PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Mitch Gagnon (ranked 1856 p4p, 1741 weight class) and Wrestling Spar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Wrestling Spar has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Gagnon
vs
Spar

168 cm
27
142
5 - 0 - 0

155 cm
27
135
4 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Mitch Gagnon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Wrestling Spar!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Peter Branson and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Spar shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gagnon sprawls well. Gagnon wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Spar gets slowly back to his feet.
Spar will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Wrestling Spar seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gagnon leaves Spar with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Mitch Gagnon has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wrestling Spar.
Gagnon lands the left hand.
Spar closes this distance looking for a takedown but Gagnon circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Spar shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Gagnon counters with a stiff right hand.
Gagnon misses with a hook. Spar ducked under it nicely.
Spar changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Gagnon with a nice cross.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gagnon misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Spar.
Gagnon has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Good standup being displayed there by Gagnon as he connects with a hook.

Spar closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Gagnon tries to kick Spar off in order to stand up. Spar Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Spar tries to advance to mount but Gagnon denies him.
Gagnon wants to control but Spar postures up.
Spar is staying tight to Gagnon's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Gagnon is looking for a sweep.
Spar has knee on belly and moves into mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spar controlling his opponent.

Spar with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

Spar is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Gagnon has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Gagnon has given up his back - I don’t know if this is a deliberate ploy to try and escape or if he is just struggling down there.
Gagnon knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Spar on the ground.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Gagnon is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Spar gets his way!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spar trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Gagnon doesn't escape.

Spar looking for the choke but no joy.

Gagnon is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Spar has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Gagnon has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Spar has the hooks in. Gagnon is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Spar looking for the RNC.
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 Mitch Gagnon will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Spar shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Gagnon defends it nicely.
Gagnon misses with a looping left.
Spar looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Spar looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Spar throws a poor cross that misses
and Gagnon counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Spar misses with a lunging right hand
and Gagnon counters with a nice uppercut.
Spar tries to move into range but Gagnon moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Mitch Gagnon is winning the standup battle so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gagnon throws a lazy right hand but Spar sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gagnon is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Spar can do to turn this around?
Spar throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Gagnon swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Spar is trying hard to land a takedown here. Gagnon sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Spar shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gagnon sprawls well. Gagnon wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Spar gets slowly back to his feet.
Mitch Gagnon has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wrestling Spar.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spar shoots in looking for a takedown but Gagnon manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Spar's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Spar darts in looking for a takedown but Gagnon gets double underhooks and turns Spar into the cage.
Spar shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Spar on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Spar goes for a double leg but Gagnon avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Gagnon continues to drive forward.
Mitch Gagnon is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Spar misses with a takedown
and Gagnon counters with a nice uppercut.
Spar shoots for a double leg takedown but Gagnon sprawls well. He's pushed Spar's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Spar looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Gagnon looks to throw the jab but Spar is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gagnon throws a body shot but no joy.
Spar fails with the takedown.
Spar waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Gagnon.

Spar dives in and scores a takedown into Gagnon's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Spar is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Gagnon wants to stand up but Spar is controlling him.
Spar pushes down on Gagnon's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spar seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Spar prevents Gagnon from standing back up.
Spar works his way into side control.
Spar passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Gagnon!
Spar trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Spar is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Gagnon to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Gagnon shrugs it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Spar looking to control but Gagnon is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Spar controlling from mount.

Spar looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Gagnon is looking to improve his position but Spar isn't that keen on the idea.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gagnon has given up his back here. Will Spar look for the submission or keep pounding away?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mitch Gagnon dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Spar fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gagnon lands with an uppercut that bounces Spar off the cage and back into range.
Spar misses with a takedown
and Gagnon counters with a straight right hand.
Spar fails with a takedown attempt.
Mitch Gagnon has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Wrestling Spar.
No luck for Spar with that takedown attempt.
Gagnon is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Spar looks to throw the jab but Gagnon is out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Spar is defended easily by Gagnon.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gagnon has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Spar finds it's way round the side to connect with Gagnon's head.

Spar decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gagnon is trying to escape back to his feet but Spar uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Gagnon is not content to let Spar control the position.
Gagnon tries to improve position but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spar moves into full mount!
Spar forces the positional change into back control.
Spar is looking to control Gagnon but Gagnon is wriggling around and keeping busy.

Spar looking for the RNC.

Gagnon is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Spar gets his way!

Spar is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Gagnon defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gagnon is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Spar gets his way!

Gagnon showing good submission defense here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gagnon defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

Spar is looking for the choke from the back position but Gagnon is controlling his hands well.

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.

Spar looking for the rear naked choke. And he's got it! Gagnon taps!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:34 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Wrestling Spar!
Wrestling Spar tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.