PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Richard James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eloni Fauatea (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Richard James has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

James
vs
Fauatea

205 cm
26
291 lbs
7 - 12 - 0

190 cm
31
300 lbs
6 - 11 - 0

Decent wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Richard James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Eloni Fauatea!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Anni Minnemäki and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James misses with a two punch combination.
Fauatea pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces James back to the cage. Fauatea follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

It looks like Richard James has been cut.
Fauatea takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
James throws a right hand that Fauatea ducks under and follows up with a left that Fauatea also avoids with ease.
Fauatea slips a jab and a cross from James.
James swinging wildly here.
Fauatea fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
James misses with a jab, cross combination.
James throws a series of punches but Fauatea avoids them all with ease.
Sloppy strikes from James. Those never looked like landing.
Fauatea throws a nice looking combination but James bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
James misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James tries to bum rush Fauatea with a series of wild strikes but Fauatea uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
James misses with a wild combination.
James shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Fauatea eats them both and turns towards James to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

It looks like Eloni Fauatea has been cut.
James paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
James throws a series of punches but Fauatea moves out of range.
James misses with a wild body shot.
James lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Fauatea backs up against the cage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
James misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James misses with the combination.
James tries to bum rush Fauatea with a series of wild strikes but Fauatea uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
James throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Fauatea.
James misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
James throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Fauatea.
Fauatea takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
James looks to land a combination but Fauatea avoids it well.
Fauatea swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A punch combination from James misses.
Fauatea throws a hook but James blocks it.
Richard James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
James misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Fauatea.
Sloppy strikes from James. Those never looked like landing.
James fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
James throws a right hand that Fauatea ducks under and follows up with a left that Fauatea also avoids with ease.
Fauatea misses with a wild combination.
James throws a nice looking combination but Fauatea bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
James avoids a punch combination nicely.
A combination from James does no damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from James.
James throws a right and a left that Fauatea avoids nicely.
Fauatea throws a combination that misses
and James counters with a two punch combo.
Fauatea looks gassed!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
James misses with the combination.
James looks to land a combination but Fauatea avoids it well.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nice shot lands for James.
Fauatea takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Fauatea slips a jab and a cross from James.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard James dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A jab lands there for James.
James throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
James throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Some wild striking there from Fauatea.
A left and a right from James both land. Nice combination.
A combination from James does no damage.
James stalks Fauatea and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Fauatea's face. Fauatea staggers backwards, shaken.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
James throws a combination that misses
and Fauatea counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
James lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Fauatea backs up against the cage.
A shot to the liver by Fauatea. Beautiful body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James looks to land a combination. Fauatea sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
James is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Fauatea can do to turn this around?
Fauatea dodges the punch combination from James.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
James misses with a combination
and Fauatea counters with a three punch combo that has James backing up. James nods at Fauatea to acknowledge the strikes.
A right-left combo lands from Fauatea.
James misses with a wild combination.
No joy there for James, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A combination from James does no damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Fauatea moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
James slips a jab and a cross from Fauatea.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
James throws a right and a left that both miss.
Fauatea avoids a punch combination nicely.
James is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Fauatea throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A combination from James does no damage.
James avoids the body shot from Fauatea.
James looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
James throws a right hand that Fauatea ducks under and follows up with a left that Fauatea also avoids with ease.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fauatea misses with a shot to the body
and James counters with a right hand to the body.
James rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Fauatea moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
James fails to land with a series of punches.
A punch combination from James misses.
James lands a really nice looking cross but Fauatea seems unphased.
Richard James is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
James misses with a two punch combination.
No joy there for James, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Fauatea misses with a straight right.
James misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fauatea lands with a right hand.
James lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A looping hook to the body misses from Fauatea. James does a little dance to reset his feet.
James looks to land a combination but Fauatea avoids it well.
James throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
James scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
James lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Fauatea throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and James counters with a right hand to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
James misses with a double jab
and Fauatea counters with a nice body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richard James dominated that second round.
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. And we move into the final round!

James throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Fauatea stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Nice cross by James.
Fauatea throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
James throws a nice looking combination but Fauatea bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
James is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
James swinging wildly here.
Fauatea is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down James rather than just go for the knockout.
James is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
James misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
James misses with a wild combination.
James misses with a double jab
and Fauatea counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James misses with a combination
and Fauatea counters with a left to the body.
Fauatea slips a jab and a cross from James.
Fauatea misses with a double jab.
Fauatea misses with the combination.
Fauatea dodges the punch combination from James.
Fauatea slips a jab and a cross from James.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A combination from James does no damage.
Fauatea dodges the punch combination from James.
James looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Richard James is winning the standup battle so far.
James fails to land with a series of punches.
Fauatea dodges the punch combination from James.
James throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
James misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fauatea misses with a body shot.
James misses with a few strikes there.
Fauatea throws a series of punches but James avoids them all with ease.
James misses with a double jab.
Fauatea slips a jab and a cross from James.
James swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
James swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Fauatea avoids a punch combination nicely.
James throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Fauatea counters with a one-two to the body.
Fauatea misses with the combination.
Richard James is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James misses with the combination.
Left hook, right uppercut from James.
James swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
James throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Fauatea.
Fauatea misses with a few strikes there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
No joy there for James, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Fauatea throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Richard James showed his dominance in that final round.
Well James has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Richard James!
Richard James spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.