PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mike Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Josip Horvat (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Howard comes to the cage accompanied by My Block. Horvat has chosen Dubioza kolektiv - Kažu as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Howard
vs
Horvat

165 cm
32
163 lbs
10 - 19 - 0

170 cm
18
170 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Can Moonwalk

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mike Howard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Josip Horvat!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Alexandre Firmino and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horvat looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Horvat loads up on a big right hand but Howard slips the punch.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Howard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Howard scores with punches from side control.
Howard in side control lands a decent elbow.
Horvat takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Horvat wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Horvat tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Howard wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Howard landing strikes.
Horvat is trying to get back to half guard.
Howard could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Horvat takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Howard is chipping away with strikes.
Howard works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Howard scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Horvat to see if he's OK.
Howard working the head and body with strikes.
Horvat is trying to buck Howard off.
Horvat on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horvat takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Howard creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Horvat takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Howard landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Howard wants to control but Horvat is keeping him busy.
Horvat tries to bench press Howard off him but Howard keeps the position.
Howard working the head with strikes.
Horvat takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Howard working the ground and pound from side control.
Horvat is looking to reverse the position.
Horvat takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Howard works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Horvat is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Howard has just dragged him back down to the mat.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Horvat taking punishment in the form of punches.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Howard grinds an elbow into Horvat's temple.
Howard working the head and body with strikes.
Howard cracks Horvat with a big right hand but Horvat just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howard in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Howard in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Horvat takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Horvat tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Howard scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Horvat to see if he's OK.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Horvat is trying to buck Howard off.
Howard landing strikes.
Horvat regains half guard.
Horvat is trying to stand back up but Howard is controlling him
Horvat looks winded!
Ground and pound from Howard.
Howard is keen to just control but Horvat is a slippery customer.

Horvat looking for submissions off his back.
Howard lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horvat taking some punishment here, with Howard in his half guard.
Howard drops an elbow to the side of Horvat's head.
Howard controlling the pace.
Howard lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Howard passes to full mount!
Horvat is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Howard pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Horvat is trying to escape the mount.
Howard landing strikes from the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Howard is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Horvat can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Howard unloading with bombs!
Horvat is working to get back to half guard.
Horvat is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Howard putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Howard raining down hammerfists from mount.
Horvat is trying to stand up.
Howard is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Horvat can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The referee warns Horvat that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Howard lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Horvat is bucking up trying to escape but Howard cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Howard dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Horvat gets caught napping as Howard dives in and scores a takedown. Horvat manages to retain guard.

Horvat looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Howard decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Horvat, up you get!
A jab from Horvat misses.

Howard shoots in and gets a takedown into Horvat's guard.
Howard is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Howard trying to control but Horvat is working from the bottom.

Horvat is looking for a triangle here but Howard uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Howard working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Horvat is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Howard has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Horvat is breathing heavily.
Howard cracks Horvat with a big right hand but Horvat just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Howard is chipping away with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horvat tries to escape but Howard is in control.
Horvat is not content to let Howard control the position.
Howard grinds an elbow into Horvat's temple.
Howard cracks Horvat with a big elbow.
Mike Howard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Howard lands some shots froms side control.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Horvat on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Horvat is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Howard has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Howard working the body and head with strikes.
Horvat is looking for a sweep.
Howard cracks Horvat with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Howard passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Horvat!
Horvat is in all sorts of trouble here.
Howard is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Horvat is trying to get back to his feet but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howard looking to control and managing it successfully.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Howard with good strikes from the mount here!
Howard lands a couple of good shots and Horvat has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Horvat covers up after that shot from Howard.
Howard has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Horvat.
Howard softening up his opponent with strikes here.
Horvat has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
Howard lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Horvat holding both Howard 's hands and preventing any damage.
Howard punches Horvat on the ear.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard punishes Horvat with strikes from the back mount.
Horvat holding both Howard 's hands and preventing any damage.
Howard lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Horvat hold on?!
Howard is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Horvat can do to turn this around?
Horvat looking very determined here, making life difficult for Howard.
Horvat is trying to break free.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Howard.
Howard lands a shot to the body.
Horvat trying to get back to his feet but Howard is in full control for now.
Howard has Horvat flattened out and is raining down punches.
Howard struggling to land strikes to the head as Horvat covers up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horvat trying to get back to his feet but Howard is in full control for now.
Howard lands shots from the back.
Howard softening up his opponent with strikes here.
Howard thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Horvat is trying to stand back up.
Howard scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Horvat looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Howard lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Horvat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Horvat holding both Howard 's hands and preventing any damage.
Horvat is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Howard dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Howard shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Howard lands a couple of elbows.
Howard connects with a couple of short punches.
Howard with a nice head shot there.
Howard wants to control from the top but Horvat keeps moving.
Howard works over Horvat with some ground and pound from guard.

Horvat looking for a guillotine here but Howard defends easily.
Howard scoring with punches to the head and body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Howard distracts Horvat with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Howard chips away with some ground and pound.

Horvat working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Howard has passed into half guard!
Howard is nestled in close to Horvat, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howard looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Howard is nestled in close to Horvat, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

Horvat looking for submissions off his back.
Howard works his way into full mount!
Howard lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Howard scoring with strikes but Horvat is staying in there.
Howard landing strikes from the mount.
Howard raining down hammerfists from mount.
Howard trying to control but Horvat is having none of it.
Horvat is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Mike Howard is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howard lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Howard scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Horvat taking shots to the head.
Horvat wants to try and get back to his feet.
Howard tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Horvat really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Howard sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Howard prevents Horvat from getting the reversal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard lands a big shot there that rocks Horvat but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Howard controlling his opponent.
Horvat is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Howard controlling the position easily from mount.
Howard fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Howard 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.
Howard looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Horvat is bucking up trying to escape but Howard cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Howard controlling the position easily from mount.
Horvat takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Horvat sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Howard slips a nice elbow through Horvat's hands, connecting with Horvat's forehead.
Howard controlling the action here.
Horvat is staying active underneath Howard, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Horvat looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Josip Horvat has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Howard sitting and controlling from the half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Howard showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Howard has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Paulo Santos scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mike Howard!