PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Preston Mason (ranked 2403 p4p, 100 weight class) and Eta Knox (ranked 2917 p4p, 121 weight class). Knox has chosen David Dallas | Runnin' as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Mason
vs
Knox

170 cm
22
140 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

172 cm
22
147 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Preston Mason!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Eta Knox!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mason manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Knox on his heels. He'll look to pass Knox's guard now, I'm sure.
Mason throws a big right hand that misses.
Knox can't keep his opponent in guard - Mason advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Knox is trying to get back to full guard.
Knox taking some punishment here, with Mason in his half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Mason lands a nice short elbow.
Knox is looking for a sweep. Mason is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Mason is controlling the pace.
Knox is trying to get back to full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox is still trying to improve position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason trying to control from half guard but Knox is working away.
Mason keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Knox slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Mason stands up over Knox, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Mason won't allow Knox to sweep him here.
Mason 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.
Mason throws an elbow that misses. Knox uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Mason's guard. Nice move by Knox!

Knox trying to control the position from guard on top but Mason is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
I've been told that Knox has been drilling his wrestling of late, which has already helped him take this fight to the mat. Let's see how much of an impact it has on the outcome of the ground game.
Mason wants to sweep here but Knox controlling him for the moment.
Mason seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Mason tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mason is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Knox has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mason is working away from the top position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mason looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Mason throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Mason is looking for a kimura but Knox is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Mason to get the leverage.
Mason is thwarting Knox's attempts to control the position.
Mason throwing shots but Knox is blocking nicely.
Knox is trying to maintain the position but Mason is very close to passing his half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Mason lands a nice short elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knox has his hands clasped together around Mason's back. He's all about the action.
Knox is trying to get back to full guard.
Knox is looking to control Mason's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Knox avoid being mounted?
Mason not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Mason thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Knox is not content to let Mason control the position.
Mason missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Mason looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Knox with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Knox has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mason is working away from the top position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mason is looking to take a break and control but Knox is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mason looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Knox with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Knox tries to get to full guard but Mason has control of the leg.
Mason lands strikes from half guard.
Knox is controlling Mason's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Mason has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Knox is continuing to stall.
Knox has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mason is working away from the top position though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Knox misses with a looping right.
Mason slips under a jab.

Mason scores with a takedown into Knox's guard.
Mason won't allow Knox to sweep him here.
Knox looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Mason puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Mason lands strikes from half guard.
Mason controlling the pace.
Mason's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Mason scoring with strikes to the body and head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mason controlling the pace.
Further stalling from Mason.
Knox trying to control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Mason working over Knox with some ground and pound. Knox looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Knox keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Knox is looking for a sweep. Mason is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Mason lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Still in half guard, Mason seems content to control.
Mason thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Knox is trying to control but can't.
Mason seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Knox manages to get to full guard.
Mason postures up in Knox's guard and throws a big left but Knox blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mason trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mason postures up in Knox's guard and throws a big left but Knox blocks it.
Knox looking for a sweep. Not yet Knox, not yet.
Mason passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Mason working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Knox is being controlled here.
Knox avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Mason.
Knox manages to work his way to half guard, despite Mason's best efforts.
Mason is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Knox can do to turn this around?
Mason scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Knox is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Mason scores with a couple of nice shots.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mason looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Mason slips a nice elbow through Knox's hands, connecting with Knox's forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mason throwing shots but Knox is blocking nicely.
Mason throws a strike but Knox avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Mason trying to control the position from guard on top but Knox is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mason scoring with punches to the head and body.
Mason postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mason accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mason is stalling in the full guard.
Knox looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mason is one step ahead there.
Mason pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Knox is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Knox wants to sweep but no luck.
Mason trying to control the position from guard on top but Knox is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Knox controls Mason momentarily but Mason frees himself.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Knox can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Mason controls the pace.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mason swings widly with a right hand
and Knox counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Mason shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Mason showed some decent athleticism there.
Mason trying to control the pace.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Preston Mason dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Nice uppercut lands for Knox. That snapped Mason's head back.

Mason shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Knox keeping full guard, as Mason tries to pass.
Preston Mason overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mason is in close to Knox's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Mason trying to control but Knox is working from the bottom.
Mason throws a big elbow that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mason's guard.

Mason wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Knox is now in half guard.
Mason gets full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mason is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Mason looking to try and escape his hips here, looking for a submission. It looks like he's going for a triangle but Knox is defending well. Mason quickly switches to an armbar and extends the arm! Knox has no choice but to tap, to a very quick submission! Wow, that was lightning fast! Mason celebrates on the cage, with the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:25 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Preston Mason!
Preston Mason thanked the fans post fight for their support.