PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Andr De Fran (ranked 1703 p4p, 186 weight class) and Tyrion Lannister (ranked 1466 p4p, 160 weight class). De Fran kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is No Worries. Lannister is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Game Of Thrones. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

De Fran
vs
Lannister

172 cm
39
158 lbs
32 - 23 - 2

170 cm
39
143 lbs
24 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

RAGS of a RONIN

IniTech Nutrition
Aspire Nutrition

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 32 - 23 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Andr De Fran!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Tyrion Lannister!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Valeri Chadov and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lannister fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
De Fran tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Lannister manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
De Fran moves out of range as Lannister strikes.
De Fran is looking to clinch but Lannister is avoiding it.
Lannister misses with an uppercut. De Fran saw that one coming.
Lannister misses with a body kick.
De Fran avoids the head kick by Lannister.
De Fran will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
De Fran leaves Lannister with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
De Fran's corner calls for a 1-2. De Fran obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

De Fran closes the distance and pushes Lannister back into the cage.
Lannister managing to block the knees to the body from De Fran.

Lannister lands a takedown into guard.
De Fran seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Lannister stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De Fran swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Lannister keeps trying to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lannister distracts De Fran with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
De Fran wants to stand and escape but Lannister is having none of it.
De Fran trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
De Fran keeping moving, preventing Lannister from controlling successfully.
Lannister is looking to advance position but De Fran has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

Lannister is trying to escape the mount but De Fran keeps good control and instead manages to take Lannister's back.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Lannister trying to control the position but De Fran manages to sink in the hooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Fran really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Lannister.
Lannister looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
What can Lannister do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lannister rolls, trying to escape but De Fran keeps control of the position.
De Fran slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Lannister looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Lannister prevents De Fran from getting a body triangle.

That's four 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.
Lannister rolls, trying to escape but De Fran keeps control of the position.
Lannister is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by De Fran.
Lannister is trying to get back to his feet but De Fran has full control of the position and if anything, Lannister has just worked his way into a worse spot.
A bit of a pause in the action here. De Fran controlling the positon.
Lannister rolls, trying to escape but De Fran keeps control of the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andr De Fran dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

De Fran has taken the fight to the clinch.
Lannister has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by De Fran after a bit of a struggle.
De Fran trying to land knees to the body.
A short uppercut from De Fran.
Lannister is trying to stall.
De Fran pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
De Fran tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
De Fran misses with an elbow over the top.
A bit of stalling here from Lannister.
Lannister stalling in the clinch.
De Fran lands an elbow inside.

It looks like Tyrion Lannister has been cut.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by De Fran as Lannister tries to tie him up.
De Fran displaying some good clinch control by pressing Lannister up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lannister swings wildly with an uppercut but De Fran uses good head movement to avoid it.
Lannister has a couple of punches blocked by De Fran.
Lannister misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lannister is stalling here.
De Fran throws an elbow that misses.
Lannister blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Lannister dodges an elbow strike from De Fran.
De Fran landing knees to the head.
Lannister throws a blind hook that connects with the side of De Frans head.
Lannister can't find room to land a body shot as De Fran controls the action.
Lannister is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Lannister is looking to control De Fran's arms but De Fran gets an underhook and turns him. Now Lannister has his back to the cage.
De Fran misses with a punch to the body.
Lannister tries a body shot but De Fran blocks it.
Lannister blocks an elbow strike.
De Fran misses with a knee to the head.
Lannister misses with a hook to the ribs.
De Fran missing with knees to the body.
Lannister wants to stall.
Lannister misses with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Fran lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Lannister managing to block the knees to the body from De Fran.
De Fran lands an elbow just above Lannister 's eye.
Lannister misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Lannister lands a hook that snaps the head of De Fran backwards.
De Fran goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
De Fran is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lannister can do to turn this around?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
De Fran scores with a shoulder strike.
Lannister can't find room to land a body shot as De Fran controls the action.
Lannister managing to block the knees to the body from De Fran.
Lannister tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
De Fran gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
De Fran utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Lannister takes a knee to the side of the body.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
De Fran just leaning against Lannister, taking a breather.
Lannister misses with some punches.
De Fran lands a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by De Fran as Lannister tries to tie him up.
De Fran has a couple of punches blocked by Lannister.
De Fran scores with a knee to the head.
Lannister is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Lannister tries to stall but De Fran uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Lannister seems frustrated at his inability to get double underhooks.
De Fran misses with an elbow strike.
Lannister takes a knee to the side of the body.
De Fran unloads a knee to the mid-section. Lannister lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
De Fran is defending well against a takedown attempt.
De Fran looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Lannister managing to block the knees to the body from De Fran.
De Fran landing knees to the body.
Lannister slows down the pace here.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lannister goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Lannister blocks the elbow strike.
De Fran creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Lannister throws a blind hook that connects with the side of De Frans head.
De Fran pushes Lannister back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
De Fran tries to land knees in the clinch but Lannister avoids the damage to the body.
De Fran blocks a body shot from Lannister.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
De Fran scores with a shot to the side of Lannister's head.

