PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Landon Ford (ranked 576 p4p, 1168 weight class) and Valen Dreth (ranked 71 p4p, 147 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ford
vs
Dreth

177 cm
26
158
14 - 6 - 0

175 cm
24
148
8 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing
Conviction

FF Gear
Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

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 14 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Landon Ford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Valen Dreth!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Tarja Halkonen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dreth smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Dreth swats away the attempt to clinch by Ford.
Ford plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Ford looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Ford displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Dreth throws out the jab.
Ford misses with a head kick.
Dreth throws a nice inside leg kick.
Jab by Dreth.
Ford scores with a shot to the body.
Dreth is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ford.
Ford tries a head kick but it misses.
Dreth drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Ford defends it well.
Ford on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Dreth. Dreth obviously looking to wear him down.
Ford throws a sloppy head kick and Dreth moves out of range easily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ford lands with a nice body punch.
Ford seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.

Dreth closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Ford is trying to control Dreth's posture but Dreth avoids it.
Dreth is looking to take a break and control but Ford is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Ford's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dreth trying to control the action but Ford is working from the bottom.
Ford is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Dreth off and has taken his back!
Ford scores with punches and elbows.
Dreth covering up well under a series of strikes from Ford.
Dreth tries to break free.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ford punches the canvas rather than the man.
Ford throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Dreth covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Dreth is keeping busy.
Ford is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Ford gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Ford gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Ford apologises and we restart here on the feet.
Dreth has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Ford finds it's way round the side to connect with Dreth's head.
Dreth motions for Ford to come forward. Dreth throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Dreth scores with a nice head shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Dreth shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Ford holds on and takes a little breather.
Dreth won't allow Ford to get back to his feet.
Dreth trying to control but Ford is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Dreth won't allow Ford to sweep him here.
Ford is working hard here to advance position.
Dreth looking to pass the guard.
Ford wants to sweep but no luck.
Dreth trying to control but Ford is working from the bottom.
Ford wants to get back to his feet but Dreth is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A low kick from Ford misses
enabling Dreth to counter with a crisp jab.
Dreth tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Ford defends well and Dreth ends up having to push Ford into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Ford misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Ford closes the distance and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Dreth breaks from the clinch.

Ford pushes Dreth up against the cage in a clinch.
Dreth blocking some punches.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Ford creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A short right from Dreth.
A short body shot lands from Ford as the two fighters clinch.
Dreth scores with a shot to the side of Ford's head.
Ford working aggressively here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dreth blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Dreth lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Ford backwards.
Ford blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Dreth is trying to pull guard but Ford has him pressed against the cage.
Dreth wants to take the fight to the mat but Ford manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Landon Ford has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Valen Dreth.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Ford creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Ford has a couple of punches blocked by Dreth.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Dreth.
Dreth misses with a punch to the body.

Dreth breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Dreth throws a jab when Ford was well out of range.
Ford misses with a head kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Landon Ford dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Ford throws a head kick that misses.
Ford misses with a low kick.
Ford is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dreth can do to turn this around?
Dreth throws a sloppy head kick and Ford moves out of range easily.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Ford checks a leg kick.
Dreth wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Dreth misses with a takedown attempt - Ford sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Ford throws a body punch but Dreth moves out of range.
Dreth throws out a counter right but Ford avoids it with no problem.
A solid leg kick lands there for Ford.
Ford jabs at Dreth's body.
Dreth lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Dreth shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Ford as he avoids it easily.
Dreth moves out of range of the body kick from Ford.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dreth lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Ford pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Dreth with a nice cross.
A head kick misses from Ford.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ford takes a swing at Dreth's ribcage but misses.
Ford lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dreth bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A jab from Ford misses.
Dreth connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ford is looking to wear down Dreth with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Dreth misses with a looping right.
Ford avoids a punch combination nicely.
Ford is looking to counter with head kicks.
Ford misses with a series of wild punches.
Ford blocks a leg kick.
Ford lands a head kick!
Ford throws a series of strikes that have Dreth backpedaling.
Ford throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Nice uppercut there from Dreth.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dreth feints and then cracks Ford's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Ford down.
Dreth throws a hook but Ford blocks it.
Dreth keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ford.
Ford closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dreth lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Ford is rocked!
Ford lands a really nice looking cross but Dreth seems unphased.
Oh Ford is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Dreth swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Dreth tries a low kick but Ford avoids it.
Good work by Dreth as he checks the leg kick.
Ford throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Ford tries a head kick but it misses.
Ford seems to have got his legs back now.
Ford wants to slow Dreth down by chopping away at his legs.
Dreth lands with a shot to the body.
Ford ducks under a wild hook from Dreth.
Ford throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Ford misses with a head kick.

Dreth shoots in and gets a takedown into Ford's guard.
Ford controlling the position.
Dreth trying to control the position from guard on top but Ford is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dreth is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Dreth wants to pass the guard but Ford is keeping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ford is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Dreth is controlling him.
Ford can't keep his opponent in guard - Dreth advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Ford keeping control of the position.
Dreth is thwarting Ford's attempts to control the position.

Dreth is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Dreth is taking a breather. Ford 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Ford is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ford trying to control but Dreth postures up.

Dreth wants to work for an arm triangle but Ford is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Dreth is looking to advance position but Ford won't allow it.
Dreth seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Valen Dreth will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

A thudding body kick lands there by Ford!
Landon Ford is winning the standup battle so far.
Ford throws a head kick that Dreth semi-blocks.
Ford tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ford misses with a head kick.
Ford is looking to land body kicks.
Ford moves in looking to clinch but Dreth pushes him off.
Ford misses with a leg kick.
Dreth is looking to slow Ford down with leg kicks.
Good standup being displayed there by Dreth as he connects with a hook.
A head kick misses from Ford.
Dreth digs a good hook to Ford's body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dreth tried to score with a low kick but Ford checks it.

Ford instigates a clinch.
Ford looking to stall.
Ford misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ford misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dreth blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Landon Ford has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ford fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ford taking a breather.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Dreth lands a hook that snaps the head of Ford backwards.

Dreth pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Dreth blocks a head kick by Ford.
Ford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Dreth swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ford throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Dreth throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Dreth scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
A jab from Dreth finds it's way through Ford's defenses.
Dreth checks a low kick from Ford.
Dreth is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Dreth throws a nice outside leg kick.

Dreth fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Ford to the ground. Dreth is now in Ford's guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ford wants to sweep here but Dreth controlling him for the moment.

Dreth drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Ford dives on top into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dreth working for a triangle but Ford defends it easily.
Ford has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Ford working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Dreth's head.
Ford throws an elbow that misses. Dreth uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ford's guard. Nice move by Dreth!

Ford is trying to control the position but Dreth postures up.
Dreth preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dreth trying to control but Ford is working from the bottom.
Dreth pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ford is keeping the position for now.
Dreth trying to control the position from guard on top but Ford is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ford seems keen to control Dreth's posture.
Valen Dreth has got the better of the ground game so far.
Dreth slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Ford is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Dreth has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Ford is trying to get back to half guard.
Ford is not content to let Dreth control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Dreth gets a takedown into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Valen Dreth comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Dreth 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight as a draw!
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight for Valen Dreth!
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight for Valen Dreth!

Valen Dreth wins by majority decision!
After the fight, Valen Dreth was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.