PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tracy Powell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Tabernacle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Tabernacle has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Powell
vs
Tabernacle

185 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

150 cm
25
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Likes comics

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tracy Powell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Tabernacle!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Jonathan Paton and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Powell looking to score a takedown here. Tabernacle is defending well but Powell drives through and ends up in Tabernacle's guard.
Tabernacle avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Powell looking to pass the guard.
Tabernacle trying to control the position here.
Powell has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Powell will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Tabernacle has his foot on Powell's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Powell works his way back into a safe position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Powell is looking to work some ground and pound but Tabernacle has wrist control.
Powell is looking to stand up but Tabernacle won't let him.

Tabernacle is looking for a triangle but Powell pushes his legs off easily.
Powell trying to control the position from guard on top but Tabernacle is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Tabernacle controlling Powell's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Tabernacle keeping moving, preventing Powell from controlling successfully.
Tabernacle is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Powell is defending against the submission attempts here by Tabernacle.

Tabernacle seems to be working for a kimura but Powell defends the submission attempt.
Tabernacle seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Powell trying to control from the bottom.
Tabernacle is trying to control. Powell wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
My spies in WildBoar's Pig Pen (Strength and Conditioning) $40 inform me that Tabernacle has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Tabernacle is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Tabernacle wants to work for an arm triangle but Powell is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Tabernacle with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Powell tries to kick Tabernacle off but Tabernacle keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Powell trying to hold on to Tabernacle's head to control him but Tabernacle postures up.

Powell is defending against the submission attempts here by Tabernacle.
Tabernacle is thwarting Powell's attempts to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Tabernacle looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Powell is trying to stand back up but Tabernacle is controlling him
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tabernacle tries to pass to full mount but Powell defends it.
Tabernacle trying to control the pace.
Powell tries to roll over but Tabernacle keeps him under control.

Tabernacle is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Tabernacle is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Powell sees it coming and defends easily.

Tabernacle is looking for a kimura here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Powell pushes Tabernacle off looking to stand but Tabernacle dives back in and keeps control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Tabernacle dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Tracy Powell's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Powell closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Tabernacle quickly recovers to half guard.
Powell stalling away here and it's allowed Tabernacle to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Tabernacle has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Powell with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tabernacle is adopting a defensive guard.
Powell stopping the sweep attempt from Tabernacle.
Powell trying to stand up but can't free himself from Tabernacle's guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Powell throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Tabernacle was covering up waiting for the punch and Powell finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Powell is looking to stand up but Tabernacle won't let him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Powell throws an elbow that misses. Tabernacle uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Powell's guard. Nice move by Tabernacle!

Tabernacle slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Tabernacle drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Tabernacle jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Tabernacle content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Powell not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Tabernacle controlling from the top position.
Tabernacle's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Powell wants to sweep here but Tabernacle controlling him for the moment.
Tabernacle content to stall in guard here.
More stalling from Tabernacle.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Powell gets a takedown into half guard.
Powell prevents Tabernacle from improving his position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tabernacle regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Powell.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tracy Powell dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Tracy Powell's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Powell bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Powell wants to stand but Tabernacle is controlling his arm.
Powell in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Powell tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Powell trying to control the position but Tabernacle is working away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Powell tries to get to his feet but Tabernacle is in the middle of advancing position himself and ends up with Powell in his guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Tabernacle is on top in guard.

Tabernacle stays in close to Powell's body and controls the position.
Let's hope that Tabernacle has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Powell looking to control.
Powell is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Tabernacle is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Tabernacle controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Powell changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Tabernacle looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Tabernacle can't do much from the bottom here.
Powell is trying to ground and pound but Tabernacle uses the momentary lack of control by Powell to regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tabernacle is not content to let Powell control the position.
Tabernacle gets full guard.
Powell wants to stand but Tabernacle has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Tabernacle looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Tabernacle pulls Powell in to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Powell looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Tabernacle keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Tabernacle is looking for a sweep. Powell is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Powell is looking to take a break and control but Tabernacle is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tracy Powell showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Powell has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Lombardi scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:28
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tracy Powell!