Lannister has De Fran pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Lannister pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending De Fran tumbling to the mat - Lannister dives into De Fran's guard.
De Fran controlling Lannister's posture.
Lannister stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De Fran swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andr De Fran dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Tyrion Lannister's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

De Fran lands a head kick!
Andr De Fran is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Lannister fails with a takedown attempt.
Lannister tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but De Fran was well out of range. Poor timing from Lannister.
Lannister lands a leg kick that knocks De Fran off balance momentarily.
A shot to the body from De Fran misses
and Lannister counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Lannister throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
De Fran swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lannister throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Lannister closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Fran misses with a wild combination.
De Fran thows a left - swing and a miss!
De Fran's corner calls for a 1-2. De Fran obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Andr De Fran is winning the standup battle so far.
Lannister wants to clinch up but De Fran keeps it at a distance.

De Fran gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Lannister to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lannister with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lannister stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De Fran swivels though and keeps the full guard.
De Fran can't keep his opponent in guard - Lannister advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
De Fran is trying to control but can't.
De Fran on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Lannister wants to advance to full mount but De Fran doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Lannister missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Lannister stands up over De Fran, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Lannister passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Lannister in side control, throwing shots but De Fran defends.
Lannister prevents De Fran from escaping the position.
Lannister scores with a couple of short elbows.
Lannister wants to control but De Fran is keeping him busy.
Lannister controlling from side mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Fran managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Lannister.
De Fran taking a bit of punishment here - Lannister scoring with strikes.
De Fran takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Lannister wants to control for a moment but De Fran uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Lannister looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Lannister wants to control but De Fran is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Fran is trying to stand back up but Lannister is controlling him
De Fran regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Lannister.
De Fran is trying to keep Lannister in close.
Lannister throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lannister postures up in De Fran's guard and throws a big left but De Fran blocks it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lannister loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Lannister motions for De Fran to come forward. Lannister throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
De Fran moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyrion Lannister really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Tyrion Lannister's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

De Fran throws a body shot but no joy.
De Fran misses with an uppercut
and Lannister counters with a low kick, right behind De Fran 's knee.
De Fran stuffs the takedown attempt from Lannister. Lannister gets slowly back to his feet.
De Fran throws a right hand that Lannister ducks under and follows up with a left that Lannister also avoids with ease.
Lannister looks like he wants to counter punch here.
De Fran throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Lannister closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. De Fran did well to prevent Lannister getting side control.

Lannister is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but De Fran still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, De Fran has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
De Fran controls the position.
What's Lannister going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Fran trying to control the action but Lannister is working from the bottom.
Lannister gets back to half guard.
Lannister moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Lannister wants to stand and escape but De Fran is having none of it.
De Fran has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two 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.
Lannister is trying to control the position but De Fran postures up.

Lannister has an active guard here but De Fran has managed to pass into half guard.

Lannister is trying to control De Fran's posture. De Fran takes advantage of the lull and advances to side control. He also appears to have an arm triangle here! Uh oh, big trouble for Lannister! De Fran is rotating here... this could be the end... Lannister is out! De Fran has ended this one emphatically! Great submission!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:43 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Andr De Fran!
Andr De Fran retains his featherweight title!
During a confident post fight interview, Andr De Fran thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.