PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Trent Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rolando Garcia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pope kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It . Garcia has chosen Sound And Fury - I've Got Rabies as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Pope
vs
Garcia

198 cm
33
273 lbs
28 - 12 - 0

175 cm
38
164 lbs
29 - 16 - 2

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Trent Pope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 29 - 16 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rolando Garcia!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Wesley Smith and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pope fails with an attempt to clinch.
Garcia throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Horrible takedown by Garcia or perhaps it was just good defense by Pope which made him look bad.
Pope misses with a low kick.
Pope throws a shot from downtown. Garcia moves away and avoids it.

Garcia shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Pope is trying to defend but Garcia finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

Garcia is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garcia throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Pope on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Garcia working over Pope with some ground and pound. Pope looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Garcia wants to take a breather but Pope is having none of it.
Garcia is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pope is positioning himself well to prevent Garcia advancing to mount.

Trent Pope has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Pope misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Garcia.

Garcia scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Pope is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Garcia looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Pope with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garcia is looking to stall here but Pope recovers full guard.
Garcia with a flurry of punches that miss.
Pope is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pope lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Garcia!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pope looking to control and managing it successfully.
Pope trying to control but Garcia is having none of it.
Garcia can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garcia regains half guard.
Garcia has his hands clasped together around Pope's back. He's all about the action.
Pope prevents Garcia from improving his position.
Pope wants to lay and pray for a moment but Garcia keeps working.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Pope is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Trent Pope has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Pope thows a body shot but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope just misses with a punch to the body.
Garcia shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Pope sprawls well. Pope wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Garcia gets slowly back to his feet.
Garcia moves out of range as Pope strikes.
Pope takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Pope throws a poor cross that misses
and Garcia counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Pope thinking.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Garcia is defended easily by Pope.
Trent Pope has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rolando Garcia.
Pope fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Garcia checks it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rolando Garcia dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Garcia lands a body shot.
Garcia moves out of range of the strikes.
Pope cracks Garcia with a good jab.

Pope has taken the fight to the clinch.
Pope goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Pope throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Pope throws an elbow but it misses.
Pope is trying to stall.
Pope connects with a knee to the head.
Pope throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

Pope breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Pope throws a jab but it's blocked by Garcia.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Pope avoids it really well and circles away.
Garcia lands a slapping body shot.
Garcia misses with a body shot.
Donk. Garcia catches Pope right on the button with a cross.
Garcia keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Pope keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A lazy left from Pope finds it's target.
Pope throws a low kick but it's checked well by Garcia.
Pope takes a swing at Garcia's ribcage but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Garcia misses.
Pope moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Garcia blocks a leg kick.
Trent Pope is winning the standup battle so far.
Garcia throws a body punch but Pope moves out of range.
Pope misses with an attempted mid kick.

Garcia drives through and clinches with Pope against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pope landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Garcia is breathing heavily.
Pope looking to throw knees to the head but Garcia is blocking nicely.
Pope throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Pope tries a knee to the head but Garcia blocks it.
Pope tries a knee to the head but Garcia blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pope lands a right hand.
Pope working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Pope misses with the head strike.
Pope misses with an elbow over the top.
Garcia wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Pope keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Garcia's efforts to push away.
Pope lands a damaging elbow.
Pope tries to land knees in the clinch but Garcia avoids the damage to the body.
Pope tries to land a knee to the head but Garcia blocks with his arms.
Pope misses with an elbow strike.
Pope is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope keeps control of Garcia as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Garcia blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Garcia tries to break the clinch but Pope is controlling the position.
Garcia is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Garcia blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Pope's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Pope misses with an uppercut
and Pope takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Pope throws a front kick aimed at Garcia's knee but Garcia avoids it well.
Pope wants to land a leg kick but Garcia is out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pope misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nice sprawl there from Pope as Garcia shoots in.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Trent Pope dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Garcia avoids the body shot from Pope.

Pope gets caught napping as Garcia dives in and scores a takedown. Pope manages to retain guard.
Pope lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Garcia!
Pope will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Pope is trying to control here but Garcia has managed to regain half guard.
Garcia manages to get to full guard.
Garcia has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Garcia looking to hit a scissor sweep but Pope is one step ahead there.

Garcia escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Pope gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garcia tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Pope looking to pass the guard.
Pope has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Garcia is proving hard to escape from.
Pope stopping the sweep attempt from Garcia.
Pope won't allow Garcia to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garcia is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Garcia has an active guard here but Pope has managed to pass into half guard.
Garcia moves into full guard.
Garcia is trying to keep Pope in close.
Pope trying to control the position from guard on top but Garcia is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Garcia is trying to keep Pope in close.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Garcia is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Pope is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pope wants to stand but Garcia has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Pope is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Trent Pope wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Pope takes a swing at Garcia's ribcage but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Garcia manages to avoid it.
Pope throws a nice outside leg kick.
Garcia is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Pope rather than just go for the knockout.
Garcia throws a hook but Pope avoids it easily.
Pope misses with a straight left.
Garcia shoots for a takedown but Pope saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Garcia slips under a jab from Pope.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Garcia checks a leg kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pope throws a solid leg kick but Garcia takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Pope.
Pope plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Garcia shoots in for a double leg but Pope sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Trent Pope.
I think Pope has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Franklin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Trent Pope!
During a confident post fight interview, Trent Pope thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.