PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Houston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and john rock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). rock comes into a darkened arena with his song building. my god kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! john rock will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Houston
vs
rock

185 cm
20
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
20
180 lbs
1 - 2 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alexander Houston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, john rock!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, George Francis and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
rock fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Houston has taken the fight to the clinch.
rock wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
rock is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Houston pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Houston pulls guard effortlessly.
Houston has control of rock's left arm, preventing rock from doing any damage.
rock chips away with some ground and pound.
Houston wants to sweep here but rock controlling him for the moment.
Houston has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Houston keeping moving, preventing rock from controlling successfully.
rock stops Houston from standing up.
rock trying to control but Houston is working from the bottom.
rock is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
rock trying to control but Houston is working from the bottom.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Houston pulls out of a head kick attempt.
rock is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
rock shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Houston pinned against the cage. Houston gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Alexander Houston has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of john rock.
Houston fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Houston looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
rock pulls Houston in close to his closed guard and prevents Houston from doing any damage or advancing position.
Houston looking to pass the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Houston trying to control the position from guard on top but rock is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
rock trying to control the position.
Houston postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Houston would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Houston trying to control the position from guard on top but rock is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
rock shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Houston counters with a big head kick but rock shrugs it off.
Houston is breathing heavily.

Houston pushes rock up against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Houston lands a knee to the head.
rock trying to land knees to the body.

Houston manages to break the clinch.
Houston goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
A swing and a miss from Houston.
Houston has a takedown stuffed.
rock shoots and misses

and Houston counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Houston controlling the pace.
Houston trying to control from half guard but rock is working away.
rock controlling the position for now.
Still in half guard, Houston seems content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
rock tries to roll over but Houston keeps him under control.
Houston sitting and controlling from the half guard.
rock looks like he's trying to stand up.
Houston wants to stand up but rock has a hold of him and won't allow it.

rock is defending against the submission attempts here by Houston.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Houston missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Houston dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

rock shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Houston pinned against the cage. Houston gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Houston with a lazy takedown attempt

and rock counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
rock looking for a takedown.
Houston landing knees to the head.
rock wants to stall.
Houston works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

Houston breaks the clinch.

Houston drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Houston trying to control the position from guard on top but rock is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Houston is stalling in the full guard.
Houston wanted to stand there but rock had control of the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Houston throws a big right hand that misses.
rock working a defensive guard here.
rock is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Houston is looking to work some ground and pound but rock has wrist control.
Houston landing with the ground and pound.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
rock shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Houston holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Alexander Houston has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of john rock.

Houston manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
rock is fighting to break Houston's control of his arms but Houston is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Houston has his foot on rock's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. rock works his way back into a safe position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
rock trying to control but Houston is working from the bottom.

Houston manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Houston tries to close the distance and clinch but rock swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
rock fails with the takedown

and Houston counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Houston trying to control from half guard but rock is working away.
Houston wants to stand up but rock has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Houston wants to take a breather but rock is having none of it.
rock has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Houston is working away from the top position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
rock trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Houston manages to pass to mount!
Houston trying to control but he's not successful this time.
rock has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Houston's lack of action.
Houston is trying to control the action in half guard but rock is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Alexander Houston overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Alexander Houston just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Houston lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but rock circles away quickly and effectively.
A head kick from Houston lands but rock takes it in his stride.
rock tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
rock throws a shot to the body.
rock looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Houston lands a front kick.
Houston stuffs the takedown.
rock moves in looking to clinch but Houston pushes him off.
Houston swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and rock counters with a single leg into guard. Houston didn't expect that.
rock content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Houston is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and rock dives into side control.
A control attempt from Houston but he's now mounted!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Houston dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

rock closes the distance but Houston moves to the side

and Houston counters with a single leg into guard. rock didn't expect that.
rock 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.
Houston trying to control but rock is working from the bottom.
rock is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Houston is trying to control but can't.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with rock in particular looking to stall.
Houston trying to control from the bottom.
rock is nestled in close to Houston, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Houston regains full guard. Nicely done.
rock preventing the sweep.
Houston doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

Houston has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but rock can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Houston keeping moving, preventing rock from controlling successfully.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
rock tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Houston misses with a head kick.
rock has his takedown stuffed

and Houston counters with a nice double leg into side control. rock won't be happy with that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Houston tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Houston trying to control the position but rock is working away.
You can see the frustration on rock's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Houston lands a nice forearm strike.
Houston trying to control the action but rock is working from the bottom.

Houston stands up and we're back to a striking position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Houston tries to bum rush rock with a series of wild strikes but rock uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Houston shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts rock as he jumps to the side.
rock throws a one two combo.
rock misses with a takedown attempt - Houston sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Houston darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Houston throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
rock works his way to full guard. Good work.
Houston is looking to work some ground and pound but rock has wrist control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Houston showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Houston wants to control from the top but rock keeps moving.
Houston looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
rock trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Alexander Houston is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

rock working for a triangle but Houston defends it easily.
Houston might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Houston stands up from guard. Let's bang!

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexander Houston showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Houston 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Houston!