PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Flo Holl (ranked 255 p4p, 313 weight class) and Graham Mantle (ranked 19 p4p, 24 weight class). Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Holl
vs
Mantle

178 cm
30
145
16 - 9 - 1

169 cm
36
145
28 - 14 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

NARCOS
Shadow Realm Apparel

NARCOS
HELL'S BALLS NUTRITION

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 16 - 9 - 1, fighting out of London, Flo Holl!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Graham Mantle!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Paul Tew and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Holl - that will leave a mark!
Holl throws a jab when Mantle was well out of range.
Holl has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Shut Up & Train! in the buildup to the fight.
Mantle takes a swing at Holl's ribcage but misses.
Mantle shoots in for a takedown but Holl shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Holl is looking to counter with head kicks.
Mantle avoids the head kick by Holl.
Mantle blocks the body kick.
Mantle scores with a decent looking hook.
Holl wants to clinch but Mantle slips to the side
and Mantle counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Holl throws a leg kick that is checked
and Mantle counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Mantle slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Holl scores with a body shot.
Mantle slips a jab from Holl.

Mantle gets tackled into the cage by Holl. Holl maintains the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Holl takes a shot to the head.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Mantle 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.
Mantle misses with a hook to the ribs.
Mantle presses Holl against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Holl has a couple of punches blocked by Mantle.
Mantle makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Mantle blocking some punches.
Holl gets through Mantle's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Holl tries to land knees in the clinch but Mantle avoids the damage to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holl utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Holl trying to land knees to the body.
Mantle goes for a takedown attempt but Holl pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Holl misses with a wild body shot.

Mantle shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Holl's guard.
Holl looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mantle is one step ahead there.
Mantle is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Holl looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mantle is one step ahead there.
Holl wants to stand up but Mantle is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mantle in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Holl controls Mantle momentarily but Mantle frees himself.
Mantle throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mantle has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Mantle postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Mantle wants to pass the guard but Holl is keeping the position.
Mantle throwing strikes from guard but Holl blocks nicely.
Holl keeping moving, preventing Mantle from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Mantle cracks Holl with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
The crowd cheers as Mantle lands an impressive looking overhand right. Holl doesn't seem phased though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mantle throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Flo Holl seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Holl fails with an attempt to clinch.
Holl connects with an inside leg kick.
Holl misses with a low kick.
Mantle scores with a nice right hand.
Mantle uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Holl.
Holl misses with an attempted mid kick.
Mantle is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Holl with a body shot.
Mantle swats away the attempt to clinch by Holl.
Mantle now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Holl. Mantle does a little dance to reset his feet.
Holl takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Mantle works Holl's body with a nice hook.
Holl lands with a thumping leg kick.

Holl gets tackled into the cage by Mantle. Mantle maintains the clinch.
Mantle cracks Holl with a nice body shot.
Mantle throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nice body punch from Mantle - that landed with a thud.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mantle is trying to drag Holl to the mat but Holl just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Flo Holl has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Graham Mantle.
Holl lands an elbow that stopped Mantle in his tracks for a moment.
Mantle lands a shot to the body.
Holl tries to land knees in the clinch but Mantle avoids the damage to the body.
Holl misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Mantle avoiding damage as Holl throws knees to the body.
Mantle is working Holl over against the cage.
Holl lands a nice knee to the body.
Holl with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A left hand lands to the body for Mantle.
Holl is breathing heavily.
A short right from Mantle.
A short left from Mantle.
Mantle presses Holl against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Mantle drops down looking for an ankle pick but Holl pulls his leg out and moves away.
Holl scores with a jab to the head.
Holl misses with a low kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Graham Mantle dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Holl throws a low kick but Mantle moves out of range easily.
Holl paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Holl misses with a low kick.
Holl fails with an attempt to clinch.
Mantle shoots in but Holl avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Mantle throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Holl sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mantle's corner calls for a 1-2. Mantle obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
A big right from Holl misses.
Mantle lands a right hook to the body.
Holl throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Holl avoids the body shot from Mantle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mantle throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Holl.
Mantle misses with a looping right.
Mantle goes for a double leg but Holl avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Holl continues to drive forward.
Nice defenses there by Mantle.
Holl throws a wild body kick that Mantle sees coming a mile off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holl throws a push kick but Mantle slaps the foot to one side.
Nice cross by Mantle.
Holl throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Mantle connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Holl thows a body kick. Mantle tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Nice body punch from Holl.
Mantle throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
It looked like Holl was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Mantle.
Mantle misses with a straight right.
Mantle uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Holl.
A bone on bone clash there as Mantle blocks the leg kick.
Mantle tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Holl swings widly with a right hand
and Mantle counters with a stiff right hand.
Holl throws a leg kick which misses Mantle's front leg but catches the back leg as Mantle tries to avoid it.
Holl misses with a body shot.
Mantle moves out of range of the body kick.
Holl throws a shot from downtown. Mantle moves away and avoids it.
Mantle takes a jab right on the kisser.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Holl throws a wild body kick that Mantle sees coming a mile off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mantle fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Holl looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.

