PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Spike St Pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Neal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

St Pierre
vs
Neal

168 cm
25
135 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

166 cm
23
142 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very confident

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Spike St Pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, James Neal!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, William Gold and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Neal connects with a jab.

St Pierre shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than St Pierre was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
St Pierre in side control, just content to control the action for now.
St Pierre tries to score with some ground and pound. Neal controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Neal taking a bit of punishment here - St Pierre scoring with strikes.
Neal is working to avoid the ground and pound but St Pierre connects with a decent elbow.
St Pierre in side control, just content to control the action for now.

St Pierre tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no St Pierre has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre controlling from side mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
St Pierre prevents Neal from escaping the position.
St Pierre scores with a couple of short elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Neal is looking to regain half guard here but St Pierre keeps moving and retains side control.
St Pierre controlling from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre trying to control the position but Neal is working away.
St Pierre working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
St Pierre sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Neal is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
St Pierre working the head with strikes.
St Pierre taking a breather here.
St Pierre is chipping away with strikes.
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!
St Pierre misses with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Neal sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
St Pierre working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
St Pierre controls the position.
Sloppy strikes there by St Pierre.
St Pierre misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
St Pierre working away.
St Pierre scores with punches from side control.
Neal tries to buck St Pierre off but St Pierre is having none of it.
Neal is being controlled here.
St Pierre landing a few strikes.
St Pierre looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
St Pierre moves into full mount!
St Pierre content just to control the position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre landing shots from mount.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
St Pierre lands with some strikes.
St Pierre landing shots from mount.
St Pierre cracks Neal with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
St Pierre content just to control the position here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
BOOM! St Pierre connects with a massive shot to the dome!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Neal shoots in looking for a takedown. St Pierre tries to sprawl out of it but Neal keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. St Pierre manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

St Pierre is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Neal's half guard.
Neal tries to kick St Pierre off but St Pierre keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

St Pierre is actively looking for submissions here but good counter grappling here from Neal as he works his way to full guard.
Neal keeping moving, preventing St Pierre from controlling successfully.
St Pierre stays in close to Neal's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Neal has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but St Pierre can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
St Pierre passes Neal's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
St Pierre seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
St Pierre is pressing down on Neal's thigh, looking to free his foot. Neal is holding on for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Neal pushes St Pierre off looking to stand but St Pierre dives back in and keeps control.
St Pierre not doing much here.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Spike St Pierre just wasn't active enough.
Neal misses with a takedown attempt

and St Pierre counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
St Pierre not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
St Pierre throwing strikes from guard but Neal blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neal working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from St Pierre.
St Pierre is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
St Pierre content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
St Pierre content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Neal has momentary wrist control but St Pierre slips an elbow through the middle.
St Pierre slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
St Pierre throwing strikes but missing.
Neal is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst St Pierre is controlling him.
St Pierre looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as St Pierre accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Spike St Pierre dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

St Pierre closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
St Pierre keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Neal wants to get back to his feet.
Neal is looking to control St Pierre's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Neal avoid being mounted?
St Pierre not landing any meaningful shots this time.
St Pierre controlling the action here.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

St Pierre looking to score a takedown here. Neal is defending well but St Pierre drives through and ends up in Neal's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Pierre stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Neal swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Neal trying to control the position.
St Pierre throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Neal works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Neal has momentary wrist control but St Pierre slips an elbow through the middle.
St Pierre lands a couple of decent looking shots.
St Pierre sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neal keeping moving, preventing St Pierre from controlling successfully.
St Pierre lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
St Pierre sitting in guard here, content to control.
St Pierre throws an elbow that misses. Neal uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in St Pierre's guard. Nice move by Neal!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
James Neal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Neal wants to control from the top but St Pierre keeps moving.
St Pierre on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if St Pierre tries to get out of the position.
Neal postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
St Pierre manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
St Pierre with a couple of short strikes.
St Pierre with good strikes from the mount here!
Neal is working to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Pierre landing shots from mount.
St Pierre lands a couple of good shots and Neal has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
St Pierre controls the position.
St Pierre is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Neal up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
St Pierre is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
St Pierre is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Neal can do to turn this around?
St Pierre is trying to stick to Neal's back but Neal is turning into St Pierre. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in St Pierre's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Neal.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
St Pierre has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Spike St Pierre is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Neal gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Spike St Pierre showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for St Pierre, 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Spike St Pierre!
Post fight, an emotional Spike St Pierre said 'I just made James Neal Kneel,I am the man of steel and all I can say is how did it feel?'.