PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Christopher Holmes (ranked 24527 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alec Burns (ranked 4939 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Holmes
vs
Burns

205 cm
18
151 lbs
2 - 3 - 1

168 cm
18
145 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Christopher Holmes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Alec Burns!
The judges for this bout are , Don Winkell and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burns throws a left and a right that both miss
and Holmes counters with a series of strikes. Burns will be more careful next time no doubt.
Burns misses with a head kick.
Holmes avoids a punch combination nicely.
Burns swinging wildly here.
Alec Burns seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Burns gets a double leg takedown into Holmes's guard.
Holmes throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.
Holmes will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Burns pushes down on Holmes's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Holmes is concentrating on defense, preventing Burns from advancing position.
Holmes is pressing down on Burns's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Holmes kicks Burns off and gets to his feet.
Burns swings widly with a right hand
and Holmes counters with a two punch combo.
Burns misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A head kick misses from Burns.
Holmes throws a counter high kick but Burns was just alert enough to avoid it.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Burns.
Holmes really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Burns lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Holmes circles away quickly and effectively.

Burns forces Holmes back against the cage and clinches.
Burns tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Burns is pushing Holmes up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Burns lands an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Burns's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Burns throws a lazy head kick
and Holmes counters with a two punch combo.
Burns looks winded!
Holmes swats away the attempt to clinch by Burns.
A low kick from Burns is predictable there
and Holmes counters with a three punch combo that has Burns backing up. Burns nods at Holmes to acknowledge the strikes.
Burns will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Burns lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Christopher Holmes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Holmes avoids the body shot from Burns.
Holmes throwing a counter right hand but Burns manages to avoid it.
Burns scores with a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Burns changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Holmes looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Holmes manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Holmes wants to get back to full guard.
Holmes gets back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Holmes wants to sweep here but Burns controlling him for the moment.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Holmes is on top in guard.

Burns tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Holmes is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Holmes is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Holmes working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Burns's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burns has momentary wrist control but Holmes slips an elbow through the middle.
Holmes works over Burns with some ground and pound from guard.
Holmes scoring with punches to the head and body.
Holmes's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Holmes connects with a couple of short punches.
Burns controls Holmes momentarily but Holmes frees himself.
Holmes distracts Burns with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Burns has momentary wrist control but Holmes slips an elbow through the middle.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Burns can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Holmes controls the pace.
Burns wants to sweep but no luck.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Christopher Holmes will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Burns shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Burns showed some decent athleticism there.

Holmes makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Holmes avoids the body shot from Burns.
Holmes throws a head kick but Burns moves out of range.
Burns is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Burns misses with a wild combination.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Holmes enables Burns to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Holmes manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Holmes pushes Burns off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Burns misses with a left hand
and Holmes counters with a left and a right that stings Burns.
Burns is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmes throws a head kick but Burns moves out of range.
Burns tries to clinch up but Holmes circles away and keeps his distance.
Christopher Holmes is winning the standup battle so far.
Burns will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Burns drives through with a takedown into guard.
Holmes wants to stand but Burns is controlling the position.
Holmes looking to hit a scissor sweep but Burns is one step ahead there.
Burns wants to stand but Holmes has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Burns preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holmes wants to stand and escape but Burns is having none of it.
Holmes is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Holmes is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Holmes manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Burns manages to get himself to full guard.

Holmes cracks Burns with a solid left hand.
Holmes working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Burns's head.
Holmes's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Christopher Holmes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Holmes distracts Burns with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Burns is looking to stand up but Holmes isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holmes is working Burns over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Holmes seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Holmes postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Holmes sitting in guard here, content to control.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Holmes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Burns can do to turn this around?

Burns moves into range and clinches up with Holmes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Burns decides to pull guard.
Holmes won't allow Burns to sweep him here.
Burns has momentary wrist control but Holmes slips an elbow through the middle.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Holmes's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Holmes controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Burns trying to control the position.
Holmes controls from within his opponent's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Christopher Holmes dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Holmes just misses with a punch to the body.
Burns tries to clinch but Holmes moves out of range.

Burns moves into the clinch.
Burns tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Holmes has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Holmes on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Holmes misses with a punch on the inside.
Burns throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Holmes blocks it with crossed arms.

Holmes has clasped his hands together around Burns's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.

Burns explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Holmes gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Burns to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Burns throws a big right hand that misses.
Burns takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns controlling from the top position.
Burns pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Holmes is keeping the position for now.
Holmes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Holmes is working for a kimura but Burns is defending it quite comfortably.
Burns trying to control here.
Holmes stops Burns from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Holmes is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Holmes takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Holmes scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Holmes prevents Burns from improving his position.
Holmes controlling the pace.
Holmes lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Holmes.
Holmes is nestled in close to Burns, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

Holmes is looking for a kimura here.
Holmes winds up and cracks Burns with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Holmes is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Burns on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Burns on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burns taking some punishment here, with Holmes in his half guard.
Holmes drops an elbow to the side of Burns's head.
Holmes working over Burns with some ground and pound. Burns looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Burns taking some punishment here, with Holmes in his half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
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. Holmes connects with a nice short shot to Burns's temple.
Alec Burns has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Holmes is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Burns defends it well.
Holmes slips a nice elbow through Burns's hands, connecting with Burns's forehead.
Christopher Holmes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Burns actively working from the bottom here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Christopher Holmes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Holmes, 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Christopher Holmes!
The defeated Alec Burns had this to say: 'I whooped his ass he caught me with some lucky shit '.