PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Leif Carroll (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jamie Vaggonaba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jamie Vaggonaba will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Carroll
vs
Vaggonaba

166 cm
24
178 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

183 cm
25
175 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Leif Carroll!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Jamie Vaggonaba!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Winston Howard and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Vaggonaba, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Vaggonaba pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Vaggonaba rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Carroll moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Carroll just misses with a punch to the body.
Carroll avoids the head kick by Vaggonaba.
Vaggonaba swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Carroll has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Carroll could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Vaggonaba throws a series of punches but Carroll moves out of range.
Carroll blocks a head kick by Vaggonaba.
Carroll dodges the punch combination from Vaggonaba.
A head kick misses from Vaggonaba.
A head kick by Vaggonaba misses

and Carroll counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Carroll.
Carroll misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Carroll tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Vaggonaba avoids it.
Vaggonaba is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Carroll is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vaggonaba prevents a takedown attempt there.
Carroll tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Vaggonaba avoids it.
Carroll tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Vaggonaba smiles and moves away.
Carroll dodges the punch combination from Vaggonaba.
Vaggonaba throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Vaggonaba throws a right and a left that Carroll avoids nicely.
Vaggonaba throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Vaggonaba looks winded!
Vaggonaba throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Vaggonaba gets caught napping as Carroll dives in and scores a takedown. Vaggonaba manages to retain guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Carroll working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Carroll distracts Vaggonaba with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Carroll throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Vaggonaba works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Carroll working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Carroll throws a big right hand that misses.
Carroll postures up in Vaggonaba's guard and throws a big left but Vaggonaba blocks it.

Carroll drops back looking for a leg! Vaggonaba is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Vaggonaba manages to kick Carroll off! Carroll jumps back into Vaggonaba's guard.
Carroll 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.

Carroll stands and steps away. Vaggonaba gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carroll moves in looking to clinch but Vaggonaba pushes him off.
Carroll avoids a punch combination nicely.
Vaggonaba misses with a few strikes there.

Carroll moves into the clinch.

Carroll has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Vaggonaba uses from the top position.
Carroll seems keen to control Vaggonaba's posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Carroll might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carroll has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

We're going to have a standup here because Leif Carroll wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Vaggonaba misses with a combination

and Carroll decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Vaggonaba's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Carroll gets to his feet - Vaggonaba follows without any prompting.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Carroll tries to close the distance and clinch but Vaggonaba swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Carroll throws a jab but it's blocked by Vaggonaba.
Jamie Vaggonaba is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Vaggonaba lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Carroll circles away quickly and effectively.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leif Carroll dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Carroll gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Carroll keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Vaggonaba's efforts to push away.
Vaggonaba is trying to break the clinch but Carroll has him pressed against the cage.

Vaggonaba breaks from the clinch.
Vaggonaba will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Vaggonaba misses with a wild combination.
Vaggonaba fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Vaggonaba works over Carroll's head and body with a nice combination.
No joy there for Vaggonaba, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Vaggonaba is breathing heavily.
Vaggonaba misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Vaggonaba misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Carroll has closed the distance and engaged Vaggonaba in a clinch.
Vaggonaba is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Vaggonaba working hard to break the clinch.
Carroll can't get the takedown.
Carroll keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Vaggonaba's efforts to push away.
Carroll lands a body punch in the clinch.
Vaggonaba is trying to break the clinch but Carroll is controlling him.
Carroll goes for a takedown in the clinch but Vaggonaba prevents it.
Vaggonaba wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Vaggonaba breaks the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Carroll shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Carroll lands a couple of elbows.
Carroll working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Carroll throws a big right hand that misses.
Carroll throws a big right hand that misses.
Vaggonaba avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Leif Carroll overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Carroll in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Carroll throwing strikes but missing.
Vaggonaba is trying to control the position but Carroll postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carroll postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Carroll connects with a couple of short punches.
Carroll is looking to work some ground and pound but Vaggonaba has wrist control.
Vaggonaba really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Carroll. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Carroll working some strikes from top position.
Carroll connects with a couple of short punches.
Carroll throws a big elbow that misses.
Carroll is working Vaggonaba over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Carroll with a flurry of punches that miss.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carroll working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Vaggonaba's head.
Vaggonaba working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Carroll.
Carroll throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Vaggonaba works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Vaggonaba working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Carroll.
Carroll throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Carroll accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Carroll gets to his feet - Vaggonaba follows without any prompting.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Carroll shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Vaggonaba avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Carroll.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leif Carroll dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Carroll shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Carroll showed some decent athleticism there.

Carroll decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
A combination from Vaggonaba does no damage.
Vaggonaba swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Vaggonaba throws a head kick that misses.
Vaggonaba throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Vaggonaba falls off balance throwing a combination
and Carroll connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Vaggonaba throws a left and a right that both miss

and Carroll counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Carroll.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Vaggonaba utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Carroll throwing strikes but missing.
Vaggonaba takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Vaggonaba utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Vaggonaba preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Carroll with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Carroll postures up in Vaggonaba's guard and throws a big left but Vaggonaba blocks it.
Carroll throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Vaggonaba works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Carroll is in close to Vaggonaba's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Carroll is working Vaggonaba over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carroll postures up in Vaggonaba's guard and throws a big left but Vaggonaba blocks it.
Carroll throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Vaggonaba works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Vaggonaba is working an open guard so Carroll takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Vaggonaba chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Carroll can pounce on him.

Carroll fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Vaggonaba, pushing him back against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Vaggonaba prevents a takedown attempt there.
Vaggonaba looking to stall.
Vaggonaba is trying to break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vaggonaba wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Vaggonaba is pressed up against the cage. Carroll has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Vaggonaba down to the mat. Vaggonaba avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Vaggonaba throws a series of punches but Carroll moves out of range.
Carroll fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Carroll tries to clinch but Vaggonaba moves out of range.
Vaggonaba throws a body punch but Carroll moves out of range.
Vaggonaba misses with a double jab

and Carroll counters by moving into the clinch.
Carroll is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Vaggonaba can do to turn this around?
Vaggonaba is trying to break the clinch but Carroll has him pressed against the cage.
Carroll misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Vaggonaba.
Carroll keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Vaggonaba's efforts to push away.

Carroll lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Carroll thows a huge punch but Vaggonaba dodges it nicely.

Carroll is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Vaggonaba doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Carroll.
Carroll not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Jamie Vaggonaba has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Leif Carroll 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.
Carroll scoring with strikes to the body and head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Leif Carroll showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Carroll, 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Leif Carroll!