PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Corcoran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ben Richards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Corcoran
vs
Richards

191 cm
22
266 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
20
220 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alexander Corcoran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ben Richards!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Gwen Towbar and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Corcoran lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Richards at a distance.
Corcoran swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Corcoran works Richards's body with a nice hook.
Richards checks a low kick from Corcoran.
Alexander Corcoran seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Corcoran circles away from the clinch attempt.
Richards moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Corcoran plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Corcoran displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

It looks like Ben Richards has been cut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Corcoran scores with a one two! Richards had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Corcoran swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Richards misses with a wild combination.
Corcoran catches Richards with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Richards tries to close the distance and clinch but Corcoran swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Corcoran scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Corcoran is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Richards doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Corcoran.
Richards keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Corcoran could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Corcoran there.

Corcoran is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Richards is refusing to be controlled, as Corcoran sits in half guard.

Corcoran seems to be looking for submissions.
Richards is trying to stand.

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.
Corcoran thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Corcoran is breathing heavily.
Richards tries to roll over but Corcoran keeps him under control.
Corcoran prevents Richards from standing back up.

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

Richards moves into the clinch successfully.
Corcoran misses with an elbow strike.
Corcoran has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Richards avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Richards tries to land knees in the clinch but Corcoran avoids the damage to the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Richards.
Corcoran looking for a takedown.
Richards is working for takedown but Corcoran is calmly controlling the position for now.
The fighters are pressed against the ropes, as the pace of the fight slows.
Corcoran managing to block the knees to the body from Richards.
Corcoran misses with a short punch on the inside.
Richards lands an elbow that stopped Corcoran in his tracks for a moment.
Richards lands a damaging elbow.
Richards softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Richards leaning against his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Richards.

Richards's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Richards moves in looking to clinch but Corcoran pushes him off.
Richards closes the distance and lands a one-two.

It looks like Alexander Corcoran has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Richards falls off balance throwing a combination
and Corcoran counters with an outside leg kick.
Richards shoots in looking for a takedown. Corcoran tries to sprawl out of it but Richards keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Corcoran manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Richards shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Alexander Corcoran has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ben Richards.
Richards tries to clinch up but Corcoran circles away and keeps his distance.
Richards slips a jab from Corcoran.
Richards looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Corcoran is fending him off so far but Richards persists. Nope, Corcoran circles away and we're back to standing.
Corcoran throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Corcoran throws a looping overhand right but Richards ducks down to avoid it.
Corcoran looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Corcoran falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Richards counter with a right hand.
Corcoran displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Richards.

Richards fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Corcoran, pushing him back against the ropes.
Richards misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Corcoran.
Richards unloads a knee to the mid-section. Corcoran lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Richards lands an elbow that stopped Corcoran in his tracks for a moment.

Richards decides to pull guard.
Richards wants to stand up but Corcoran is controlling him.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Richards working a defensive guard here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Richards throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Alexander Corcoran will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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.

Richards tries to close the distance and clinch but Corcoran swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
An inside leg kick from Corcoran misses.
Corcoran scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Alexander Corcoran is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Corcoran decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Richards is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Corcoran not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Richards wants to get back to his feet.
Corcoran seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Richards does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Richards avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Corcoran.
Corcoran throwing shots but Richards is blocking nicely.
Richards wants to get back to full guard.

Corcoran is trying to work for a kimura but Richards is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Corcoran keeps the fight on the outside.
Richards throws a series of strikes that have Corcoran backpedaling.
Richards is looking to clinch.

Richards instigates a clinch.
Richards jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Corcoran walks away with a smile on his face. Richards gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Richards pushes Corcoran up against the ropes in a clinch.

Richards manages to break the clinch.
Alexander Corcoran is winning the standup battle so far.
Richards wants to clinch.
Richards shoots in for a takedown but Corcoran shows good takedown defense.
Corcoran avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Corcoran thows a leg kick but Richards checks it

and Richards counters with a nice double leg into side control. Corcoran won't be happy with that.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Richards tries to stand but Corcoran is controlling his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ground and pound from Richards seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Richards wants to lay and pray for a moment but Corcoran keeps working.
Corcoran is looking to regain half guard here but Richards keeps moving and retains side control.
Corcoran is trying to work for a sweep but Richards has mounted him!
Corcoran is in all sorts of trouble here.
Corcoran is squirming around, avoiding Richards's attempts to control the action.
Corcoran is bucking up trying to escape but Richards cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Richards breaks from Corcoran's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Richards controlling his opponent.
Richards trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Corcoran is looking to get to half guard.
Richards is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Corcoran can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Corcoran is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards landing punches.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Richards. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Richards dominating with strikes here.

Richards working for a submission but Corcoran is keeping him at bay.
Richards lands with some strikes.
Corcoran taking shots to the head.
Richards connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Richards postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Corcoran looks a forlorn figure.
Richards really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Corcoran. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Richards connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Richards working the ground and pound effectively.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Richards showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Richards doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Corcoran counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Richards is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Richards is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Corcoran pulls his head out easily.
Corcoran not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Richards won't allow Corcoran to pass to mount.
Richards is looking to escape.
Corcoran tries to pass to full mount but Richards defends it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Corcoran missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Richards is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Richards looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Corcoran.

Richards shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Corcoran has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Richards has passed into side control.
Richards lands an elbow.
Corcoran tries to control but Richards manages to take his back.
Corcoran wants to control his opponent's hands but Richards gets his hands free.
Corcoran can't escape the position.
Corcoran trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Richards has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Richards is trying to stick to Corcoran's back but Corcoran is turning into Richards. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Richards's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Corcoran.
Corcoran throws a big right hand that misses.
Corcoran trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Richards shoots in for a double leg but Corcoran sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Corcoran just misses with a punch to the body.

Richards drives through with a takedown into guard.

Corcoran looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Richards stopping the sweep attempt from Corcoran.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Richards avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Corcoran throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Richards trying to control the position from guard on top but Corcoran is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Corcoran wants to sweep but no luck.
Corcoran is working hard here to advance position.
Richards lands a couple of digs.
Corcoran wants to sweep but no luck.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Richards has closed the distance and engaged Corcoran in a clinch.
Richards trying to control the position but instead, Corcoran has worked for underhooks and has pushed Richards into the ropes.
Richards lands an elbow inside that Corcoran shrugs off.
Richards is pushing Corcoran up against the ropes, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.

Richards's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ben Richards.
I think Richards 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Richards!