PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Aznar Thrul (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gary Grice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Grice has chosen GZA - Shadowboxin' as his entrance music. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Thrul
vs
Grice

189 cm
24
194 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

184 cm
33
193 lbs
15 - 4 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

KAISER

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 1 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Aznar Thrul!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Gary Grice!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Eddie Farnsworth and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Grice throws a solid leg kick but Thrul takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Grice.
We've been hearing reports that Thrul has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Thrul will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Thrul tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Grice was well out of range. Poor timing from Thrul.
Grice defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Thrul.
Thrul pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Gary Grice seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Grice misses with a kick to the body.
Grice lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Thrul at a distance.
Thrul throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Grice misses with a leg kick
and Thrul cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Grice changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Grice fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Grice scores with a kick to the midsection.
Thrul lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Grice looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Thrul tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sloppy strikes from Thrul. Those never looked like landing.

Grice forces Thrul back against the cage and clinches.
Grice lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Thrul backwards.
Thrul is looking to take this one to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grice leaning against his opponent.

Thrul turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Thrul manages to end up in side control.
Grice tries to buck Thrul off but Thrul is having none of it.
Grice is trying to control Thrul's posture but Thrul avoids it.
Thrul working the head and body with strikes.
Grice gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Grice is not content to let Thrul control the position.
Thrul thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Grice actively working from the bottom here.
Grice taking some punishment here, with Thrul in his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thrul lands strikes from half guard.
Thrul trying to control the action but Grice is working from the bottom.
Grice blocking the ground and pound attempt from Thrul.
Thrul sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Grice defending well though.
Grice wants to get back to full guard.
Thrul is thwarting Grice's attempts to control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Grice avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Thrul.
Thrul wants to pass the guard but Grice is defending well.
Grice is trying to maintain the position but Thrul is very close to passing his half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grice gets full guard.
Grice utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Thrul working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Thrul postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Grice trying to control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Grice with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A head kick misses from Thrul.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thrul checks a leg kick.
Grice throws the kick towards the body but Thrul avoids it.
Thrul fails to land with a series of punches.
Grice avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Thrul cracks the inside of Grice's front leg.
Grice chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Grice lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Grice.

It looks like Aznar Thrul has been cut.
Thrul takes a swing at Grice's ribcage but misses.
Grice attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Thrul moves out of range as Grice throws a body kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thrul dives in and grabs Grice's left leg, looking for a takedown. Grice pushes down on Thrul's head and hops out.
Grice wants to counter with a clinch but Thrul pushes him away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aznar Thrul. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thrul takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Grice closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Grice.
Thrul lands a nice uppercut.
Grice misses with a punch on the inside.
Grice misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Grice pushes Thrul back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Grice lands with a right to the head.
Grice lands a body punch in the clinch.
Grice lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Thrul tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Grice's elbow.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Grice.
Grice misses with a punch on the inside.
Grice lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Thrul lands with a light punch inside.
Thrul blocks an uppercut.
Thrul tries to work over Grice's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Grice misses with a hook from the clinch.
Grice tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Thrul's elbow.
Grice misses with a short punch on the inside.
Grice is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Grice working some nice short punches in the clinch.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Grice.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A head punch on the inside from Grice fails to land.
Grice works on Thrul's body with a couple of short punches.
Thrul misses with a punch to the body.
Thrul blocking some punches.
A nice left hand lands by Grice.

Thrul gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Thrul not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Thrul not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Thrul lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Grice is looking to improve his position.
Thrul sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Grice defending well though.
Thrul wants to lay and pray for a moment but Grice keeps working.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Thrul working the head and body with strikes.
Thrul with the ground and pound but Grice uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Grice wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Grice looking to hit a scissor sweep but Thrul is one step ahead there.
Grice working a defensive guard here.
Thrul throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Grice works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Grice wants to sweep here but Thrul controlling him for the moment.
Grice looking to control.
Thrul throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Grice had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Thrul defends it easily.
Grice working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Thrul.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Thrul steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Grice.
A solid leg kick lands there for Grice.
Grice ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Thrul moves away.
Thrul dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Grice. That did some damage!
Thrul avoids the body shot from Grice.
Thrul attempts a counter takedown but Grice avoids it well and moves away.
Aznar Thrul has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Grice scores with the left hand. Thrul knows he should have avoided that one.
Grice keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Thrul looks for the body kick but Grice saw that one coming.
Grice tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Thrul is able to avoid easily.
Thrul throws a low kick but Grice moves out of range easily.
Grice lands a nice leg kick that just misses Thrul's sensitive parts.
A bone on bone clash there as Thrul blocks the leg kick.

Grice tries to sprawl but Thrul drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Thrul seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Grice is looking to improve his position.
Grice trying to control from the bottom.
Thrul throws a strike but Grice avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Gary Grice.
I think Grice has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1 round of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight for Gary Grice!
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight for Gary Grice!
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight for Gary Grice!

Gary Grice wins by unanimous decision!
Gary Grice decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.