PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Emanuel Thornton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lamont Banner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Thornton
vs
Banner

201 cm
20
177 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

180 cm
21
172 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good low kicks
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Emanuel Thornton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lamont Banner!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Banner misses with a wild combination.
Banner throws a sloppy head kick and Thornton moves out of range easily.
Banner fails to land with a series of punches.

Thornton looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Thornton really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Banner is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Thornton dives into side control.
Banner tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Banner trying to get back to his feet but Thornton is in full control for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thornton is landing with strikes. Banner can't take much more of this.
Thornton lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Banner.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Banner trying to get back to his feet but Thornton is in full control for now.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Banner wants to get back to his feet.
Thornton 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thornton is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Banner is trying to stand back up.
Thornton is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Thornton is working the ground and pound. Can Banner escape?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banner wants to get back to his feet.
Thornton is landing with strikes. Banner can't take much more of this.
Thornton cracks Banner with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Banner from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.
Banner is covering up but some of the strikes from Thornton are getting through and doing damage.
Banner is trying to stand back up.
Thornton lands a shot to the body.
Banner is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thornton just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Banner trying to get back to his feet but Thornton is in full control for now.
Thornton lands a shot to the head.
Thornton controlling the position well here. Banner rolled but Thornton kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thornton lands an elbow to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Emanuel Thornton dominated that 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.

A head kick by Banner misses

and Thornton moves into the clinch.

Banner ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Banner no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Thornton will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Banner is looking to stand back up but Thornton counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Banner.
Banner looks like he's trying to stand up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice strikes from Thornton there.
Thornton scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Banner taking some punishment here, with Thornton in his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banner is trying to stand back up but Thornton is controlling him
Thornton looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Emanuel Thornton overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thornton lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Thornton takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Banner wants to get back to his feet.
Thornton with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Ground and pound from Thornton.
Thornton trying to control the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Banner is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Thornton scores with a couple of nice shots.
Banner taking some punishment here, with Thornton in his half guard.

Thornton stands up out of the half guard.

Banner shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Banner was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Banner working away.
Thornton manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thornton is doing well to control the position and prevent Banner from advancing to side control.
Thornton's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Thornton makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Thornton.
Thornton trying to control the position 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Banner preventing the sweep.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Thornton controlling Banner's posture.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Thornton fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Banner shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Thornton is staying active underneath Banner, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
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 Emanuel Thornton will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Thornton tries to sprawl but Banner drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Banner wants to pass the guard but Thornton is defending well.
Banner wants to control but Thornton is keeping him busy.
Thornton controlling the position for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thornton throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Banner wants to get back to his feet.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Banner is just content to waste time from the top position. Thornton takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Thornton is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Thornton keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Banner really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Thornton. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Thornton landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Thornton is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
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. Thornton connects with a nice short shot to Banner's temple.
Thornton looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

Thornton stands up from half guard.
Lamont Banner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Both fighters circling a little - Banner finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Banner wants to clinch
and Thornton counters with a stiff right hand.

Banner dives in and scores a takedown into Thornton's guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Thornton is on top in guard.

Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Thornton is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Banner is wriggling around but Thornton manages to pass to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Banner pushes Thornton off looking to stand but Thornton dives back in and keeps control.
Thornton working over Banner with some ground and pound. Banner looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Thornton lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Banner pushes Thornton off looking to stand but Thornton dives back in and keeps control.
Thornton landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Thornton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Banner can do to turn this around?
Thornton drops an elbow to the side of Banner's head.
Thornton working over Banner with some ground and pound. Banner looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Banner is trying to stand up here but Thornton is controlling him well.
Thornton slows the pace down in half guard.
Banner on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Thornton scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Thornton stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Banner fails in his attempt to clinch.
Thornton appears to be looking for a big counter.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Thornton gets caught napping as Banner dives in and scores a takedown. Thornton manages to retain guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Thornton manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Lamont Banner has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Emanuel Thornton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Banner takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thornton working hard to break the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Emanuel Thornton showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Thornton, 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Emanuel Thornton!