PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rhys Evans (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brij Khali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Evans
vs
Khali

181 cm
24
169 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

175 cm
37
162 lbs
27 - 34 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Rhys Evans!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 34 - 1, fighting out of London, Brij Khali!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, Sam Margolis and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Evans lands a body shot.

Evans gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Evans has a closed guard, preventing Khali from standing up.

Evans throws his legs up looking for a submission but Khali uses it to pass to side control.
Evans stuck in half guard on the bottom here.
Evans manages to get back to half guard.
Khali is keen to just control but Evans is a slippery customer.
Evans is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans has his hands clasped together around Khali's back. He's all about the action.
Evans wants to get back to full guard but Khali has mounted him!
Evans tries to lock up and control but Khali gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Khali throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Evans really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Evans manages to control the position for a moment.
Khali looking to control but Evans is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Evans tries to lock up and control but Khali gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Khali has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Evans's face.
Khali with good strikes from the mount here!
Evans wants to hold on but Khali pushes him away.
Evans is squirming around, avoiding Khali's attempts to control the action.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Evans looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Evans trying to control the action but Khali just sinks the hooks in.
Khali controlling well, preventing Evans from escaping the position.

Khali looking for the RNC.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans wants to escape the position.

Evans is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Khali controlling well, preventing Evans from escaping the position.
Khali wants to control but Evans manages to buck him off and is now in Khali's guard! Nice work there by Evans!
Khali is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Evans is controlling him.
Khali keeping moving, preventing Evans from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Evans is pushing down on Khali's leg trying to pass to half guard. Khali is fighting to maintain full guard but Evans has managed to sneak the leg through.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Evans lands a nice short elbow.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Khali is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Evans scores with a couple of nice shots.
Khali trying to control but Evans postures up.
Evans wants to lay and pray for a moment but Khali keeps working.
Evans working the head and body with strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Evans is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Evans looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Khali with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Rhys Evans will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Evans gets a takedown into half guard.
Khali is looking to improve his position.
Khali avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Evans.
Evans not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Evans tries to pass the half guard into mount. Khali knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Evans thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Khali's head.
Khali wants to get back to full guard.

Khali is defending against the submission attempts here by Evans.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Evans is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Rhys Evans overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Khali makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Khali.
Evans wants to control from the top but Khali keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Evans sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Khali has momentary wrist control but Evans slips an elbow through the middle.
Khali working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Evans.
Evans wants to control from the top but Khali keeps moving.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Evans is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Khali is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Evans got a little sloppy there for a moment and Khali has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Evans has managed to get both his arms back between Khali's legs - danger averted.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Khali wants to sweep but no luck.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Khali has momentary wrist control but Evans slips an elbow through the middle.
Khali is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Evans is controlling him.
Evans content to stall in guard here.
Evans trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Evans trying to control but Khali is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Evans postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Evans trying to control but Khali is working from the bottom.
Evans with a nice head shot there.
Evans scoring with some ground and pound.
Khali working a defensive guard here.
Evans sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Khali's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Evans is trying to work for a kimura but Khali is defending well.
Khali has a hand on Evans's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Evans takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rhys Evans 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!

Evans drives through with a takedown into guard.
Evans 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.
Evans pushes down on Khali's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Evans thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Khali's head.
Evans with the ground and pound but Khali uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Evans working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Khali's head.
Evans stays in close to Khali's body and controls the position.
Khali is trying to hold Evans in close to prevent damage but Evans has managed to pass into half guard.
Evans throws a strike but Khali avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans stopping the sweep attempt from Khali.
Khali is looking to stand back up but Evans counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Khali.
Khali is trying to maintain the position but Evans is very close to passing his half guard.
Evans throwing shots but Khali is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Evans working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Evans lands with a punch from half guard.
Evans looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Khali with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Evans is working for a kimura but Khali is defending it quite comfortably.
Khali keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Evans is trying to control the action in half guard but Khali is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Evans is looking to advance position but Khali won't allow it.
Evans drops an elbow to the side of Khali's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans trying to pass the guard but Khali defending well.

Evans is trying to work for a kimura but Khali is defending well.
Evans winds up and cracks Khali with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Khali looks like he's trying to stand up.
Evans looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Evans tries to pass the half guard into mount. Khali knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Evans lands strikes from half guard.

Khali is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Evans pulls his head out easily.
Evans trying to control from half guard but Khali is working away.
Evans is really struggling to control Khali but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Evans scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Khali trying to control from the bottom.
Brij Khali has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rhys Evans is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Khali takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Evans controlling the action here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rhys Evans showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Evans 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rhys Evans!