Mantle closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Holl's guard.
Mantle throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Holl being controlled here, momentarily.
Mantle connects with a couple of short punches.
Mantle throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Mantle slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Mantle sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Holl is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Holl regains half guard there - taking advantage of Mantle's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mantle controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holl desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Holl blocking the ground and pound attempt from Mantle.
Holl wants to control but Mantle is keeping busy.
Mantle landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Mantle content to control rather than advance.
Mantle is trying to control the action in half guard but Holl is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Mantle prevents Holl from improving his position.
Mantle trying to control the pace.
Graham Mantle has got the better of the ground game so far.
Holl is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Mantle scores with a couple of nice shots.
Mantle content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Graham Mantle showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Holl turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Holl tries to land a leg kick but Mantle saw it coming and moves away.
A big left from Mantle misses.
Mantle takes a swing at Holl's ribcage but misses.
Holl loads up on a big right hand but Mantle slips the punch.
Holl tries to clinch up.
Holl takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Holl tries to clinch there but Mantle circles away.
Holl throws a leg kick but Mantle checks it.
Nice defenses there by Holl.

Mantle closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mantle softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Mantle has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mantle gets through Holl's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Mantle goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Holl putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Mantle in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Mantle lands a shoulder strike.
Mantle misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holl can't find room to land a body shot as Mantle controls the action.
Holl throws an elbow that misses.
Holl misses with a knee strike.
Mantle takes an elbow to the temple.
Holl lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Holl throws a head punch that misses.
Holl throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Mantle avoids a wild elbow strike from Holl.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Mantle.
Holl looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Holl landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Holl scores with a shoulder strike.
Holl misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Mantle.
Mantle lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mantle stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Mantle digs a right hand into Holl's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Holl's gas tank.
Mantle avoiding damage as Holl throws knees to the body.
Holl can't find room to land a body shot as Mantle controls the action.
Holl throws a punch but it's blocked by Mantle.
Flo Holl has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Graham Mantle is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mantle managing to block the knees to the body from Holl.
A short body shot lands from Mantle as the two fighters clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mantle lands with a right to the head.
Mantle softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Mantle dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Holl pushes off an throws an elbow but Mantle leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Mantle scores with a shot to the side of Holl's head.
Mantle pushes Holl back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Mantle.
Mantle blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Mantle makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Mantle lands with a short head shot on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Holl.
Mantle lands a shot to the body.
Holl tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Mantle lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Holl misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Holl obliges.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A hook to the body from Mantle.
Graham Mantle seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Mantle lands an uppercut.
Holl is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Mantle is defending well for now.
A short body shot lands from Mantle as the two fighters clinch.
Mantle lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Holl backwards.
Holl is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Mantle scores with a hook to the body.
Holl blocks a body shot from Mantle.
Holl tries a knee to the head but Mantle blocks it.
Mantle digs a right hand underneath Holl's ribcage. Holl let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Mantle lands with a short shot to the head.

Mantle wants the takedown. Holl is fighting it off but Mantle persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Holl's guard against the cage.
Holl has momentary wrist control but Mantle slips an elbow through the middle.
Mantle is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Mantle working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Holl's head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mantle connects with a couple of short punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mantle trying to control the position from guard on top but Holl is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mantle stays in close to Holl's body and controls the position.
Mantle's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Holl wants to improve his position but instead Mantle has moved into half guard.
Ground and pound from Mantle.
Mantle trying to control the action but Holl is working from the bottom.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mantle in particular looking to stall.

And that's the end of the fight!
Graham Mantle comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mantle 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 27:30
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Graham Mantle!
Graham Mantle thanked the fans post fight for their support.