PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Monty Don (ranked 677 p4p, 228 weight class) and John Ishmael (ranked 98 p4p, 39 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Don
vs
Ishmael

185 cm
27
219
8 - 2 - 0

192 cm
27
205
10 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Monty Don!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, John Ishmael!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Santiago Holmes and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Don scores with a jab.
Ishmael misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Don counters by clinching up.
Ishmael is trying to break the clinch but Don is controlling him.
Don has Ishmael pressed against the cage, preventing Ishmael from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Don has Ishmael pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Don pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Ishmael tumbling to the mat - Don dives into Ishmael's guard.
Don throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ishmael works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Don working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Don 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.
Don not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Ishmael really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Don. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Don advances to half guard.
Ishmael is trying to stand up here but Don is controlling him well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Don is nestled in close to Ishmael, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Ishmael looks like he's trying to stand up.
Don thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Don wants to pass to mount but Ishmael is defending the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Don throwing shots but Ishmael is blocking nicely.
Don tries to pass to full mount but Ishmael defends it.
Ishmael on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ishmael blocking the ground and pound attempt from Don.
Don passes to side control.
Don tries to advance to mount but Ishmael denies him.
Ishmael regains half guard, as Don was trying to land strikes.
Don missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
We've been hearing that Don has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Don throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Don wants to free his trapped foot but Ishmael is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Don is taking a breather. Ishmael says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Don throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
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. Don connects with a nice short shot to Ishmael's temple.
Don throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ground and pound from Don.
Ishmael on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ishmael has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Don throwing shots but Ishmael is blocking nicely.
Don trying to mount his opponent but Ishmael defends it.

Don is working for a kimura but Ishmael is defending it quite comfortably.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Don not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Don sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ishmael defending well though.
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. Don connects with a nice short shot to Ishmael's temple.
Ishmael taking some punishment here, with Don in his half guard.
Don trying to control from half guard but Ishmael is working away.
Don is really struggling to control Ishmael but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Ishmael on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Don thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ishmael's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Don thows a huge punch but Ishmael dodges it nicely.
Ishmael won't allow Don to pass to mount.

Ishmael is defending against the submission attempts here by Don.
Ground and pound from Don.
Don is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Don has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Ishmael's face.
Ishmael avoids a series of strikes thrown by Don.
Ishmael avoids a series of strikes thrown by Don.
Don thowing shots but they're missing.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Don swings around for an armbar and he's got it! Wow, that came out of nowhere! What a finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Monty Don!
After winning the bout, Monty Don thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.