PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Patrick Whales (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rocky Blyer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Whales comes to the cage accompanied by AC/DC - Shoot To Thrill. Blyer comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Eye Of The Tiger kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Whales
vs
Blyer

181 cm
34
207 lbs
24 - 7 - 1

185 cm
41
210 lbs
37 - 38 - 1

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Hellbent

Mohito Fightwear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 7 - 1, fighting out of New York, Patrick Whales!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 37 - 38 - 1, fighting out of New York, Rocky Blyer!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yuuki Gou and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blyer throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A left lands for Blyer.
Whales will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Blyer throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Blyer takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Blyer throws a hook but Whales blocks it.
We've been hearing reports that Whales has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Whales throws a shot to the body.
A swing and a miss from Blyer.
Whales bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Blyer loads up on a big right hand but Whales slips the punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blyer gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Whales.

Whales closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Whales scores with a couple of short elbows.
Blyer is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Whales lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Blyer down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whales throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Whales in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Blyer wants to get back to his feet.
Whales misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Blyer is pushing Whales's head away, looking to escape. Whales manages to hold on to the position though.
Whales lands a decent elbow from side control.
Blyer is pushing Whales's head away, looking to escape. Whales manages to hold on to the position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whales tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Blyer parries the strikes from Whales easily there. Whales is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Blyer to escape.
Blyer avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Whales.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blyer is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Whales postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Blyer is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Whales has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Whales misses with the ground and pound.
Whales working the ground and pound.
Whales prevents Blyer from escaping the position.
Whales scores with a couple of short elbows.
Whales working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whales landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Whales scores with punches from side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Whales creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blyer sneaks out the side door and pushes Whales away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Blyer rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Whales moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Whales thows a leg kick but Blyer checks it
letting Blyer counter with a right hand.
Blyer looks to land a right hand but Whales moved out of range.
Patrick Whales seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Blyer keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Whales is looking to chop away at Blyer's legs.
As Whales backs off Blyer throws a huge counter combo but Whales manages to avoid it all.
A telegraphed right hand from Blyer misses the target.
Blyer throws a lazy right hand but Whales sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Whales throws an off balance right hand
and Blyer counters with a stiff right hand.
Whales moves out of range as Blyer strikes.
Whales changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Whales blocks a jab.
Blyer steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Whales.
Blyer unleashes a big counter combination but Whales bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whales jabs at Blyer's body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blyer takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Nice defenses there by Blyer.
Blyer looks to land a left hand but Whales moved out of range nicely.
Good shot there by Whales.
Blyer throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Whales changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Blyer looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Whales paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Whales cracks the inside of Blyer's front leg.
Whales throws a leg kick but Blyer moved away.
Whales pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Blyer doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Blyer walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Whales shoots in for a double leg but Blyer sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Patrick Whales. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Blyer throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Whales.
Whales half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick Whales dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

A combination from Blyer does no damage.
Left hook, right uppercut from Blyer.
Whales sizes up Blyer with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
A looping hook to the body misses from Whales. Blyer does a little dance to reset his feet.
Blyer throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Whales tried to score with a low kick but Blyer checks it.
Whales keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Blyer throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Whales sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Rocky Blyer seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Whales connects with a leg kick. Blyer looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Blyer throws a right and a left that Whales avoids nicely.
Blyer loads up on a big right hand but Whales slips the punch.
Whales lands with a good body shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Blyer misses the target.
Blyer has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whales misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Blyer.
Rocky Blyer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blyer lunges at Whales with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Whales's hand.
A jab from Whales misses.
Blyer cracks Whales with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Blyer lands a nice hook to Whales's body. Whales takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Whales shoots in looking for a takedown but Blyer manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Whales's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Blyer looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Whales avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Whales wants to land a leg kick but Blyer is out of range.
Blyer misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Whales throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Blyer sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Whales shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Blyer but Blyer pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Whales connects with an inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Whales scores with a takedown into Blyer's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Whales lands a couple of elbows.
Whales stops Blyer from standing up.
Whales throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Whales postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Whales pushing down on Blyer's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Blyer is trying to stand up here but Whales is controlling him well.
Whales misses with a head shot. Blyer uses the momentum to regain guard.
Whales tries to free his leg and advance position but Blyer is retaining full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blyer is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Patrick Whales overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Whales throwing strikes but missing.
Whales throwing strikes from guard but Blyer blocks nicely.
Blyer avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Blyer is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
A short left from Blyer.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Blyer lands a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whales has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Blyer is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Patrick Whales. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Blyer is leaning against Whales and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Whales tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Blyer lands a left hand.
A short uppercut from Blyer.
Whales's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Whales lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Blyer lands a nice shot to the body.
Whales blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Stalling in the clinch from Blyer.
Blyer misses with a shot to the kidneys.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Blyer.
Whales blocks an uppercut.
Whales working aggressively here.
Blyer blocks a body shot from Whales.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rocky Blyer showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Whales's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Blyer misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Blyer bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Blyer looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Blyer throws a right and a left that both miss.
Whales throws an off balance right hand
and Blyer counters with a straight right hand.
Blyer pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Whales back to the cage. Blyer follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Whales shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Whales was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The ground and pound from Whales seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Whales working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Blyer is trying to buck Whales off.
Whales scoring with punches and elbows.
Whales in side control, throwing shots but Blyer defends.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blyer is trying to buck Whales off.
Blyer taking punishment in the form of punches.
Whales working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Whales throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Blyer managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Whales.
Blyer tries to escape but Whales is in control.
Whales working the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whales prevents Blyer from escaping the position.
Whales landing strikes.
Blyer is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Whales throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Whales scores with a couple of short elbows.
Whales working the ground and pound but Blyer is defending the strikes.
Whales working the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blyer sneaks out the side door and pushes Whales away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Jab from Whales.
Blyer throws a left and a right that both miss

and Whales counters with a shoot takedown. Blyer fights it but they end up in guard.
Whales throwing strikes but missing.

