PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hudson Clarkson (ranked 4268 p4p, 4050 weight class) and Dead Pool (ranked 503 p4p, 486 weight class). Pool is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: MOOD. Dead Pool struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 187.3lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Clarkson
vs
Pool

185 cm
18
190
1 - 0 - 0

194 cm
18
194
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Hudson Clarkson!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Dead Pool!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Steve Smith and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pool displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Clarkson.

Pool clinches up against the cage.
Pool misses with some punches.
Clarkson wants a takedown.
Pool misses with some punches.
Clarkson tries to pull guard but Pool won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hudson Clarkson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Clarkson has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Pool uses from the top position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pool connects with a couple of short punches.
Clarkson has his hands on Pool's head, controlling the position.
Pool really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Clarkson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pool landing with the ground and pound.
Pool postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pool throwing strikes but missing.
Pool is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Clarkson wants to sweep here but Pool controlling him for the moment.
Pool lands a couple of elbows.
Pool scoring with some ground and pound.
Pool makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Pool must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Pool looks winded!
Clarkson manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Pool manages to get himself to full guard.

Pool trying to strike off his back.
Clarkson trying to control the position from guard on top but Pool is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pool looking to hit a scissor sweep but Clarkson is one step ahead there.
Pool trying to strike off his back.
Clarkson trying to control the position from guard on top but Pool is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Clarkson is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Pool is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Clarkson looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Pool lands with a heel strike from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pool keeping moving, preventing Clarkson from controlling successfully.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Clarkson circles away from the clinch attempt

and Clarkson counters with a single leg into guard. Pool didn't expect that.
Pool keeping moving, preventing Clarkson from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Our spies down at at Cozad MMA Sydney inform us that Pool has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Pool lands a good elbow from the bottom.

Clarkson drops back looking for a leg! Pool is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Pool manages to kick Clarkson off! Clarkson jumps back into Pool's guard.
Clarkson trying to control the position from guard on top but Pool is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarkson preventing the sweep.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Clarkson trying to control the position from guard on top but Pool is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Pool wants to clinch but Clarkson slips to the side

and Clarkson counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Clarkson trying to control but Pool is working from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Hudson Clarkson will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Pool tries to clinch

and Clarkson counters with a takedown into side control.

Clarkson thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Pool is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Clarkson is looking to take a break and control but Pool is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Clarkson has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Hudson Clarkson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Clarkson is looking to work his way around to Pool's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Clarkson looking to control but Pool is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Pool flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Clarkson fails to move to back control.
Clarkson tries to control but Pool wriggling away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarkson is really struggling to control Pool but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Pool is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Pool is breathing heavily.
Pool is squirming around, avoiding Clarkson's attempts to control the action.
Clarkson is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. Pool is in real trouble.

Pool preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Clarkson.
Pool rolls, trying to escape but Clarkson keeps control of the position.

Clarkson tightening his grip on Pool, looking for the choke.

Clarkson is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Pool knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Pool for a finish.
Clarkson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pool can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Clarkson is persistently looking for the submission but Pool is defending it well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pool is in bad spot here.

Clarkson is working for the choke. He's slipped one arm under the chin. Pool has to defend the other arm for all he's worth... but Clarkson has managed to get that arm free too and he's tightening the choke! Pool taps out and looks absolutely disgusted with himself. Clarkson doesn't care though - he's delighted!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:40 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Hudson Clarkson!
Hudson Clarkson is the new middleweight champion!
A victorious Hudson Clarkson thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.
In defeat, Dead Pool stepped up to the mic, saying 'I love you marry me'.