PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Matthew Matthews (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Watson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Matthews
vs
Watson

177 cm
23
192 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
25
197 lbs
9 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Matthew Matthews!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Tom Watson!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Matthews throws a leg kick but Watson sees it coming and checks it nicely.

Watson shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Matthews manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Matthews is pulling down on Watson's head. It's preventing any offense from Watson, at least for the moment.
Matthews keeping full guard, as Watson tries to pass.
Matthews controls Watson momentarily but Watson frees himself.
Watson is looking to work some ground and pound but Matthews has wrist control.
Watson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Watson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Watson works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Matthews defending well though.
Watson tries to pass to full mount but Matthews defends it.
Watson looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Matthews manages to get to full guard.
Matthews avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Watson throws and elbow that misses. Matthews uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Watson's guard. Nice move by Matthews!
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Watson wants to stand but Matthews is controlling the position.
Matthews content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matthews prevents Watson from getting back to his feet.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Matthews's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Matthews working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Watson wants to stand up but Matthews is controlling him.
Matthews makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Matthews scoring with some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Matthews wants to pass the guard but Watson is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Watson has momentary wrist control but Matthews slips an elbow through the middle.
Matthews distracts Watson with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Matthews pushes down on Watson's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Watson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Matthews scores with a couple of nice shots.
Watson is trying to stand back up but Matthews is controlling him
Matthews looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Watson with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Matthews is nestled in close to Watson, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Matthews is looking to take a break and control but Watson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Matthews is looking to advance position but Watson won't allow it.
Matthews has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Watson pushes Matthews off and gets back to his feet.

Watson moves into range and clinches up with Matthews.

Watson gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Watson looks gassed!
Matthews tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Watson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Watson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Matthews wants to sweep here but Watson controlling him for the moment.
Watson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Watson stands and throws Matthews's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Watson working the strikes but Matthews uses the opportunity to regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Matthews defending well though.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Watson wants to free his trapped foot but Matthews is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Watson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Matthews defending well though.
Watson takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Watson is working for a kimura here but Matthews manages to reverse the position and he's now in Watson's guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Matthews stops Watson from standing up.
Matthews wants to control from the top but Watson keeps moving.
Watson keeping full guard, as Matthews tries to pass.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tom Watson will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Matthews throws a leg kick that is checked

and Watson counters by moving into the clinch.
Matthews wants a takedown.
Matthews lands a right hand.
Matthews scores with a shoulder strike.
Matthews working aggressively here.
Matthews has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Watson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Watson just misses with a elbow thrown towards Matthews's brow.
Matthews misses with a short punch on the inside.
Matthews connects with a knee to the head.
Watson scores with a shot to the side of Matthews's head.
Matthews tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Matthews misses with the head strike.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Watson.

Watson wants the takedown. Matthews is fighting it off but Watson persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Matthews's guard against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Matthews avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Watson works over Matthews with some ground and pound from guard.
Watson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Matthews has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Watson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Watson is looking to advance position but Matthews has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Watson takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Matthews lands a big shot there that rocks Watson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Watson is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Matthews landing shots from mount.
Matthews lands a big shot there that rocks Watson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Matthews working for a guillotine from mount but Watson is in no mood to give up.
Watson's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Matthews wants to control the pace but Watson is squirming around nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Matthews is working close to his opponent, looking to work a submission by the looks of things. Oh, he's managed to get a guillotine from mount as his opponent reached up! That looks tiiiiight! Will he tap? YES, he's tapped! Impressive submission by Matthews!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:44 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Matthew Matthews!