PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between george st pierre (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and JF Houle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

st pierre
vs
Houle

180 cm
22
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, george st pierre!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, JF Houle!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Robert Douchet and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Houle scores a takedown into full mount!
st pierre knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Houle on the ground.
st pierre tries to hold on but Houle postures up.
st pierre is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Houle connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Houle won't let st pierre get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
The referee warns st pierre that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Houle landing punches.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Houle cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
st pierre really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
A nice elbow there by Houle.
Houle scoring with strikes but st pierre is staying in there.
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.
Houle prevents st pierre from getting the reversal.
Houle looking to finish st pierre with some ground and pound. This is bad for st pierre!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Houle dominating with strikes here.
Houle prevents st pierre from getting the reversal.
Houle lands a big elbow.
st pierre is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Houle landing shots from mount.
Houle looking to finish st pierre with some ground and pound. This is bad for st pierre!
st pierre tries to reverse the position but Houle maintains control.
Houle lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Houle has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Houle cracks st pierre with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

st pierre is rocked!
Houle prevents st pierre from getting the reversal.
st pierre is breathing heavily.
Houle connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Houle lands a big shot there that rocks st pierre but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Oh st pierre is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Houle fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
st pierre taking shots to the head.
Houle lands a big elbow.
Houle lands with some vicious ground and pound - can st pierre hang on?
st pierre is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
st pierre seems to have got his legs back now.
Houle putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Houle punishing his opponent with strikes.
Houle dominating with strikes here.
The referee warns st pierre that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Houle lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Houle pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Houle fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
st pierre takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Houle looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Houle connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Houle lands a heavy elbow.
Houle looking to control but st pierre is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Houle lands a nice shot to the head.
A nice elbow there by Houle.
The referee warns st pierre that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Houle with shots to the head and body - st pierre looks very uncomfortable down there.
Houle unloading with bombs!
Houle fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Houle scoring with strikes but st pierre is staying in there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
st pierre is wriggling around trying to escape.
Houle lands a heavy elbow.
st pierre is wriggling around trying to escape.
Houle working st pierre over with strikes here.
Houle putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
st pierre is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Houle in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
A nice elbow there by Houle.

Houle is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but st pierre is surviving well by controlling Houle's body position as best he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

JF Houle dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Houle shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in st pierre's guard.
Houle scoring with some ground and pound.
st pierre wants to sweep but no luck.
Houle throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as st pierre works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
st pierre wants to stand up but Houle is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Houle stands and steps away. st pierre gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
JF Houle seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

st pierre gets in close and instigates a clinch.
st pierre works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
st pierre can't break the clinch.

Houle has hold of one of st pierre's legs. st pierre is fighting the takedown attempt but Houle gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Houle throws and elbow that misses. st pierre uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Houle's guard. Nice move by st pierre!
Houle looking for a sweep. Not yet Houle, not yet.

st pierre drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and st pierre jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
st pierre looking to pass the guard.
Houle trying to strike off his back.
Houle trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Houle throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Houle looking for a sweep. Not yet Houle, not yet.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
st pierre shoots and misses

and Houle counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for st pierre!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Houle punishing his opponent with strikes.
st pierre tries to reverse the position but Houle maintains control.
Houle with a couple of short strikes.
Houle in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Houle has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of st pierre's face.
st pierre taking shots to the head.
st pierre keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Houle landing shots from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
st pierre tries to lock up and control but Houle gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Houle has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
BOOM! Houle connects with a massive shot to the dome!
st pierre really wants to buck Houle off and get back to his feet.
A nice elbow there by Houle.
Houle with a couple of short strikes.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Houle cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Houle cracks st pierre with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
st pierre is looking to improve his position but Houle isn't that keen on the idea.
Houle lands with some strikes.
st pierre is looking to get to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Houle in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Houle lands with some vicious ground and pound - can st pierre hang on?
st pierre is trying desperately to improve position.
st pierre tries to hold on but Houle postures up.
Houle with the ground and pound from mount.
Houle scoring with strikes but st pierre is staying in there.
st pierre is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
st pierre in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

JF Houle showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Houle scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Houle prevents st pierre from improving his position.
Houle drops an elbow to the side of st pierre's head.
Houle is nestled in close to st pierre, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
st pierre trying to control from the bottom.
st pierre blocking the ground and pound attempt from Houle.
Houle is nestled in close to st pierre, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
st pierre makes his way to full guard. A much better position for st pierre.
Houle connects with a couple of short punches.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Houle postures up.
Houle makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
st pierre is trying to keep Houle in close.
Houle cracks st pierre with a solid left hand.
Houle is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
st pierre strikes from his own guard.
Houle scoring with punches to the head and body.
Houle distracts st pierre with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
st pierre working a defensive guard here.
Houle cracks st pierre with a solid left hand.

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.
st pierre is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Houle is controlling him.

Houle 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.
st pierre wants to sweep here but Houle controlling him for the moment.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
st pierre with a poor takedown

and Houle counters with a nice double leg into side control. st pierre won't be happy with that.
Houle connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused st pierre some visible discomfort.
Houle scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at st pierre to see if he's OK.
Houle working the head and body with strikes.
Houle looks up at the clock and then as st pierre takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Houle smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Houle working the head with strikes.
st pierre tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Houle wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Houle is working st pierre over with some ground and pound from side control.
st pierre is not content to let Houle control the position.
Houle in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Houle cracks st pierre with a big right hand but st pierre just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Houle misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
st pierre is looking for a sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Houle looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
st pierre trying to control from the bottom.
Houle missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Houle not landing any meaningful shots this time.
st pierre trying to control here.
st pierre tries to kick Houle off but Houle keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
st pierre wants to control but Houle is keeping busy.
Houle looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks st pierre with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
JF Houle is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Houle passes into side control, despite st pierre's attempt to control the position.
george st pierre has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
st pierre is looking for a sweep.

And that's the end of the fight!
JF Houle comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Houle winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 26:30
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 26:30
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... JF Houle!