PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Billy Richards (ranked 2746 p4p, 4038 weight class) and Michael Knight (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Knight comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Catch Me in the Pit kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Richards
vs
Knight

170 cm
18
155
4 - 0 - 0

185 cm
24
155
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Northern Zombie

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Billy Richards!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Michael Knight!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Robert Twigg and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Knight pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Knight throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Richards drops down looking for a counter takedown but Knight sprawls and moves away.
Knight is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Richards feints and as Knight raises his hands in defense, Richards changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

Knight manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Billy Richards seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No luck for Knight with that takedown attempt.

Knight closes the distance and clinches.

Richards gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Knight regains guard.
Richards has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Knight looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Richards sitting in guard here, content to control.
Richards looking to pass the guard.

Knight had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Richards defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knight controls Richards momentarily but Richards frees himself.
Richards has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Richards sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Knight's guard.
Richards controlling the action here.
Richards tries to pass the half guard into mount. Knight knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Richards controlling the action here.

That's two 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.
Richards seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Knight for as long as he can get away with.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Knight clinches up with Richards and pushes him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knight stops a takedown attempt from Richards.
Richards has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Knight after a bit of a struggle.

Knight drags the fight down to the ground.

Richards got a little sloppy there for a moment and Knight has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Richards has managed to get both his arms back between Knight's legs - danger averted.
Richards slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The referee asks Richards politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Richards prefers to stall for the moment though.
Richards'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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Knight's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A lull in the action here as Richards stalls from top position.
Richards working away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Billy Richards 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.

A thudding body kick lands there by Knight!
Nice takedown defense from Knight. No joy for Richards on that attempt.

Knight closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Richards quickly recovers to half guard.
Richards keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Richards is looking to improve his position.
Richards wants to control but Knight is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Richards is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Knight is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Richards is staying active underneath Knight, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Knight prevents Richards from improving his position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters are battling for position here. Richards manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Richards has his hands on Knight's head, controlling the position.
Richards is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Richards is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Richards is controlling Knight's posture.

Richards is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Knight is aware though and is defending well.
Richards has his hands on Knight's head, controlling the position.
Richards keeping moving, preventing Knight from controlling successfully.
Richards is adopting a defensive guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Knight stopping the sweep attempt from Richards.

That's two 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.
Knight being controlled here momentarily.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Richards shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Richards was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Richards just content to control the position.
Knight is trying to get back to his feet.

Richards working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Knight tries to buck Richards off but Richards is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knight trying to remain calm as Richards controls from the top position.
Knight wants to get back to his feet.
Richards slows the pace down.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Further stalling from Richards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Richards has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Richards scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Knight is being controlled here.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Richards.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Richards is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Billy Richards will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Knight gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Richards stopping the sweep attempt from Knight.
Richards controlling from the top position.
Richards continues to stall.

Knight is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Billy Richards overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Richards 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
More hug and hope from Richards.
Richards pushes down on Knight's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Richards stalling.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

That's two 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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Michael Knight is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Richards shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Knight pinned against the cage. Knight gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Richards closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Knight did well to prevent Richards getting side control.
Knight won't allow Richards to pass to mount.
Richards works his foot free and advances to mount.
Richards controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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.
Richards wants to take Knight's back here but Knight is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Michael Knight has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Billy Richards showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Richards, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:29
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!