PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Omer Short (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eric Whiting (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Eric Whiting is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Short
vs
Whiting

195 cm
22
177 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

184 cm
21
170 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Omer Short!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Eric Whiting!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Ben Watson and Ben Hemmingworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Short as Whiting shoots in.
Short is looking to counter with a shot to the body.

Whiting has closed the distance and engaged Short in a clinch.
Short is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Whiting blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Whiting blocks an elbow strike.

Short pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Whiting.
Omer Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eric Whiting.
Whiting shoots in for a takedown but Short shows good takedown defense.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Short changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Whiting tries to avoid it but Short manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Whiting to the ground. Whiting escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Whiting moves to clinch but Short breaks away
and Short counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whiting shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A quick step to the side and Short tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Short tries to score a power double leg takedown but Whiting sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Short somewhat.
Eric Whiting seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice takedown defense from Whiting. No joy for Short on that attempt.
Short leaves Whiting with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Short tries to clinch but Whiting is having none of it.

Whiting gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Short can't break the clinch.
Short misses with a punch on the inside.
Short has Whiting pressed against the cage, preventing Whiting from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Whiting working hard to break the clinch.

Whiting manages to pull guard.
Whiting has his hands on Short's head, controlling the position.
Short wants to control from the top but Whiting keeps moving.
Whiting pulls Short in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Short is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Whiting working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Short doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Short manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Horrible takedown attempt by Whiting or perhaps it was just good defense by Short, which made it look bad.
Short lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Whiting circles away quickly and effectively.
Whiting steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Short.
Whiting has his takedown stuffed
and Short counters with a straight right hand.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Whiting lands a slapping body shot.
Whiting misses with a takedown attempt
and Short counters with a lovely straight right hand!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Omer Short dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Whiting changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Short tries to avoid it but Whiting manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Short to the ground. Short escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Horrible takedown attempt by Short or perhaps it was just good defense by Whiting, which made it look bad.
Whiting is looking for the big counter here.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Whiting jumps guard but Short turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Short throws an elbow that misses.
Whiting pushes off an throws an elbow but Short leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Short missing with knees to the body.

Short escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The fight stays on the outside here - Whiting looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Short is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Whiting.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Short is defended easily by Whiting.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Whiting.
Omer Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eric Whiting.
Whiting misses with a takedown
and Short counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Whiting misses with a takedown attempt
and Short connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Omer Short is winning the standup battle so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Short stuffs the takedown attempt from Whiting. Whiting gets slowly back to his feet.
Whiting is breathing heavily.
Danga de danga de dang - Short scores with a four punch combination!
Nice sprawl there from Short as Whiting shoots in.
Whiting shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
enabling Short to counter with a crisp jab.

Short shoots in and gets a takedown into Whiting's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Short wants to control from the top but Whiting keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Whiting looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Short passes into half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Short trying to control the action but Whiting is working from the bottom.
It looks like Short is going to stand back up.
Whiting looks like he's trying to stand 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.
Whiting wants to improve his position but Short is controlling well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Short content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Whiting tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Short defends well and Whiting ends up having to push Short into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Short appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Whiting tries to score a power double leg takedown but Short sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Whiting somewhat.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Short walks into a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Omer Short dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Whiting fails with the takedown.
Sloppy strikes from Whiting. Those never looked like landing.
Short fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Whiting gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Short counters with a stiff right hand.
Short stuffs the takedown.
Omer Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eric Whiting.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Short slaps away a takedown attempt from Whiting, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Omer Short is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Whiting takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Whiting fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whiting fails to land the takedown.
Short shoots in looking for a takedown but Whiting manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Short's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Short rushes Whiting and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

Short breaks the clinch.
Short is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Whiting can do to turn this around?
A telegraphed right hand from Short misses the target.
Short works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Whiting looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Short is fending him off so far but Whiting persists. Nope, Short circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Short has closed the distance and engaged Whiting in a clinch.

Short's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Short throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Whiting's waist but Whiting gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Short off to one side.
Short looks for a takedown but Whiting sprawls well.
Short shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Whiting but Whiting pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Whiting lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Short circles away quickly and effectively.
Short is looking to counter with a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whiting works over Short's head and body with a nice combination.
Short shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Whiting pinned against the cage. Whiting gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Short is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Nice sprawl there from Short as Whiting shoots in.
Whiting throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Short looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Short misses with the combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whiting walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Whiting misses with a takedown attempt

and Short counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Short.
Short lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Short with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Short pushes off an throws an elbow but Whiting leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Whiting tries to pull guard but Short holds him up against the cage and eventually Whiting drops back down to his feet.
Eric Whiting has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Omer Short is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Whiting tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Short smiles and moves away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Omer Short showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Short 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 Hogan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Watson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Omer Short!
In defeat, Eric Whiting stepped up to the mic, saying 'Thank you fans for the support and sorry for the loss i can't wait for the next opportunity.....thank you once again'.