PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Billy Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Edu Hernandez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Ward might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to "Backwoods" By Red Hot Chili Peppers. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Ward
vs
Hernandez

185 cm
26
170 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

182 cm
19
179 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Decent elbows
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very confident

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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Billy Ward!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Edu Hernandez!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Micheangelo Fripello and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Hernandez tries to close the distance and clinch but Ward swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hernandez moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

It looks like Billy Ward has been cut.
Hernandez shoots in looking for a takedown. Ward tries to sprawl out of it but Hernandez keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Ward manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Hernandez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ward manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hernandez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hernandez dives in for a single leg takedown but Ward sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Hernandez jumps guard and drags Ward to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hernandez wants to sweep here but Ward controlling him for the moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ward has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Hernandez is proving hard to escape from.

Ward avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ward is looking to stand up but Hernandez won't let him.
Hernandez looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Hernandez wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Hernandez has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Hernandez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Ward stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Hernandez throws a combination that misses
and Ward connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Hernandez swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ward counters with a big head kick but Hernandez shrugs it off.
Hernandez throws a series of punches but Ward avoids them all with ease.
Hernandez misses with a few strikes there.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez throws a right and a left that Ward avoids nicely.
Hernandez fails with a takedown attempt.
Billy Ward has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Edu Hernandez.
Hernandez wants to clinch.
Hernandez misses with a few strikes there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Hernandez moves into the clinch successfully.

Hernandez escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Hernandez gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Ward tries a knee to the head but Hernandez blocks it.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Ward.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Edu Hernandez dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Billy Ward's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Hernandez wants to clinch.
Hernandez throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hernandez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Ward.
Hernandez throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hernandez has a takedown stuffed.
Hernandez throws a combination that misses
and Ward counters with a two punch combo.
Sloppy strikes from Hernandez. Those never looked like landing.
Hernandez misses with a few strikes there.
Hernandez scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ward displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hernandez.
Hernandez swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ward counters with a three punch combo that has Hernandez backing up. Hernandez nods at Ward to acknowledge the strikes.
Hernandez throws a sloppy head kick
and Ward counters with a straight right hand.
Hernandez gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Ward counters with a nice uppercut.
Hernandez is trying hard to land a takedown here. Ward sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Billy Ward has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Edu Hernandez.
Hernandez is breathing heavily.
Hernandez throws a nice looking combination but Ward bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Hernandez swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ward counters with a big head kick but Hernandez shrugs it off.
Hernandez looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Hernandez misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ward counters with a head kick. That will keep Hernandez thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Hernandez is trying hard to land a takedown here. Ward sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Billy Ward is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hernandez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Hernandez tries to clinch up
and Ward counters with a straight right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Edu Hernandez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Billy Ward's cut.
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. This is the final round!

Hernandez wants to clinch up but Ward keeps it at a distance.
Hernandez throws a lazy head kick
and Ward counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Hernandez shoots in for a takedown but Ward shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Hernandez misses with a hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hernandez gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Ward's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hernandez tries to bum rush Ward with a series of wild strikes but Ward uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick by Hernandez misses
and Ward counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Hernandez tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hernandez misses with a combination
and Ward counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Ward keeps the fight on the outside.
Billy Ward has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Hernandez fails with a takedown attempt.
Hernandez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Hernandez throws a combination that misses
and Ward counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ward takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez misses with a combination
and Ward counters with a one-two to the body.
Hernandez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hernandez shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Ward as he avoids it easily.
Billy Ward has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Edu Hernandez.
Hernandez misses with a leg kick
and Ward counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Hernandez swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ward counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Hernandez is lucky that one didn't land flush.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hernandez throws a combination that misses
and Ward counters with a head kick.
Hernandez throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Edu Hernandez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hernandez falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ward counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Hernandez swinging wildly here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Edu Hernandez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Hernandez 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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Edu Hernandez!