PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Alex Knee (ranked 5469 p4p, 507 weight class) and Tony Smith (ranked 4605 p4p, 463 weight class). Tony Smith has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Alex Knee's chin.

Knee
vs
Smith

177 cm
25
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

188 cm
25
152 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alex Knee!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tony Smith!
The judges for this bout are Donatello Bradman, Steve Erwin and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Knee has a takedown stuffed.
A punch combination from Smith misses.
Knee has a takedown stuffed.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Knee is defended easily by Smith.
Smith swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alex Knee. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith works the jab nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Knee's head backwards.

Smith clinches with his opponent.
Smith tries to circle away but Knee has him pinned against the cage.
Smith looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Smith wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Knee breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Knee gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Smith counters with a three punch combo that has Knee backing up. Knee nods at Smith to acknowledge the strikes.
Knee tries for a takedown but Smith circles away easily
and Smith counters with a left and a right that stings Knee.
Smith is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Knee misses with a takedown attempt
and Smith counters with a left and a right that stings Knee.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knee is stalling here.

Knee pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Knee has Smith up against the cage in a clinch.
Smith has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Knee unloads a knee to the mid-section. Smith lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Smith is looking to break free of the clinch but Knee has double underhooks.

Knee breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Smith misses with a right hand
and Knee counters with an inside leg kick.
Smith misses with a hook. Knee ducked under it nicely.
Smith wants to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knee connects with a leg kick. Smith looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

Knee closes the distance and clinches.
Knee pressing his opponent against the cage.

Knee escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Smith throws a left and a right that both miss

and Knee counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Smith tries to break free but Knee pushes him back against the cage.

Smith breaks from the clinch.
We've been informed that Smith has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Knee clinches.
Smith jumps guard but Knee turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Smith is trying to break the clinch but Knee has him pressed against the cage.

Knee jumps into guard, dragging Smith to the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Knee had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Smith defends it easily.
Knee seems keen to control Smith's posture.

Knee wriggles free and stands up.
Knee shoots for a takedown but Smith saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Smith is looking for the big counter here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tony Smith will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Smith scores with a nice right hand.
A punch combination from Smith misses.
It looked like Knee wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Knee fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A jab from Smith does it's job there.
Knee ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith slaps away a takedown attempt from Knee, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Knee drives through with a takedown into guard.
Smith is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Knee dives into side control.
Knee knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Smith on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Smith is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Knee misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Smith is trying to control Knee's posture but Knee avoids it.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Knee'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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith is trying to control Knee's posture but Knee avoids it.
Knee tries to move to mount but Smith blocks the move with his legs.
Knee misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Smith tries to buck Knee off but Knee is having none of it.
Knee throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Knee working the strikes but Smith uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Smith taking some punishment here, with Knee in his half guard.
Knee seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knee not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Knee content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Knee swats away the attempt to clinch by Smith.
Knee is looking to counter with head kicks.

Knee gets a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Knee breaks from the clinch.
Knee shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Smith sprawls well. Smith wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Knee gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alex Knee. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Knee slips a straight right by Smith.
Knee tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Knee shoots in for a takedown but Smith shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Smith lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Tony Smith seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Smith scores with a crisp jab that stopped Knee in his tracks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Tony Smith will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Knee with a poor takedown
and Smith counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Knee closes the distance and clinches.

Knee pulls guard.
Smith throws a big elbow that misses.
Knee is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Smith forces his way into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knee is looking to improve his position.
Knee keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knee wants to get back to full guard.
Knee has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Smith is working away from the top position though.
Knee is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Smith is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Smith looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Smith decides to return to a standing position.

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.
Smith pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
A punch lands to the side of Knee 's head but he takes it in his stride.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Smith doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tony Smith 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.
Knee stalling the fight.

Knee gets control of Smith's arms and successfully pulls guard. Knee will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Knee throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Knee controlling Smith's posture.
Knee looking for a sweep. Not yet Knee, not yet.

Smith stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Smith fails in his attempt to clinch.
Knee went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Smith might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Knee fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Smith, pushing him back against the cage.
Knee crunches a lovely knee into Smith's ribcage.
Smith misses with a hook to the ribs.

Knee's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Knee ducks right into an uppercut from Smith.
Smith misses with a hook.
Knee drops down looking for a counter takedown but Smith sprawls and moves away.
Knee throws the kick towards the body but Smith avoids it.
Knee misses with a takedown attempt
and Smith counters with a straight right hand.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up but Knee swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Knee fails with an attempt to clinch.
Alex Knee has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Knee throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Alex Knee.
I think Smith has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Donatello Bradman scores the fight 29:29
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 28:30
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!