PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Abbott (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Manny Pacquiao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Abbott
vs
Pacquiao

155 cm
19
140 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

178 cm
24
135 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Ivan Abbott!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Manny Pacquiao!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Summer Carpenter and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Abbott shoots in for a double leg but Pacquiao sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Pacquiao fails with an attempt to clinch.
Abbott misses with a takedown attempt

and Pacquiao counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Abbott!
Pacquiao prevents Abbott from escaping the position.
Abbott stops Pacquiao from passing to mount.
Pacquiao working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Pacquiao works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A lull in the action here.
Pacquiao tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.

Pacquiao is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Abbott has escaped the position, nice work there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pacquiao tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Pacquiao happy to just control the position for now.
Abbott is trying to improve his position.
Pacquiao is looking to take a break and control but Abbott is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao looks up at the clock and then as Abbott takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Pacquiao smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

Pacquiao looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Pacquiao grinds an elbow into Abbott's temple.
Abbott seems a little lost for a moment, as Pacquiao dominates the positioning.
Pacquiao working the ground and pound.
Pacquiao landing strikes.
Abbott regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao tries to stand and escape but Abbott is controlling the position.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Pacquiao wants to pass the guard but Abbott is defending well.
Abbott trying to hold on to Pacquiao's head to control him but Pacquiao postures up.
Pacquiao content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Pacquiao lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Abbott looking for submissions off his back.
Abbott is breathing heavily.
Abbott wants to control but Pacquiao is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Pacquiao working over Abbott with some ground and pound. Abbott looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Pacquiao is controlling the pace.
Pacquiao is keen to just control but Abbott is a slippery customer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Manny Pacquiao dominated that 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.

Abbott throws a front kick aimed at Pacquiao's knee but Pacquiao avoids it well.

Pacquiao shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Abbott keeping full guard, as Pacquiao tries to pass.
Abbott keeping moving, preventing Pacquiao from controlling successfully.
Pacquiao controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Pacquiao has gone for a leg lock! Abbott slips out almost immediately though and dives into Pacquiao's guard.
Abbott wants to control from the top but Pacquiao keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pacquiao wants to stand but Abbott is controlling the position.
Manny Pacquiao has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pacquiao is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Abbott trying to control but Pacquiao is working from the bottom.
Pacquiao is trying to keep Abbott in close.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Abbott moves into the clinch successfully.

Abbott decides to pull guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao wants to control from the top but Abbott keeps moving.
Pacquiao looking to sit in guard and control but Abbott gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Pacquiao is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Pacquiao is breathing heavily.
Pacquiao trying to control the position here.
Abbott is looking to stand up but Pacquiao won't let him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pacquiao wants to control the position but Abbott says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Pacquiao trying to control here.
Abbott throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Pacquiao is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Pacquiao trying to control but Abbott postures up.
Abbott trying to control the action but Pacquiao is working from the bottom.
Abbott tries to pass to full mount but Pacquiao defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abbott throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Pacquiao is refusing to be controlled, as Abbott sits in half guard.
Pacquiao tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Abbott has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Pacquiao tries to hold on but Abbott postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Manny Pacquiao will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Pacquiao tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Abbott paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Pacquiao is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Abbott.

Pacquiao darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Pacquiao is just content to waste time from the top position. Abbott takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

Abbott is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Pacquiao stays in close to Abbott's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pacquiao wants to get up but he can't break Abbott's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Pacquiao postures up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Pacquiao fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
The fight stays on the outside here - Abbott looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abbott shoots and misses

so Pacquiao counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Pacquiao must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Pacquiao sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Abbott's guard.
Pacquiao slips a nice elbow through Abbott's hands, connecting with Abbott's forehead.
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!
Pacquiao trying to control the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Abbott is holding on to half guard well.
Pacquiao looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Abbott might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Pacquiao wants to get back to his feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Abbott shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Pacquiao is trying to defend but Abbott finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Pacquiao tries to get to full guard but Abbott has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Abbott is working for a submission of some sort.
Pacquiao wants to improve his position but Abbott is controlling well.
Abbott could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Abbott looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Ivan Abbott has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Manny Pacquiao is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Pacquiao moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Manny Pacquiao comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Pacquiao winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 John Mangel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Manny Pacquiao!