PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mikel Arteta (ranked 938 p4p, 1303 weight class) and John Lawrence (ranked 135 p4p, 185 weight class). Arteta comes to the cage accompanied by Stranglehold/ Ted Nugent. Lawrence has chosen No Surrender as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Arteta
vs
Lawrence

191 cm
27
200
9 - 4 - 0

180 cm
29
195
18 - 12 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Vegan Gains

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Mikel Arteta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Lawrence!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lawrence dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Arteta. That did some damage!
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Lawrence has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Arteta misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Lawrence.
A left lands for Arteta.
We've been told by Arteta's head coaches at Shut Up & Train! {$1000} that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Arteta finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Arteta fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Lawrence is out of range.
Lawrence is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Arteta.
Arteta throws a low kick but it's checked well by Lawrence.
Arteta throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
It seemed like Lawrence was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Arteta moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Lawrence throws a jab when Arteta was well out of range.

Lawrence feints and as Arteta raises his hands in defense, Lawrence changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lawrence wants to control from the top but Arteta keeps moving.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Arteta holds on and takes a little breather.
Lawrence pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Arteta is keeping the position for now.
Arteta avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Lawrence postures up and lands a big shot to Arteta's brow.
Arteta is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arteta is trying to control the action in half guard but Lawrence is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Lawrence wants to improve his position but Arteta is controlling well.
Arteta tries to pass to full mount but Lawrence defends it.
Lawrence gets full guard.

Lawrence had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Arteta defends it easily.
Lawrence working a defensive guard here.
Arteta sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Lawrence pushes a forearm under Arteta's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, Arteta is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). John Lawrence!
An out of breath John Lawrence thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.