PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jonathan Payet (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keith Richards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jonathan Payet has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Payet
vs
Richards

173 cm
20
164 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

175 cm
20
168 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Legion of Pain Nutrition
STAR Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Jonathan Payet!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Keith Richards!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, William Gold and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Richards feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Payet's calf.
Payet throws a leg kick but Richards sees it coming and moves out of range.
Richards misses with a left hand
and Payet counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Richards throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
No joy there for Richards, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Keith Richards seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Richards connects with a leg kick. Payet looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Richards throws a low kick but Payet moves out of range easily.

Payet gets a clinch.
Richards blocks a body shot from Payet.
A short right from Payet.
Payet doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Richards stalling in the clinch.
Richards is trying to break the clinch but Payet has him pressed against the cage.
Payet is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payet swings wildly with an uppercut but Richards uses good head movement to avoid it.
Payet misses with some punches.
Payet misses with a short punch on the inside.
Stalling in the clinch from Payet.
Richards blocking some punches.
Richards stalling against the cage.
Payet swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Payet misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payet misses with a short punch on the inside.
Payet swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short left from Payet.
Richards blocks an uppercut.
Payet goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Payet fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Stalling in the clinch from Payet.
The referee is keeping an eye on Richards - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Richards is trying to stall.
Payet misses with some punches.
Payet struggles to land a body shot inside as Richards controls his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards takes a shot to the head.
Richards blocking some punches.
Richards blocking some punches.
Payet swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Payet doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Richards is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Payet fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Payet effectively controlling the action here.

Richards manages to break the clinch.
Richards fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Richards just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Payet closes the distance and clinches.
Payet scores with a shot to the side of Richards's head.
Payet stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
A left hand lands to the body for Payet.
A shot in the inside from Payet.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Payet fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Payet struggles to land a body shot inside as Richards controls his hands.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Payet lands a body punch in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonathan Payet dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Richards cracks Payet with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Richards goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
A bone on bone clash there as Payet blocks the leg kick.
Richards thows a left - swing and a miss!
Payet fails in his attempt to clinch.
Richards misses with a hook.
Richards swinging wildly here.
Payet tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Jonathan Payet is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Payet avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Richards misses the shot to the body.
Richards looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Richards darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Payet gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Payet struggles to land a body shot inside as Richards controls his hands.
Payet scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Payet has a couple of punches blocked by Richards.
Payet misses with a hook from the clinch.
Payet manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Payet misses with a punch on the inside.
Richards is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards takes a shot to the head.
Payet swings wildly with an uppercut but Richards uses good head movement to avoid it.
Payet tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Richards's elbow.
Richards is trying to stall.
Payet misses with a hook to the ribs.
Payet throws a punch but it's blocked by Richards.
Richards prevents a body shot from Payet.
Payet throws a head punch that misses.
Payet working aggressively here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Richards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards working hard to break the clinch.
Payet throws a head punch that misses.
Payet misses with a short punch on the inside.
Payet goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Jonathan Payet has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Payet is pushing Richards up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
A nice left hand lands by Payet.
Richards is stalling here.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Payet as Richards tries to tie him up.
Payet fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payet is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Payet tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Payet gets through Richards's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Payet is working Richards over against the cage.
Payet working aggressively here.
Payet working aggressively here.
Payet lands a right hand that snaps the head of Richards backwards.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Payet dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Payet lands with a short shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonathan Payet dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Payet throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Payet fails in his attempt to clinch.
Richards scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Richards moves out of range of the body kick from Payet.
Richards throws a chopping leg kick but Payet manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Richards ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Payet moves away.
Payet has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Payet there as he acknowledges the shot.
Payet uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Richards.
Richards lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Payet circles away quickly and effectively.
Richards keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

Payet gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Richards is trying to break free.
Payet lands a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Richards.
Payet has a couple of punches blocked by Richards.
Richards tries to break the clinch but Payet is controlling the position.
A bit of stalling here from Payet.
Payet swings wildly with an uppercut but Richards uses good head movement to avoid it.
Payet lands a body punch in the clinch.
Payet slowing the pace effectively.
Payet struggles to land a body shot inside as Richards controls his hands.
Stalling in the clinch from Payet.
Payet misses with a punch on the inside.
Payet tries to throw a body punch but Richards avoids it by throwing Payet back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payet misses with a short punch on the inside.
Payet misses with a short punch on the inside.
Payet scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Richards taking a breather.
Payet struggles to land a body shot inside as Richards controls his hands.
Richards is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Payet working aggressively here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Payet.
Payet misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Payet throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Richards pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards slips under a jab.
Payet on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

Payet takes the fight into the clinch.
Richards trying to control the position but instead, Payet has worked for underhooks and has pushed Richards into the cage.
Payet swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Keith Richards has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Payet throws a punch but it's blocked by Richards.
Payet throws a punch but it's blocked by Richards.
Payet has a couple of punches blocked by Richards.
Richards has had enough of the clinch but Payet keeps him there for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Richards's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Richards does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Sloppy strikes from Richards. Those never looked like landing.
Payet throws a sloppy head kick and Richards moves out of range easily.
Payet misses with a low kick.
Richards misses with a low kick.
Nice uppercut lands for Richards. That snapped Payet's head back.
Richards jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Jonathan Payet is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Richards tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Payet is able to avoid easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Payet is looking to clinch.
Richards misses with a series of wild punches.
Richards throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jonathan Payet.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Payet, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jonathan Payet!
After winning the bout, Jonathan Payet thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.