PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between AJ Nelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ray Charles (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nelson comes to the cage accompanied by Iron Man, Black Sabbath. Charles is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Sweet Child O' Mine. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Nelson
vs
Charles

170 cm
22
180 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

175 cm
25
170 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, AJ Nelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Ray Charles!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Chris Edwards and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nelson is trying hard to land a takedown here. Charles sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Charles closes the distance looking to clinch

and Nelson counters by clinching up.

Charles pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Charles.

Charles clinches with his opponent.

Charles breaks from the clinch.
Charles throws a wild body kick that Nelson sees coming a mile off.
Nelson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Charles is fending him off so far but Nelson persists. Nope, Charles circles away and we're back to standing.
Charles is looking to clinch but Nelson is avoiding it.
Charles lands a two punch combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson shoots in looking for a takedown. Charles tries to sprawl out of it but Nelson keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Charles manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for AJ Nelson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Charles tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nelson circles away from the clinch attempt
and Nelson counters with a one-two to the body.
Charles throws a series of punches but Nelson avoids them all with ease.
Charles throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Charles wants to clinch up but Nelson keeps it at a distance.
Nelson keeps the fight on the outside.

Nelson manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Charles on his heels. He'll look to pass Charles's guard now, I'm sure.
Nelson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Charles is keeping the position for now.
Nelson slips nicely into half guard.

Nelson is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Charles defends it well.

Nelson is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nelson is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Charles is just riding it out for now. Nelson eventually gives up the hold.

Nelson wants to work for an arm triangle but Charles is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Nelson is looking for a kimura but Charles is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Nelson to get the leverage.

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.

Nelson is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Charles has managed to free his arm - good work.
Nelson keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Nelson is breathing heavily.

Charles kicks Nelson off and gets back to his feet.
Nelson blocks a head kick by Charles.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Charles tries to clinch up.
Nelson avoids the head kick by Charles.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ray Charles will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Danga de danga de dang - Charles scores with a four punch combination!

Charles has Nelson up against the cage in a clinch.

Charles manages to break the clinch.
Charles misses with the combination.
Charles scores with a body shot.
A combination from Nelson does no damage.
Nelson moves in looking to clinch but Charles pushes him off.
Charles tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Nelson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Charles darts in trying to clinch
and Nelson counters with a nice kick to the body.
AJ Nelson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Charles thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Nelson if he has to take too many more of those.

Nelson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Nelson can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Charles is looking to escape.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Charles wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nelson goes for an armbar but Charles turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Charles.
Charles works over Nelson with some ground and pound from guard.
Charles postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.
Charles throws a big right hand that misses.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Charles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nelson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Charles has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Charles in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nelson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Charles postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Nelson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Charles trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Charles postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.
Charles with a flurry of punches that miss.
Charles throwing strikes but missing.
Charles postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Charles missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Charles with a flurry of punches that miss.
Charles missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Charles postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.
Charles in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Charles with a flurry of punches that miss.
Charles postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Charles trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Charles throwing strikes but missing.
Charles working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Nelson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Charles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nelson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Nelson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Charles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nelson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nelson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Charles.
Charles missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nelson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Charles throws a big right hand that misses.
Nelson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ray Charles 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!

Charles throws a right and a left that Nelson avoids nicely.

Nelson closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Charles did well to prevent Nelson getting side control.

Nelson is trying to work for a kimura but Charles is defending well.

Charles has one foot on Nelson's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

Charles has taken the fight to the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Charles landing knees to the head.
Charles scores with a knee to the head.

Charles manages to break the clinch.
Ray Charles seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Charles throws a series of strikes that have Nelson backpedaling.
Charles wants to clinch.

Charles darts in and clinches Nelson up against the cage.
Nelson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Charles breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Charles wants to clinch up but Nelson keeps it at a distance.
Nelson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Charles sprawls well. Charles wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Nelson gets slowly back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Charles tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Nelson counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Nelson is looking for submissions but instead, Charles has regained full guard.

Nelson is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Charles is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Charles has escaped and now he's on top!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Charles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nelson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Charles throws a big right hand that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Charles working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Charles throwing strikes from guard but Nelson blocks nicely.
Charles working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Nelson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Charles postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.
Charles missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Nelson looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Nelson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Charles missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Charles loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Charles throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Charles throwing strikes but missing.
Charles in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Charles throws a big right hand that misses.
Charles in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Charles throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nelson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Charles postures up in Nelson's guard and throws a big left but Nelson blocks it.
Charles advances to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Charles throwing shots but Nelson is blocking nicely.
Ray Charles is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Charles controlling the action here.
AJ Nelson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Ray Charles comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Charles 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 Paul Tew scores the fight 28:30
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 27:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ray Charles!
Ray Charles decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.