PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Francis Hale (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Conor Connely (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Hale
vs
Connely

166 cm
19
140 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

170 cm
25
135 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Francis Hale!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Conor Connely!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Donald Grub and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hale avoids a punch combination nicely.
Connely lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hale circles away quickly and effectively.

Connely moves into range and clinches up with Hale.
Connely wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Connely has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Hale fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Connely breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Connely looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Connely clinches with his opponent.
Connely wants to break free but Hale has control.
Connely is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Connely is looking to break free of the clinch but Hale has double underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hale drags the fight down to the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Connely wanted to stand there but Hale had control of the position.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Hale manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

Hale pulls guard effortlessly.
Hale bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Connely's guard.
Hale stops Connely from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Connely is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Hale dives into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Connely is trying to buck Hale off.
Hale cracks Connely with a big elbow.
Hale is chipping away with strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Connely is looking to get back to his feet here but Hale is keeping cool and he's managed to take Connely's back.
Connely looks winded!
Hale punishes Connely with strikes from the back mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Connely is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Connely takes a big shot to the side of the head.
I would not like to be Connely right now.
Connely has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Connely grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Connely is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

Hale is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Connely is defending well though. Hale let's go of the attempt for now.
The referee is taking a good look at Connely as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Hale!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Connely holding both Hale 's hands and preventing any damage.

Connely defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Francis Hale dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Hale gets tackled into the cage by Connely. Connely maintains the clinch.
Hale is trying to pull guard but Connely turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Hale has Connely pressed against the cage, preventing Connely from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hale has Connely pressed against the cage, preventing Connely from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Connely letting Hale take a breather here.
Connely is looking to break free of the clinch but Hale has double underhooks.

Connely breaks the clinch.
Connely fails to land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale throws a sloppy head kick and Connely moves out of range easily.
Connely shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Hale eats them both and turns towards Connely to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Connely keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Connely closes the distance and clinches.
Hale fails to pull guard.
Connely is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Hale tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Connely smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Francis Hale. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Connely throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Connely throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hale dodges the punch combination from Connely.
Conor Connely is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Connely rushes Hale and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Connely breaks from the clinch.
Connely misses with a head kick.

Hale closes the distance and clinches.

Hale has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Connely uses from the top position.
Hale lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.
Hale 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.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hale landing with the ground and pound.
Hale prevents Connely from getting back to his feet.
Connely is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hale working some strikes from top position.
Connely wants to get back to his feet but Hale is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Francis Hale overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hale landing some decent shots from guard.
Connely is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hale is in close to Connely's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Hale cracks Connely with a solid left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Connely wants to get back to his feet but Hale is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Hale drops back looking for a leg! Connely is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Connely manages to kick Hale off! Hale jumps back into Connely's guard.
Hale stops Connely from standing up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hale is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Connely wants to stand up but Hale is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Conor Connely will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Hale instigates a clinch.
Connely is looking to break free of the clinch but Hale has double underhooks.
Connely tries to circle away but Hale has him pinned against the cage.

Connely's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Connely throws a good cross that connects.
Hale throws a lazy right hand but Connely sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Connely throws a nice outside leg kick.
A slapping body kick lands there for Connely.
Connely throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hale takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Hale misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Hale avoids the head kick by Connely.
Connely takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hale takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

Connely gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Connely wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Connely looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Connely is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Connely has had enough of the clinch but Hale keeps him there for the moment.

Hale pulls guard successfully.
Hale has a closed guard, preventing Connely from standing up.
Hale looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hale is working hard here to advance position.
Connely wants to stand and escape but instead Hale has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Connely working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hale.
Hale landing some decent shots from guard.
Hale scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Connely is wriggling around but Hale manages to pass to half guard.

Hale is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Connely has managed to free his arm - good work.
Hale looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Connely with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Hale drops an elbow to the side of Connely's head.
Connely blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hale.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Hale connects with a nice short shot to Connely's temple.
Hale is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Connely wants to get back to his feet.
Hale is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Connely wants to stand back up but Hale manages to pass into side control.
Hale controls the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hale landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Francis Hale showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hale has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 James Atkins scores the fight 30:28
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 30:28
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Francis Hale!
In defeat, Conor Connely stepped up to the mic, saying 'What just happened?'.