PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Raban (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Xaiver Warington (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Raban
vs
Warington

200 cm
23
270 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

200 cm
20
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Good kicks
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, James Raban!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Xaiver Warington!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Warington rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Raban moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Raban feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Warington can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Raban controls the pace.
Raban has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Raban working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

James Raban has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Warington tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Raban manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Warington doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Raban counters with an inside leg kick.
Raban slips a jab and a cross from Warington.
Warington tries a head kick but it misses.

Raban shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Warington is trying to defend but Raban finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Warington can do anything to dispel that myth.
Warington tries to get to full guard but Raban has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raban missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Still in half guard, Raban seems content to control.
Raban drops an elbow to the side of Warington's head.
Raban working over Warington with some ground and pound. Warington looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Raban content to control rather than advance.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Raban seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Warington is trying to get back to full guard.
Warington trying to hold on to Raban's head to control him but Raban postures up.
Warington won't allow Raban to pass to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Raban is figuring out what he wants to do next.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Warington shoots and misses

and Raban counters with a nice double leg into side control. Warington won't be happy with that.
Raban throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Raban postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Raban tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Raban happy to just control the position for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Raban throws an elbow but Warington slips to the side and avoids it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Warington gets a clinch.
Raban fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Raban is trying to maintain a safe position but Warington gets an underhook and turns Raban into the cage.
Raban keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Warington's efforts to push away.
Raban is looking to take this one to the mat.
The referee is keeping an eye on Warington - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Raban is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Warington pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Warington tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Raban's elbow.
Warington is trying to break the clinch but Raban has him pressed against the cage.

Warington successfully pulls guard.
Raban won't allow Warington to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Warington working a defensive guard but Raban passes into half guard.
Raban slows the pace down in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. James Raban wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Raban throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Raban throws a head kick that half lands.
Raban scores with a nice body kick.
Xaiver Warington seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Warington gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Raban to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Raban looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Warington is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Raban shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Raban trying to mount his opponent but Warington defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Warington is looking to control Raban's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Warington avoid being mounted?
Warington blocking the ground and pound attempt from Raban.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Warington blocking the ground and pound attempt from Raban.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Raban 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!

Warington uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Raban.
Warington shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Raban as he avoids it easily.
Warington takes a head kick and keeps coming.
A head kick by Warington misses
and Raban counters with an outside leg kick.
James Raban is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A telegraphed right hand from Raban misses the target.
Warington thows a leg kick but Raban checks it

and Raban counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Raban with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Raban thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Warington's head.
Raban controlling the action here.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Raban's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.

James Raban has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Warington takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Raban misses with a two punch combination.
Warington fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Raban manages to avoid it.
Warington shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Raban as he jumps to the side.
Raban throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Raban throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Warington moves in looking to clinch but Raban pushes him off.
Raban pushes Warington away with a front kick.
Warington tries to clinch up.
Warington takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Raban lands a nice looking kick to the body. Warington takes a step back to recover.
Raban shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Warington defends it nicely.
Raban plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Warington tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Raban swivels and escapes.
James Raban has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Xaiver Warington.
Nice takedown defense from Raban. No joy for Warington on that attempt.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Raban throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Raban lands with a kick to the ribs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Raban closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Warington's guard.
Raban controlling from the top position.
Raban makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Raban controls from within his opponent's guard.
Raban throws a big right hand that misses.
Raban has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raban sitting in guard here, content to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up. James Raban wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Warington fails in his attempt to clinch.
James Raban is winning the standup battle so far.
Warington tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Raban swivels and escapes.
Warington ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Warington tries to close the distance and clinch up but Raban swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Warington avoids the body shot from Raban.
Xaiver Warington has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Warington shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Raban but Raban pushes him off and we're back to square one.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Raban showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Raban, 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight for James Raban!
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight for James Raban!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for James Raban!

James Raban wins by unanimous decision!