PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between William Li (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jay Rock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rock has chosen Shake That ass For Me - Eminem ft. Nate Dogg as his entrance music. Jay Rock will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Li
vs
Rock

190 cm
20
250 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

202 cm
20
279 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite 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 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, William Li!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jay Rock!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Steve Smith and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Li looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rock is fending him off so far but Li persists. Nope, Rock circles away and we're back to standing.
Rock fails with a takedown attempt.
Li misses with a takedown attempt - Rock sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Horrible takedown by Li or perhaps it was just good defense by Rock which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for William Li. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Li circles away from the clinch attempt.

Rock rushes Li and presses him up against the cage.
Rock tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rock drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rock has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Li after a bit of a struggle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rock stalling in the clinch.
Rock tries to pull guard but Li holds him up against the cage and eventually Rock drops back down to his feet.

Li has clasped his hands together around Rock's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Li scores with punches from side control.
Li throws an elbow but Rock slips to the side and avoids it well.
Rock parries the strikes from Li easily there. Li is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Rock to escape.
Rock is trying to improve his position.
Li misses with the ground and pound.
Rock gets back to half guard.
Li sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rock defending well though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li with the ground and pound but Rock uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Li postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Li throws a big elbow that misses.
Li 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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Li accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Li throws an elbow that misses. Rock uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Li's guard. Nice move by Rock!
Rock is looking to stand up but Li won't let him.
Rock trying to control the position from guard on top but Li is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li pulls Rock in close to prevent any damage.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Jay Rock hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Li keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rock dives in and grabs Li's left leg, looking for a takedown. Li pushes down on Rock's head and hops out.
Rock fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Rock as Li shoots in.
Li shoots in looking for a takedown. Rock tries to sprawl out of it but Li keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rock manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Nice sprawl there from Rock as Li shoots in.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rock tries to sprawl but Li drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Li sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rock defending well though.

Rock looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Rock is trying to maintain the position but Li is very close to passing his half guard.
Li stops Rock from getting back to his feet.
Li looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Rock with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rock avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Li.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rock taking some punishment here, with Li in his half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rock keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Rock is looking to escape.
Li throwing shots but Rock is blocking nicely.
Li not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

William Li dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Rock closes the distance and clinches.
Li blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rock gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Li.

Rock pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rock tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Li paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Rock tries to clinch but Li moves out of range.
Li on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Rock. Rock obviously looking to wear him down.
Rock tries to clinch but Li is having none of it.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Li here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Li fails with a takedown attempt.

Rock rushes Li and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li tries for a takedown but Rock manages to get underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for William Li. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rock wants to stall.
Rock tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Li avoids it.
Rock pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Li tries for a takedown. No joy.
Rock misses with a knee to the head.

Li has clasped his hands together around Rock's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rock is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Rock is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Li working the body and head with strikes.
Li scores with punches from side control.
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.
Li misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Rock is looking for a sweep.
Li working the body and head with strikes.
Rock is looking to regain half guard here but Li keeps moving and retains side control.
Li lands a few punches from side control.
Rock is looking to regain half guard here but Li keeps moving and retains side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Rock's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Li scores with punches from side control.
Rock regains half guard, as Li was trying to land strikes.
Rock has hold of Li's hands but Li slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Li sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rock defending well though.
Li prevents Rock from standing back up.
Li lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Rock avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Li.
Rock is looking to escape.
Li missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Li not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Li throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Rock is looking to improve his position.
Li missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Li missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Li missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Rock pushes Li off looking to stand but Li dives back in and keeps control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice strikes from Li there.
Li thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Li lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

William Li dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Li shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rock pinned against the cage. Rock gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Rock moves into the clinch successfully.
Rock prevents a takedown attempt there.

Li has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Rock clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Li is trying to stick to Rock's back but Rock is turning into Li. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Li's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Rock.

Rock stands up and waves to Li to follow him.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rock looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rock comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Li.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for William Li. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rock misses with a straight left.

Rock has Li up against the cage in a clinch.

Rock breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rock displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Li.
Rock fails with an attempt to clinch.
Li shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rock misses the shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li looks for a takedown but Rock sprawls well.
Rock is looking to clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Li.
Nice takedown defense from Rock. No joy for Li on that attempt.
Li throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rock's waist but Rock gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Li off to one side.
Rock fails in his attempt to clinch.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Li is defended easily by Rock.
Rock stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Rock wants it to stay on the feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Rock moves into the clinch successfully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rock misses with some punches.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rock prevents a takedown attempt there.

Rock drags the fight down to the ground.
Li loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Rock kicks Li off and gets to his feet.
Li misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
No luck for Li with that takedown attempt.
Li circles away from the clinch attempt.
Li swats away the attempt to clinch by Rock.
Li fails with the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rock tries to close the distance and clinch but Li swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rock cracks Li with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Jay Rock seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rock tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rock fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rock keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Rock shoots in for a takedown but Li shows good takedown defense.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Li fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Rock lands a jab to the nose.
Li looks for a takedown but Rock sprawls well.
Rock tries to clinch up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rock tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rock is looking to clinch but Li is avoiding it.
Jay Rock has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
William Li is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rock smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jay Rock comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Li has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... William Li!
A victorious William Li thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.