PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Henry Cejudo (ranked 4558 p4p, 5198 weight class) and John Holmgren (ranked 242 p4p, 0 weight class). Cejudo comes into the arena with The Olympic Spirit blaring out of the sound system. Holmgren comes into a darkened arena with his song building. 800* kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Cejudo
vs
Holmgren

163 cm
24
130
2 - 3 - 0

170 cm
18
130
1 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

HELLS BALLS RECOVERY
Urban Fighter

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Henry Cejudo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, John Holmgren!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Konstantin Menshow and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holmgren lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

Holmgren clinches up with Cejudo and pushes him back against the cage.
Cejudo avoids the elbow strike from Holmgren, against the cage.
Cejudo blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cejudo has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Holmgren is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Holmgren is trying to force a seperation but Cejudo has the dominant position.
Cejudo can't get the takedown.
Cejudo drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Holmgren gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Henry Cejudo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cejudo fails to pull guard.
Holmgren looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cejudo tries to score a body lock takedown but Holmgren shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmgren prevents a takedown attempt there.
Holmgren misses with a hook from the clinch.
Cejudo tries for a takedown. No joy.
Cejudo has Holmgren pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Holmgren manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Cejudo is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Holmgren is defending well.
Cejudo is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Cejudo looking for a takedown.
Holmgren throws an elbow but it misses.
Cejudo blocks an elbow strike from Holmgren.
Cejudo is looking for a takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cejudo prevents Holmgren from breaking the clinch.

Cejudo has hold of one of Holmgren's legs. Holmgren is fighting the takedown attempt but Cejudo gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.

Holmgren kicks Cejudo off and gets to his feet.

Holmgren has Cejudo up against the cage in a clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Holmgren manages to pull guard.
Holmgren is looking to stand up but Cejudo isn't so interested in that idea.
Cejudo controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Cejudo has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Holmgren is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Cejudo is controlling him.
Cejudo seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cejudo wants to control from the top but Holmgren keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cejudo controlling from the top position.
Cejudo trying to control but Holmgren is working from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.

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

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.
Cejudo shoots in but Holmgren avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Holmgren leaves Cejudo with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Holmgren has managed to clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holmgren is pressed up against the cage. Cejudo has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Holmgren down to the mat. Holmgren avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Cejudo shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Holmgren sprawls well. Holmgren wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Cejudo gets slowly back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

John Holmgren dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Cejudo blocks a head kick by Holmgren.

Holmgren clinches up against the cage.
Cejudo tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Holmgren just stands there and leans against the cage.
Holmgren taking a breather.
Cejudo jumps guard but Holmgren stands there with Cejudo around his waist. Cejudo gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Holmgren wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cejudo has him pressed against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Holmgren turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Holmgren manages to end up in side control.
Cejudo wants to control but Holmgren postures up.
Cejudo is looking to reverse the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cejudo is trying to control Holmgren's posture but Holmgren avoids it.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Cejudo is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Holmgren is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Holmgren clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Holmgren tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Cejudo avoids it.
Holmgren has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Holmgren stops a takedown attempt from Cejudo.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Henry Cejudo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cejudo is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Holmgren to keep the fight standing.
Cejudo tries for a takedown. No joy.

Cejudo gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Cejudo in particular looking to stall.
Cejudo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holmgren keeps working.
Holmgren is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Holmgren makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

Cejudo tries to keep at a distance but Holmgren has taken the fight into the clinch.

Holmgren turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Cejudo tries to buck Holmgren off but Holmgren is having none of it.

Holmgren decides to stand back up. Holmgren steps back and let's Cejudo get back to his feet.

Holmgren moves into the clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Holmgren.
Cejudo tries for a takedown but Holmgren manages to get underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holmgren has had enough of the clinch but Cejudo keeps him there for the moment.
Cejudo fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Holmgren drags the fight down to the ground.
Cejudo passes Holmgren's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Holmgren pushes Cejudo off looking to stand but Cejudo dives back in and keeps control.
Cejudo is keen to just control but Holmgren is a slippery customer.

Cejudo seems to be working for a kimura but Holmgren defends the submission attempt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cejudo wants to pass the guard but Holmgren is defending well.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

John Holmgren showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Holmgren lands with a slapping head kick.

Holmgren moves into range and clinches up with Cejudo.

Holmgren pulls Cejudo into guard.
Holmgren keeping moving, preventing Cejudo from controlling successfully.
Cejudo's corner is telling him to maintain position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cejudo wants to pass the guard but Holmgren is keeping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holmgren wants to stand but Cejudo is controlling the position.
Cejudo working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Cejudo advances to half guard.
Cejudo is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Holmgren!

Cejudo wants to finish this one by submission but Holmgren is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Cejudo.
Holmgren trying desperately to get to his feet.
Cejudo takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cejudo trying to control but Holmgren is having none of it.
Holmgren has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Cejudo's lack of action.

Cejudo is looking for a kimura but Holmgren is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Cejudo to get the leverage.

Cejudo wants to work for an arm triangle but Holmgren is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Cejudo is trying to control the action in half guard but Holmgren is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holmgren is looking to escape.
Cejudo wants to advance to full mount but Holmgren doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Cejudo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Cejudo's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Cejudo fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Holmgren clinches up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cejudo tries to pull guard but Holmgren forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Holmgren struggles to land a body shot inside as Cejudo controls his hands.
Holmgren is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Cejudo is keeping busy.
Cejudo goes for a takedown attempt but Holmgren pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Henry Cejudo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cejudo takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Holmgren comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Holmgren has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Holmgren!
John Holmgren decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
The defeated Henry Cejudo had this to say: 'Sometimes when you think something is shiny and gold, it tends to be rusted and bronze, but that's just the way it is, man.'.