PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kelly Joseph (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matt Haney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Joseph
vs
Haney

171 cm
24
194 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

198 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

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 The Island, Kelly Joseph!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Matt Haney!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Haney shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Joseph counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Joseph won't allow Haney to sweep him here.

Haney escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Joseph gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Haney 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.
Joseph missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Haney wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Haney wants to sweep but no luck.
Joseph working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Haney's head.
Haney wants to sweep here but Joseph controlling him for the moment.
Joseph is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Joseph seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Haney for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kelly Joseph has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Haney with a poor takedown

and Joseph counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Joseph seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Haney is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Haney keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Joseph not doing much here.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Kelly Joseph just wasn't active enough.
Haney shoots in for a double leg but Joseph sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Kelly Joseph has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Haney.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Joseph tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Haney tries to clinch but Joseph moves out of range.
Haney slips a straight right by Joseph.
Joseph rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Haney moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Haney leaves Joseph with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Haney lands with a slapping head kick.

It looks like Kelly Joseph has been cut.
Joseph darts in trying to clinch

and Haney counters by moving into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haney fails to pull guard.
Haney goes for a takedown attempt but Joseph pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Joseph looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Haney!
Haney struggling a bit here.
Joseph wants to control but Haney is keeping him busy.
Joseph taking a breather here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Joseph is trying to get an arm triangle but Haney is defending well.
Joseph postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Joseph is staying tight to Haney's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Joseph could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Joseph scores with punches from side control.
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!
Haney can't do much from the bottom here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kelly Joseph dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kelly Joseph's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Haney tries for a takedown but Joseph sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Haney looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Joseph is fending him off so far but Haney persists. Nope, Joseph circles away and we're back to standing.
Haney throws a series of strikes that have Joseph backpedaling.
Joseph closes the distance and clinches up with Haney, looking for a takedown. Joseph pushes Haney against the cage but Haney circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Joseph throws a lazy head kick
and Haney counters with a one-two to the body.
Haney darts in trying to clinch

and Joseph counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Joseph.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Joseph sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Joseph with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haney avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Haney looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Joseph prevents Haney from getting back to his feet.
Joseph might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Joseph is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Haney looking for a sweep. Not yet Haney, not yet.
Haney is breathing heavily.
Joseph working some strikes from top position.
Haney being controlled here, momentarily.
Joseph trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haney preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Haney wants to stand but Joseph is controlling the position.
Joseph landing some decent shots from guard.
Joseph showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Haney has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Joseph can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Joseph 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.
Joseph loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Haney throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Joseph lands a couple of elbows.
Joseph postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Joseph lands a couple of elbows.
Joseph sitting in guard here, content to control.
Haney is trying to keep Joseph in close.
Joseph content to stall in guard here.
Joseph keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Haney's head.
Joseph is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Joseph scoring with punches to the head and body.
Joseph chips away with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haney is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Joseph not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Joseph 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.
Joseph controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Haney throws a sloppy head kick and Joseph moves out of range easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Joseph gets tackled into the cage by Haney. Haney maintains the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kelly Joseph dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Kelly Joseph's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Haney misses with a double jab.
Horrible takedown by Haney or perhaps it was just good defense by Joseph which made him look bad.
Haney shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Joseph but Joseph pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Haney tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Joseph manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Joseph avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Horrible takedown by Joseph or perhaps it was just good defense by Haney which made him look bad.
Joseph tries to clinch up but Haney circles away and keeps his distance.
Haney is looking to clinch but Joseph is avoiding it.
Haney closes this distance looking for a takedown but Joseph circles away.
Kelly Joseph has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Haney.
Haney takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Joseph darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Joseph landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Joseph stalling.
Haney tries to roll over but Joseph keeps him under control.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Haney looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Kelly Joseph overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Joseph keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kelly Joseph.

Joseph dives in and scores a takedown into Haney's guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Haney looking for a guillotine here but Joseph defends easily.
Joseph distracts Haney with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Joseph controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Haney is trying to keep Joseph in close.
Joseph connects with a couple of short punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Joseph with a nice head shot there.
Joseph controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Joseph throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Haney works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Haney has a closed guard, preventing Joseph from standing up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kelly Joseph.
Haney pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Haney tries to keep at a distance but Joseph has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Joseph fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Haney has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Joseph avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Joseph jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Haney walks away with a smile on his face. Joseph gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Joseph has taken the fight to the clinch.
Joseph effectively controlling the action here.
Joseph gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Matt Haney has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kelly Joseph is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Joseph has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Haney uses from the top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kelly Joseph showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Joseph, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kelly Joseph!