PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Josep Gawdat (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and CJ Richards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Richards's choice of entrance music: Notorious B.I.G - Respect. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Josep Gawdat
vs
Richards

174 cm
24
197 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

183 cm
23
185 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Solid chin

Steel Penn's Exchange Extravaganza

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Josep Gawdat !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, CJ Richards!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Elvis Blanc and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gawdat looks to clinch

and Richards counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Gawdat 's guard now.
Richards not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Richards trying to control the position from guard on top but Gawdat is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gawdat is looking to stand up but Richards isn't so interested in that idea.
Richards is working Gawdat over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Richards prevents Gawdat from getting back to his feet.
Richards has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Richards is working Gawdat over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Richards keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Gawdat 's head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gawdat being controlled here, momentarily.
Richards stands up over Gawdat , holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Richards is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Richards is working Gawdat over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gawdat wants to get back to his feet but Richards is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Richards is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Gawdat wants to get back to his feet but Richards is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Richards is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Richards stops Gawdat from standing up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Richards chips away with some ground and pound.
Richards is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Richards is stalling in the full guard.
Richards content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Gawdat can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Richards controls the pace.
Gawdat is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Gawdat wants to get back to his feet but Richards passes into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards working the head and body with strikes.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ground and pound from Richards.
Well, if Richards is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
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!
Let's hope that Richards has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Richards is looking to take a break and control but Gawdat is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gawdat wants to get back to his feet.
Richards winds up and cracks Gawdat with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gawdat is not content to let Richards control the position.
Richards is nestled in close to Gawdat , controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Richards in particular looking to stall.
Gawdat is trying to stand up here but Richards is controlling him well.
Richards stalling.
Richards is pressing down on Gawdat 's thigh, looking to free his foot. Gawdat is holding on for now.
Gawdat is trying to stand up here but Richards is controlling him well.
Richards is trying to control the action in half guard but Gawdat is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

OK we're going to have a standup here. CJ Richards hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Richards shoots in looking for a takedown. Gawdat tries to sprawl out of it but Richards keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gawdat manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gawdat is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Gawdat tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Richards counters with a takedown into side control.
Gawdat gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gawdat is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
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!
Richards lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Gawdat really wants to buck Richards off and get back to his feet.
Richards dominating with strikes here.
Richards raining down hammerfists from mount.
Gawdat tries to buck Richards off but he can't manage it.
Richards with a couple of short strikes.
Richards lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Gawdat is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Richards lands a nice shot to the head.
Richards landing shots from mount.
Richards lands a nice shot to the head.
Richards landing strikes from the mount.
Richards has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gawdat 's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

CJ Richards dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Gawdat tries to clinch but Richards moves out of range.
Gawdat tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Gawdat tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richards paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gawdat tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Richards manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Gawdat tries to clinch but Richards is having none of it.
A jab from Richards misses.
Gawdat is looking to clinch but Richards is avoiding it.
Gawdat is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Gawdat looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Gawdat tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richards paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gawdat tries to close the distance and clinch up but Richards swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gawdat tries to clinch but Richards is having none of it.
Gawdat fails in his attempt to clinch.
Gawdat tries to clinch there but Richards circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gawdat looks to clinch

and Richards counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Gawdat !
Gawdat trying desperately to get to his feet.
Richards scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Gawdat ?
Richards can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Gawdat is looking to escape.
Richards tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Richards pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Richards unloading with bombs!
Gawdat 's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Richards working Gawdat over with strikes here.
Richards tries to control but Gawdat wriggling away.
Richards working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Gawdat is bucking up trying to escape but Richards cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards with a couple of short strikes.

Gawdat is rocked!
Gawdat is trying to stand up.
The referee warns Gawdat that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Oh Gawdat is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Gawdat is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Richards content just to control the position here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Richards cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Gawdat seems to have got his legs back now.
You get the feeling that Gawdat really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Gawdat in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
CJ Richards has got the better of the ground game so far.
Richards has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gawdat 's face.
Richards content just to control the position here.
Richards with shots to the head and body - Gawdat looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gawdat is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Richards with shots to the head and body - Gawdat looks very uncomfortable down there.
Gawdat wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Gawdat in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Richards won't let Gawdat get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Richards lands a nice shot to the head.
Richards working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Richards lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gawdat really wants to buck Richards off and get back to his feet.
Richards controlling from the full mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gawdat is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Richards controlling the pace for now.
Gawdat in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Richards landing punches.
Richards lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Richards cracks Gawdat with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gawdat really wants to buck Richards off and get back to his feet.
Richards postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Gawdat badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of Richards around the waist but Richards pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! Richards is the winner by TKO! Richards jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). CJ Richards!
A very excited looking CJ Richards made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.