full guard but Walsh has managed to sneak the leg through.
Walsh missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Ithome is staying active underneath Walsh, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walsh lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Walsh is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Walsh tries to control but Ithome wriggling away.
Ithome is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.

Ithome bucks Walsh off and manages to get back to his feet!
A right-left combo lands from Ithome.
Ithome scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Walsh misses with a leg kick.
Ithome throws a leg kick which misses Walsh's front leg but catches the back leg as Walsh tries to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Walsh is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Ithome's half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ithome is trying to stand back up but Walsh is controlling him
Ithome is staying active underneath Walsh, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Ithome manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Walsh keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
A short body shot lands from Ithome as the two fighters clinch.

Walsh breaks from the clinch.
Walsh takes a kick to the side of the head.

That has opened up Mikey Walsh's cut even more.
Walsh scores with a jab to the body.

Walsh fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Ithome to the ground. Walsh is now in Ithome's guard.

Ithome scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Walsh takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ithome swinging wildly here.
Walsh is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
A combination from Ithome does no damage.
Bring Ithome is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Walsh closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Walsh lands in his opponent's guard.
Ithome avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Walsh is looking to work some ground and pound but Ithome has wrist control.
Walsh wants to pass the guard but Ithome is keeping the position.
Walsh forces his way into half guard.
Walsh not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ithome is trying to stand.

Walsh is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Ithome sees it coming and defends easily.
Ithome wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Walsh in particular looking to stall.
Ithome is trying to stand back up but Walsh is controlling him

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ithome throws a low kick, looking for Walsh's leg but Walsh calmly moves out of range.
Walsh scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Ithome doesn't seem bothered though.
Walsh just misses with a punch to the body.
Ithome looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ithome throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
An inside leg kick lands from Ithome.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bring Ithome showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Ithome 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Bring Ithome!