PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kelvin Pouncey (ranked 2344 p4p, 280 weight class) and John Wayne Gracie (ranked 955 p4p, 117 weight class). Gracie has chosen Thriller by Michael Jackson as his entrance music. John Wayne Gracie told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Pouncey
vs
Wayne Gracie

195 cm
40
255 lbs
21 - 20 - 2

194 cm
29
269 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Humanoid Nutrition (160Q for 180$)
Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 20 - 2, fighting out of Tokyo, Kelvin Pouncey!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Wayne Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Bruno Lombardi and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pouncey avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Gracie pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Gracie has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Gracie scores with a jab.

Pouncey closes the distance and clinches.
Pouncey can't break the clinch.
Gracie has a couple of punches blocked by Pouncey.

Gracie breaks the clinch.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Pouncey is defended easily by Gracie.
A shot to the body from Gracie misses
and Pouncey counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pouncey with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Pouncey tries to move into range but Gracie moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Pouncey takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Gracie works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gracie lands a leg kick that knocks Pouncey off balance momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pouncey ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gracie misses with an uppercut.
Pouncey moves out of range of the body kick from Gracie.
Gracie throws a body kick that misses

and Pouncey counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Pouncey.
Pouncey has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Pouncey wants to pass the guard but Gracie is keeping the position.

Gracie has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Pouncey can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Pouncey trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

Gracie looking for a guillotine here but Pouncey defends easily.
Pouncey wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pouncey stopping the sweep attempt from Gracie.
Pouncey is in close to Gracie's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Pouncey postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Gracie 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 fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pouncey postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Pouncey is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Pouncey trying to control but Gracie is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is trying to keep Pouncey in close.
Pouncey throws a strike but Gracie rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Gracie pushes down on Pouncey's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Pouncey trying to control but Gracie postures up.
Pouncey is refusing to be controlled, as Gracie sits in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie working over Pouncey with some ground and pound. Pouncey looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Gracie sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Pouncey defending well though.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Pouncey is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Gracie scores with a couple of nice shots.
Gracie controlling the pace.
Pouncey is trying to control but can't.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pouncey regains full guard. Nicely done.
Gracie working some strikes from top position.
Gracie looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Pouncey takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Pouncey fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gracie manages to avoid it.
Gracie misses with an uppercut.
Pouncey throws a shot to the body.
Pouncey digs a good hook to Gracie's body.
Pouncey throws an overhand right that lands on Gracie's shoulder, as Gracie tries to avoid the shot.
Gracie turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Gracie turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Gracie thumps Pouncey with a low kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie is looking to chop away at Pouncey's legs.
Gracie throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Pouncey fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gracie manages to avoid it.
Pouncey throws a body punch but Gracie moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pouncey throws a body punch but Gracie moves out of range.
Pouncey misses with an uppercut
and Gracie counters with a thumping low kick.
Gracie just misses with a punch to the body.
Pouncey checks the leg kick nicely there.
Pouncey has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Gracie.
Gracie scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Pouncey ducks under a wild hook from Gracie.
A swing and a miss from Gracie.
An attempted straight right counter from Pouncey misses the target.
Pouncey just misses with a punch to the body.
And Gracie responds with a good body kick, but Pouncey manages to step out the way in time.
Gracie throws a low kick but Pouncey avoids it.
John Wayne Gracie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice jab there from Pouncey.
Pouncey thuds a left hand into Gracie's body.
Gracie throws a low kick but Pouncey avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie with a jab.
Gracie jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pouncey tries to counter with a takedown but Gracie is quick to defend against it.
Gracie misses the jab.
Gracie lands a jab to Pouncey's midsection.
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!
Gracie misses with a takedown
and Pouncey counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Gracie is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Pouncey looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Pouncey misses the shot to the body.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Gracie! But no joy.
Pouncey uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gracie.
Pouncey misses with a straight right.
Gracie avoids the body shot from Pouncey.

Pouncey shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Pouncey was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Gracie is not content to let Pouncey control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.
Pouncey working away.
A lull in the action here.
Pouncey wants to control but Gracie is keeping him busy.
Pouncey taking a break here but Gracie is having none of it and regains half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Pouncey slows the pace down in half guard.

Pouncey is working for a kimura here but Gracie manages to reverse the position and he's now in Pouncey's guard.
Gracie scoring with punches to the head and body.
Gracie connects with a couple of short punches.
Pouncey can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Gracie controls the pace.
Pouncey has control of Gracie's left arm, preventing Gracie from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but John Wayne Gracie will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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!

Pouncey works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Gracie connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Pouncey's hands.
Gracie lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A cross from Gracie lands.
Pouncey defending well as Gracie loads up on a big left hand.
Pouncey slaps away a takedown attempt from Gracie, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Pouncey moves forwards but Gracie connects with a nice, crisp jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Gracie closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Pouncey's guard.
Pouncey looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gracie is one step ahead there.
Pouncey looking to control but Gracie passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Gracie has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Gracie not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Gracie takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Gracie lands a nice short elbow.

Pouncey is rocked!
Gracie looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Oh Pouncey is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Gracie not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Pouncey seems to have got his legs back now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gracie is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Pouncey doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gracie.
Gracie prevents Pouncey from improving his position.
John Wayne Gracie is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie trying to mount his opponent but Pouncey defends it.
Pouncey is looking to control Gracie's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Pouncey avoid being mounted?
Gracie takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Gracie is continuing to stall.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Kelvin Pouncey has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Pouncey on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Gracie slips a jab from Pouncey.
Gracie doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Pouncey looks to score with a jab to the body but Gracie is just out of range.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Gracie. Pouncey shrugs it off though.
Pouncey misses with a looping left.
Pouncey throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Gracie dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Pouncey gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gracie misses with a takedown attempt - Pouncey sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Pouncey misses with a hook to the body
and Gracie counters with a lovely shot to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Wayne Gracie comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Gracie winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 27:30
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Wayne Gracie!
John Wayne Gracie seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.