Blyer scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Whales dodges the punch combination from Blyer.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blyer misses with an uppercut. Whales saw that one coming.
Whales just misses with a punch to the body.
A punch combination from Blyer misses.
Blyer throws a right hand that Whales ducks under and follows up with a left that Whales also avoids with ease.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blyer connects with a looping right hand.
Whales tried to score with a low kick but Blyer checks it.
Blyer throws a right and a left that Whales avoids nicely.
Whales half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Whales throws a hook but Blyer avoids it easily.

Whales closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Blyer did well to prevent Whales getting side control.
Blyer tries to kick Whales off but Whales keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Whales is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Blyer looks like he's trying to stand up.
Whales looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Blyer with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick Whales clearly takes that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Whales slips a straight right by Blyer.
Whales keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Whales lands with a shot to the body.
Whales tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Blyer was well out of range. Poor timing from Whales.
Blyer scores with the left hand. Whales knows he should have avoided that one.
Whales throws a leg kick but Blyer moved away.
Blyer darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Whales lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Blyer at a distance.
Blyer misses with a body shot.
Whales drops down looking for a counter takedown but Blyer sprawls and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Blyer gets caught napping as Whales dives in and scores a takedown. Blyer manages to retain guard.
Whales 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.
Whales passes Blyer's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Whales scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Whales looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Blyer with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whales throws a strike but Blyer avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Blyer is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Blyer wriggles free and stands up.
Blyer throws a sloppy body shot

and Whales counters with a single leg into guard. Blyer didn't expect that.
Whales throwing strikes from guard but Blyer blocks nicely.
Whales won't allow Blyer to get back to his feet.
Whales loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Whales in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whales trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Blyer wants to stand but Whales is controlling the position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Whales postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Blyer can't keep his opponent in guard - Whales advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Whales is looking to advance position but Blyer won't allow it.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Whales lands a nice short elbow.
Blyer is trying to stand up here but Whales is controlling him well.
Whales is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blyer is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Whales scores with a couple of nice shots.
Whales seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Blyer is rocked!
Whales looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Blyer with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Blyer is still in real trouble! Can Whales finish him?
Blyer wants to get back to his feet.
Whales throwing shots but Blyer is blocking nicely.
Whales throwing shots but Blyer is blocking nicely.
Blyer tries to kick Whales off but Whales keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Whales not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Blyer seems to have recovered his senses.
Whales throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Blyer won't allow Whales to pass to mount.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Whales connects with the punch.
Rocky Blyer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whales shoots and misses
and Blyer counters with a series of strikes. Whales will be more careful next time no doubt.
A shot to the liver by Whales. Beautiful body shot.
Whales lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Blyer at a distance.
Blyer looks to throw the jab but Whales is out of range.
Whales shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Blyer counters with a nice body shot.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Blyer misses with a straight left.
Whales feinted with a counter takedown.
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!
Whales on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Whales moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Whales throws a leg kick that is checked
and Blyer counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Whales showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Blyer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close fourth round but I would say that Patrick Whales will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Blyer throws a right and a left that Whales avoids nicely.
Blyer takes a swing at Whales's ribcage but misses.
Blyer checks the leg kick nicely there.
Blyer swinging wildly here.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Whales lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Blyer has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Blyer and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Blyer connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Whales tries to land a front kick but Blyer steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Blyer defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Whales.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whales tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Blyer was well out of range. Poor timing from Whales.
Whales shoots for a takedown but Blyer saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Blyer unleashes a big counter combination but Whales bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Blyer stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Blyer wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Patrick Whales. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Whales pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whales throws a leg kick but Blyer checks it.
Blyer looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Whales tries to land a front kick but Blyer steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Blyer lands a jab to the nose.
Blyer keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Whales shoots in for a takedown but Blyer shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Whales lands a body shot.
Blyer throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Blyer misses with a wild combination.
Whales attempts a counter takedown but Blyer avoids it well and moves away.
Blyer misses with a double jab.
Whales takes a swing at Blyer's ribcage but misses.
Blyer fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Whales manages to avoid it.
Whales tries to counter with a takedown but Blyer is quick to defend against it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Whales.
Whales missing with a left hand there. Blyer was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Whales misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Blyer.
Whales moves away from the strike by Blyer.
Blyer lands with a nice body punch.
Blyer misses with a straight left.
Blyer throws a left and a right that both miss

and Whales counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Blyer!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Blyer pushes Whales away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Whales gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Blyer avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Whales.
Whales looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Blyer is avoiding damage well.
Patrick Whales is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Check out the look on Whales's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Whales working the head with strikes.

Blyer throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Rocky Blyer has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Blyer swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Whales feints and then cracks Blyer's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Blyer down.
Blyer throws a series of punches but Whales avoids them all with ease.
Blyer looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Whales gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

Whales feints and as Blyer raises his hands in defense, Whales changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whales trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blyer looking for a guillotine here but Whales defends easily.
Whales lands a couple of elbows.
Whales lands a couple of elbows.
Blyer is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Blyer preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Blyer is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Whales is aware though and is defending well.
Blyer preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rocky Blyer.
I think Whales 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 48:47
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 48:47
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 49:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Patrick Whales!
Patrick Whales retains his light heavyweight title!
A relieved looking Patrick Whales thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.