PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dalton Mcguire (ranked 24999 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Brands (ranked 5547 p4p, 0 weight class). Tom Brands will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Mcguire
vs
Brands

152 cm
18
193 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

180 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dalton Mcguire!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tom Brands!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Arvi Lind and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Brands closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Brands lands in his opponent's guard.
Brands wants to control from the top but Mcguire keeps moving.
Mcguire tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mcguire trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Mcguire wants to sweep here but Brands controlling him for the moment.
Mcguire wants to get back to his feet but Brands is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brands postures up in Mcguire's guard and throws a big left but Mcguire blocks it.
Brands is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Mcguire really is a fat lump.

Brands dives in and scores a takedown into Mcguire's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brands working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Mcguire's head.
Brands advances position into side control!
Mcguire wants to control but Brands postures up.
Mcguire is looking for a sweep.
Mcguire is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Brands is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Mcguire will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Mcguire is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mcguire takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Brands staying calm.

Brands thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Brands wants to control but Mcguire is keeping him busy.
Mcguire is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcguire is not content to let Brands control the position.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Mcguire tries to improve position but can't.
Brands wants to control but Mcguire is keeping him busy.
Brands lands an elbow.
Brands tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Brands wants to control but Mcguire is keeping him busy.
Mcguire tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Brands wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Brands working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Brands is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Mcguire will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Mcguire controls the position for a moment.
Mcguire is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Tom Brands seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Mcguire closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Brands's guard.

Brands is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Mcguire presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mcguire is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Brands's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Brands dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Brands scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Brands has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mcguire can't do much from the bottom here.
Mcguire might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Mcguire is looking to reverse the position.
Mcguire struggling a bit here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Brands cracks Mcguire with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Mcguire is looking to regain half guard here but Brands keeps moving and retains side control.
Brands wants to lay and pray for a moment but Mcguire keeps working.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Brands tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Mcguire is looking to reverse the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brands is looking to take a break and control but Mcguire is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mcguire is looking to regain half guard here but Brands keeps moving and retains side control.

Brands looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Brands scoring with punches and elbows.
Mcguire can't do much from the bottom here.

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.
Brands controls the position from side control.
Brands trying to control the action but Mcguire is working from the bottom.
Mcguire is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Brands is controlling him well.
Mcguire wants to control but Brands postures up.

Brands is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Mcguire has escaped the position, nice work there.
Brands taking a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcguire wants to control but Brands postures up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Brands takes a swing at Mcguire's ribcage but misses.

Brands closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Mcguire's guard.
Mcguire looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Brands slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Brands scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Mcguire keeping moving, preventing Brands from controlling successfully.
Mcguire is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mcguire is really struggling to control Brands but he's trying to hold on to the position.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Brands misses with a head kick.
Mcguire drops down looking for a counter takedown but Brands sprawls and moves away.

Brands shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Brands is breathing heavily.
Mcguire trying to hold on to Brands's head to control him but Brands postures up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mcguire tries to get to full guard but Brands has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Brands showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Brands shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Brands prevents Mcguire from getting back to his feet.
Mcguire thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Brands prevents Mcguire from getting back to his feet.
Mcguire trying to keep a closed guard but Brands is proving a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brands throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Brands slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.

Brands dives in and scores a takedown into Mcguire's guard.
Mcguire not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Brands showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Mcguire working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Brands doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Brands manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mcguire has Brands pulled in close to control his posture.
Brands must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Brands trying to stand up but can't free himself from Mcguire's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brands sitting in guard here, content to control.

Mcguire has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Brands is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Brands keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Mcguire's efforts to push away.

Brands breaks from the clinch.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Brands.
As Brands looks to move away, Mcguire throws a big counter combo but Brands just gets out of the way.

Mcguire shoots in and bounces Brands off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Mcguire is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mcguire wants to get up but he can't break Brands's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Brands has his foot on Mcguire's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Mcguire works his way back into a safe position though.
Mcguire working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Brands's head.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Brands can do anything to dispel that myth.
Mcguire has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Brands is proving hard to escape from.
Mcguire looking to sit in guard and control but Brands gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Brands won't allow Mcguire to sweep him here.
Brands trying to control but Mcguire is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Brands working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mcguire looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mcguire is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Mcguire is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Mcguire has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Brands has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Brands decides to pull guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Brands has control of Mcguire's left arm, preventing Mcguire from doing any damage.
Brands working a defensive guard but Mcguire passes into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Tom Brands.
Well Brands has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom Brands!