PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Keith Young (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Scott Thorpe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thorpe has chosen Tom Sawyer by Rush as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Young
vs
Thorpe

200 cm
30
262 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

200 cm
34
272 lbs
18 - 19 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Keith Young!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Scott Thorpe!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Jack Bonds and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Young rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Thorpe counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Young shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Thorpe manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Young throwing strikes but missing.
Young tries to free his leg and advance position but Thorpe is retaining full guard.
Thorpe preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Young trying to control but Thorpe is working from the bottom.
Thorpe can't keep his opponent in guard - Young advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thorpe is not content to let Young control the position.
Young is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Young pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Thorpe is keeping the position for now.
Young landing with the ground and pound.
Young forces his way into half guard.
Young is looking to pass Thorpe's guard but actually Thorpe recovers to full guard.
Young 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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Young accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Young trying to control but Thorpe is working from the bottom.
Young wants to pass the guard but Thorpe is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Young is working hard here to advance position.
Thorpe wants to stand and escape but Young is having none of it.
Young looking to pass the guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Thorpe shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Young sprawls well. Young wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Thorpe gets slowly back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Young throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Young looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Young wants to clinch up but Thorpe keeps it at a distance.
Thorpe takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Young tries to clinch up.
Young lands with a thumping leg kick.
Young gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Young circles away from the clinch attempt.
Young cracks Thorpe with a right hand to the side of the head.

Young clinches up against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A right handed body shot lands from Young.
Young tries for a takedown but Thorpe manages to get underhooks.

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

Young gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Young is working for takedown but Thorpe is calmly controlling the position for now.
Young can't find room to land a body shot as Thorpe controls the action.
Thorpe effectively controlling the action here.
Thorpe is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Young gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Young pulls guard.
My spies in The Power Plant inform me that Thorpe has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Young is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Young moves nicely into side control.
The strikes coming from Young are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Young trying to control the action but Thorpe is working from the bottom.
Young wants to control for a moment but Thorpe uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Young wants to control but Thorpe is keeping him busy.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Young is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Thorpe sees it coming and defends easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Young throws a body punch but Thorpe moves out of range.

Young gets caught flat footed, as Thorpe shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Young working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Thorpe doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Thorpe manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Young wants to sweep here but Thorpe controlling him for the moment.
Thorpe stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Young swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Thorpe trying to control but Young is working from the bottom.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Scott Thorpe.
Thorpe throws a nice head kick!

Thorpe shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Young is trying to defend but Thorpe finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Young is trying to get back to full guard.
Thorpe is trying to control. Young wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

Young is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Thorpe pulls his head out easily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Young looking for a kimura from the bottom but Thorpe passes into side control!
Young manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Young not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Young missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Keith Young overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thorpe won't allow Young to pass to mount.
Young not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Thorpe tries to kick Young off but Young keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Young throwing shots but Thorpe is blocking nicely.
Young wants to pass to mount but Thorpe is defending the position.
Thorpe is trying to stand up here but Young is controlling him well.
Young scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Young wants to lay and pray for a moment but Thorpe keeps working.
Young stops Thorpe from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Young trying to pass the guard but Thorpe defending well.
Young sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Thorpe defending well though.
Young works his way into full mount!
Thorpe avoids a series of strikes thrown by Young.

Young is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Thorpe has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Thorpe!
Young looking for a sweep. Not yet Young, not yet.
Thorpe trying to control the position from guard on top but Young is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Thorpe won't allow Young to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thorpe landing some decent shots from guard.
Thorpe wants to control from the top but Young keeps moving.
Thorpe loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Young manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Thorpe manages to get himself to full guard.
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!
Thorpe keeping moving, preventing Young from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Young advances to half guard.
Thorpe looks like he's trying to stand up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Scott Thorpe will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Young keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Thorpe shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Young but Young pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Young moves in looking to clinch but Thorpe pushes him off.
Thorpe throws a right and a left that both miss.

Thorpe scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Thorpe landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Young is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Thorpe's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thorpe prevents Young from improving his position.
Young is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Thorpe scores with a couple of nice shots.
Young tries to roll over but Thorpe keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Well, if Thorpe is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Thorpe looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Young gets full guard.
Thorpe stands up over Young, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Young keeping moving, preventing Thorpe from controlling successfully.

Thorpe avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Thorpe scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Thorpe is pushing down on Young's leg trying to pass to half guard. Young is fighting to maintain full guard but Thorpe has managed to sneak the leg through.
Young is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorpe is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Young moves into full guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Young tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Thorpe has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Young to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Thorpe is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Young pulls down on the head and he's put Thorpe to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:48 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Keith Young!
During a confident post fight interview, Keith Young thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
In defeat, Scott Thorpe stepped up to the mic, saying 'I need more PEDs for the next fight. Who's got the od juice?'.