PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Damon Copeland (ranked 25061 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jolly James (ranked 25298 p4p, 0 weight class). James has chosen Sea of lies as his entrance music. James has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Jolly James has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Copeland
vs
James

158 cm
18
278 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

185 cm
25
240 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Determined

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 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Damon Copeland!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jolly James!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Stewart Dunkirk and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

James shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
James looks winded!

Copeland manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Copeland misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Copeland fails in his attempt to clinch.
James now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Copeland shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has James pinned against the cage. James gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Copeland.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Copeland lands with a slapping head kick.
Copeland tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. James manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Copeland darts in looking for a takedown but James gets double underhooks and turns Copeland into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damon Copeland. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Copeland works over James's head and body with a nice combination.
Copeland dives in and grabs James's left leg, looking for a takedown. James pushes down on Copeland's head and hops out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Copeland tries to clinch there but James circles away.
Copeland closes this distance looking for a takedown but James circles away.

Copeland drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
James takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
An elbow from Copeland crashes against the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Copeland fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Copeland tries to stand but James is controlling his head.
Copeland could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
James tries to bench press Copeland off him but Copeland keeps the position.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Copeland tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Copeland has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Copeland thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

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.
James can't do much from the bottom here.
We've been informed that James has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Copeland postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damon Copeland dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Damon Copeland's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Copeland delivers a nice body kick.
Copeland tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
It seemed like James was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Copeland is looking to clinch.
Copeland is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
James wants to counter the offense by Copeland and move into the clinch position.
James is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Copeland looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
It seemed like James was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Copeland shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. James is trying to defend but Copeland finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Copeland landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Copeland is looking for a kimura here.
Copeland 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.
Copeland sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. James defending well though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James wants to control but Copeland is keeping busy.
Copeland looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks James with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Copeland is working for a kimura but James is defending it quite comfortably.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James is refusing to be controlled, as Copeland sits in half guard.
Copeland thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Copeland lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
James is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Copeland shoots in looking for a takedown. James tries to sprawl out of it but Copeland keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. James manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
James wants to counter the offense by Copeland and move into the clinch position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Copeland's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Copeland duly obliges.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damon Copeland dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Damon Copeland's cut.
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!

Copeland shoots in looking for a takedown. James tries to sprawl out of it but Copeland keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. James manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Copeland misses with a takedown attempt - James sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
A little jabbing left from James on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Damon Copeland is winning the standup battle so far.
James takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Copeland in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Copeland throwing strikes from guard but James blocks nicely.
Copeland postures up in James's guard and throws a big left but James blocks it.
Copeland is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Copeland trying to stand up but can't free himself from James's guard.
Copeland throws a big right hand that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Copeland decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on James, up you get!

James gets tackled into the cage by Copeland. Copeland maintains the clinch.
Copeland is trying to pull guard but James has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damon Copeland. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Copeland tries to pull guard but James holds him up against the cage and eventually Copeland drops back down to his feet.
James tries to pull guard but Copeland won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Copeland is trying to force a seperation but James has the dominant position.
Copeland throws a punch but it's blocked by James.
James blocks a body shot from Copeland.
Copeland wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Copeland lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
James prevents Copeland from breaking the clinch.

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.
Copeland is trying to break the clinch but James has him pressed against the cage.
James avoiding damage.
Copeland wants a takedown but no success here.
Copeland has had enough of the clinch but James keeps him there for the moment.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Copeland wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but James has him pressed against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Damon Copeland showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Copeland 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damon Copeland!