PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jim Kelly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aaron Rai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kelly comes to the cage accompanied by Theme From Black Belt Jones. Aaron Rai has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Jim Kelly's chin.

Kelly
vs
Rai

188 cm
22
219 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

189 cm
24
210 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jim Kelly!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Aaron Rai!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Dillan Fox and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kelly keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rai.
Kelly throws the kick towards the body but Rai avoids it.
Kelly is looking to score with low kicks.
Jim Kelly seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kelly is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A combination from Rai does no damage.
Kelly moves in looking to clinch but Rai pushes him off.
Rai catches Kelly with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Kelly fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kelly wants to clinch.
A head kick misses from Kelly.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rai shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Kelly blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rai.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rai with the ground and pound but Kelly uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Kelly wants to stand but Rai is controlling the position.
Rai lands a couple of digs.
Kelly can't keep his opponent in guard - Rai advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Rai stops Kelly from getting back to his feet.
Rai is nestled in close to Kelly, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Rai prevents Kelly from improving his position.
Rai lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Rai tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kelly knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rai throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Kelly has hold of Rai's hands but Rai slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Rai is keen to just control but Kelly is a slippery customer.
Rai not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Rai is looking to pass Kelly's guard but actually Kelly recovers to full guard.
Rai working some strikes from top position.
Kelly wants to stand and escape but Rai is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rai throwing strikes from guard but Kelly blocks nicely.
Kelly working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rai.
Rai is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rai keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Kelly's head.
Rai working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rai looking to pass the guard.
Rai has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rai postures up in Kelly's guard and throws a big left but Kelly blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rai in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Rai throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kelly works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rai throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kelly works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kelly is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Kelly showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rai.
Rai lands with a nice body punch.
Kelly tries to clinch up but Rai circles away and keeps his distance.
Kelly fails with an attempt to clinch.
A combination from Rai does no damage.
Kelly tries to close the distance and clinch but Rai swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aaron Rai 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.

Kelly pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kelly tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rai avoids the head kick by Kelly.
Kelly checks the leg kick.
Kelly tries to clinch but Rai is having none of it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kelly looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rai throws a leg kick

and Kelly moves into the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Kelly tries a knee to the head but Rai blocks it.
Kelly tries to pull guard but Rai holds him up against the cage and eventually Kelly drops back down to his feet.
Kelly misses with a knee strike.
Kelly connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rai's face.
Kelly throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rai blocks it with crossed arms.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rai goes for a takedown in the clinch but Kelly prevents it.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kelly lands an elbow inside that Rai shrugs off.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kelly.

Kelly successfully pulls guard.
Kelly keeping moving, preventing Rai from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rai accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rai working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kelly avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kelly working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rai.
Rai postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

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

Rai moves into the clinch successfully.
Kelly fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kelly throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rai blocks it with crossed arms.
Rai tries for a takedown. No joy.
A knee to the head by Kelly.
Kelly throws a knee to the head but misses.
Rai is trying to drag Kelly to the mat but Kelly just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Jim Kelly has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aaron Rai.
Rai takes a knee to the side of the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rai has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kelly avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Kelly gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Kelly pulls guard successfully.
Kelly working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rai.
Rai is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Kelly is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kelly working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rai.
Rai postures up in Kelly's guard and throws a big left but Kelly blocks it.
Rai landing with the ground and pound.
Rai not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kelly wants to get back to his feet but Rai is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Rai wants to control from the top but Kelly keeps moving.
Kelly preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Rai pushing down on Kelly's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Rai uses his free foot to push down on Kelly's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Kelly.
Rai is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Kelly can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rai working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Rai lands a big shot there that rocks Kelly but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Rai raining down shots from the mount!
Rai trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Rai throwing strikes here but Kelly is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Rai thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Rai scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Kelly?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aaron Rai showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Rai misses with a jab, cross combination.
Rai doesn't manage to clinch there - Kelly circles away.
Kelly tries to clinch up
and Rai counters with a stiff right hand.
Kelly fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Rai checks it well.
Rai scores with a shot to the body.
Rai takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Kelly closes the distance looking to clinch
and Kelly takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Kelly closes the distance looking to clinch
enabling Rai to counter with a crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kelly tries to clinch but Rai moves away

and Rai counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Rai landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Kelly is looking to escape.
Aaron Rai has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rai wants to pass the guard but Kelly is defending well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rai moves nicely into side control.
Rai advances to mount.
Rai throwing strikes but Kelly recovers to half guard. A much better position.
Rai prevents Kelly from standing back up.
Jim Kelly has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rai lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Kelly has hold of Rai's hands but Rai slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Kelly keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Rai throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Rai looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rai throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Rai is nestled in close to Kelly, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Rai thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kelly's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rai is keen to just control but Kelly is a slippery customer.
Rai lands with a punch from half guard.
Rai is trying to control the action in half guard but Kelly is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rai thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kelly's head.
Rai sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Kelly defending well though.
Rai lands strikes from half guard.
Rai thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kelly's head.
Rai is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Kelly reverses the position - he's now on top in Rai's guard.
Rai has a closed guard, preventing Kelly from standing up.

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.
Rai has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Kelly has passed into side control.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Rai can do anything to dispel that myth.
Rai tries to improve position but can't.
Rai is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Rai is looking to control Kelly's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rai avoid being mounted?
Ground and pound from Kelly.
Rai throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Kelly thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rai tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Some wild striking there from Rai.
Rai throws a solid leg kick but Kelly takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Rai.
Aaron Rai is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rai stalks Kelly and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Kelly's face. Kelly staggers backwards, shaken.

And that's the end of the fight!
Aaron Rai comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Rai 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 27:30
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Aaron Rai!