PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dominic Byrd (ranked 24661 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kevin Sykes (ranked 4516 p4p, 0 weight class). Dominic Byrd has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Byrd
vs
Sykes

187 cm
18
193 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

190 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dominic Byrd!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kevin Sykes!
The judges for this bout are Robert Douchet, Dillan Fox and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sykes will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Sykes shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

Byrd scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Byrd pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sykes doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.

Sykes gets a double leg takedown into Byrd's guard.
Sykes looks winded!
Byrd has control of Sykes's left arm, preventing Sykes from doing any damage.
Sykes must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Byrd wants to sweep but no luck.
Sykes being controlled here momentarily.
Sykes preventing the sweep.
Sykes wants to control from the top but Byrd keeps moving.
Byrd tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sykes being controlled here momentarily.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Byrd wants to get back to his feet but Sykes is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Kevin Sykes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Byrd.
Byrd lands a decent elbow from side control.
Byrd throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Byrd looking to control but instead Sykes has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Byrd not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Byrd throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Byrd thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Sykes's head.
Byrd throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sykes keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Byrd thows a huge punch but Sykes dodges it nicely.
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. Byrd connects with a nice short shot to Sykes's temple.
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. Byrd connects with a nice short shot to Sykes's temple.

Byrd 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.
Sykes keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Byrd is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrd prevents Sykes from improving his position.
Byrd throwing shots but Sykes is blocking nicely.
Sykes wants to control but Byrd is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Byrd thows a huge punch but Sykes dodges it nicely.
Byrd slips a nice elbow through Sykes's hands, connecting with Sykes's forehead.
Sykes on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Byrd scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Byrd sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sykes defending well though.
Byrd throwing shots but Sykes is blocking nicely.
Byrd thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Byrd seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Sykes avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Byrd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sykes trying to control but Byrd postures up.
Byrd throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Byrd throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Byrd prevents Sykes from improving his position.
Byrd is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sykes avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Byrd.
Byrd 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.

Byrd seems to be working for a kimura but Sykes defends the submission attempt.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Byrd not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Nice strikes from Byrd there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dominic Byrd dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Byrd throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Byrd is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sykes can do to turn this around?
Byrd shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Sykes sprawls well. Sykes wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Byrd gets slowly back to his feet.
A combination from Sykes does no damage.
Byrd looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.

Sykes gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Byrd is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Sykes gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Byrd tries to pull guard but Sykes holds him up against the cage and eventually Byrd drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dominic Byrd. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Byrd prevents the takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Byrd taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Sykes is breathing heavily.

Byrd pulls Sykes into guard.
Sykes missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sykes is fighting to break Byrd's control of his arms but Byrd is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Byrd looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Byrd is pulling down on Sykes's head. It's preventing any offense from Sykes, at least for the moment.
Sykes missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Byrd wants to sweep but no luck.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
A nice leg kick lands there from Sykes.
Sykes throws a one two combo.
A nice leg kick lands there from Byrd.
No luck for Byrd with that takedown attempt.
Byrd takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Byrd looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Sykes is fending him off so far but Byrd persists. Nope, Sykes circles away and we're back to standing.
Sykes avoids the head kick by Byrd.

Sykes shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Dominic Byrd overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrd preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sykes trying to control but Byrd is working from the bottom.
Sykes throws a big elbow that misses.
Byrd trying to control the position here.

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.
Sykes slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Byrd keeping moving, preventing Sykes from controlling successfully.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sykes looks to land a combination. Byrd sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Byrd changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Sykes tries to avoid it but Byrd manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Sykes to the ground. Sykes escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Byrd shoots in looking for a takedown but Sykes manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Byrd's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Sykes closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Sykes on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kevin Sykes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Sykes dips to his left and cracks Byrd with an uppercut!
Sykes shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Byrd defends it nicely.
Byrd seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Byrd tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Sykes swivels and escapes.
Kevin Sykes seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Byrd scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Sykes tries to roll over but Byrd keeps him under control.

Byrd is working for a submission of some sort.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sykes wants to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Byrd throwing shots but Sykes is blocking nicely.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Byrd sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sykes defending well though.
Sykes has hold of Byrd's hands but Byrd slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Byrd is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Sykes makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Sykes.
Byrd postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Byrd with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Byrd lands a couple of elbows.
Byrd with a nice head shot there.
Byrd is looking to work some ground and pound but Sykes has wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Byrd throwing strikes from guard but Sykes blocks nicely.
Byrd working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Sykes's head.
Byrd landing with the ground and pound.
Byrd keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sykes's head.
Byrd scoring with some ground and pound.
Our spies down at at Cozad MMA Montreal inform us that Sykes has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Byrd connects with a couple of short punches.
Byrd throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sykes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Byrd throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sykes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Byrd tries to stand but Sykes is controlling from the bottom.

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

Byrd shoots in and bounces Sykes off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrd trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Byrd lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Byrd throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Byrd loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Byrd throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sykes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Byrd missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Byrd working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Byrd postures up and lands a big shot to Sykes's brow.
Byrd is working Sykes over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Byrd throws a big right hand that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Byrd accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Byrd accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Byrd goes for a double leg but Sykes avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Sykes continues to drive forward.
Sykes shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Byrd but Byrd pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Byrd went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Byrd.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dominic Byrd. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Sykes rushes Byrd and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Byrd is trying to pull guard but Sykes has him pressed against the cage.
Sykes scores with a shot to the side of Byrd's head.
Byrd fails to pull guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dominic Byrd showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Byrd has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Robert Douchet scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dominic Byrd!