PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rham Kota (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Clayton Laurence (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kota comes to the cage accompanied by Won't Let You Down - Chamillionaire. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kota
vs
Laurence

225 cm
26
307 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

190 cm
20
240 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter fighter
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rham Kota!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Clayton Laurence!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, James Ackerman and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Laurence moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Laurence feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kota's calf.

Laurence closes the distance and pushes Kota back into the cage.
Kota drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Laurence gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Kota being controlled against the cage.
Laurence lands a nice knee to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Laurence escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kota takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Laurence throws a leg kick which misses Kota's front leg but catches the back leg as Kota tries to avoid it.
Clayton Laurence seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Laurence with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kota tries to score a power double leg takedown but Laurence sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Kota somewhat.

Kota tries to keep at a distance but Laurence has taken the fight into the clinch.

Laurence breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Laurence dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Kota. That did some damage!
Kota shoots and misses
and Laurence counters with a nice low kick that buckles Kota's knee momentarily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rham Kota. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kota changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Laurence tries to avoid it but Kota manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Laurence to the ground. Laurence escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Kota is breathing heavily.
Kota showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Laurence.
Laurence connects with a solid leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laurence fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Kota is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
A nice inside leg kick there by Laurence. That's going to slow Kota down.
Laurence scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Laurence throws a quick inside leg kick.
Kota shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Laurence has worked on his takedown defense in the runup to this fight and it is paying off so far.
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!
Laurence lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
A good leg kick by Laurence.

Kota tries to keep at a distance but Laurence has taken the fight into the clinch.
Laurence has Kota pressed against the cage.
Kota drops down looking for an ankle pick but Laurence pulls his leg out and moves away.
Kota takes a shot to the body in his stride.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laurence lands a front kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Laurence, right into the meat.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Laurence.

Laurence clinches.

Laurence jumps into guard, dragging Kota to the mat.

Laurence looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Laurence lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Laurence tries to free his leg and advance position but Kota is retaining full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laurence showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Kota looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Laurence trying to control but Kota is working from the bottom.
Laurence throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Clayton Laurence dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Laurence turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Kota shoots for a double leg takedown but Laurence sprawls well. He's pushed Kota's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Laurence gets underhooks to prevent Kota's takedown attempt.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Laurence gets underhooks to prevent Kota's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rham Kota. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kota is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Laurence gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Laurence manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Laurence prevents a takedown attempt there.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kota wants a takedown.
Kota goes for a takedown attempt but Laurence pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Laurence lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Kota at a distance.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Laurence. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kota doesn't succeed with the takedown
letting Laurence counter with a right hand.
Laurence tries for a takedown but Kota sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Laurence fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kota has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

Laurence pushes Kota up against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Laurence takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Laurence breaks the clinch.
Laurence dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Kota. That did some damage!
Laurence scores with a leg kick.
Laurence lands a leg kick that knocks Kota off balance momentarily.
Kota misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Kota crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Laurence - the referee stops the clock and Kota gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Laurence. Kota manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.

Laurence gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kota has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Laurence is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Laurence breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kota on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Laurence. Laurence obviously looking to wear him down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Laurence closes the distance and pushes Kota back into the cage.
Kota changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Laurence fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Laurence scores with a shot to the body.
A good leg kick by Laurence.
Laurence keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Laurence lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Both fighters circling a little - Laurence finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Laurence lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laurence is looking to slow Kota down with leg kicks.

Laurence closes the distance and clinches.
Come on Laurence - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Laurence breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kota stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Laurence.
A chopping leg kick lands by Laurence.
Laurence misses with a kick to the body.
Laurence throws a quick inside leg kick.
Laurence throws a nice inside leg kick.
Laurence lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Kota backs up against the cage.
Laurence has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Laurence turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Clayton Laurence showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Kota takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Kota checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Kota tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Laurence feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kota's calf.
A chopping leg kick lands by Laurence.
Laurence throws a sloppy head kick and Kota moves out of range easily.
Laurence scores with a kick to the midsection.
Laurence feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kota's calf.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck for Kota with that takedown attempt.
Laurence throws a quick inside leg kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Laurence looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kota stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Laurence.
Laurence throws a series of punches but Kota avoids them all with ease.
Kota on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Laurence. Laurence obviously looking to wear him down.
Laurence thumps Kota with a low kick.
Kota takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Left hook, right uppercut from Laurence.

It looks like Rham Kota has been cut.
Laurence fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Kota.
Laurence fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kota has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Clayton Laurence seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laurence throws the kick towards the body but Kota avoids it.
Kota stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Laurence.
Laurence lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Laurence scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Laurence thows a body kick. Kota tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Laurence swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Kota. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
A solid leg kick lands there for Laurence.
Laurence is looking to slow Kota down with leg kicks.
Kota tries for a takedown but Laurence circles away easily
and Laurence counters with a slapping leg kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rham Kota. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laurence goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Laurence pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Kota back to the cage. Laurence follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Laurence dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Kota. That did some damage!
A chopping leg kick lands by Laurence.
Laurence swinging wildly here.
Laurence misses with a wild combination.
Laurence throws a 1-2 combo that connects squarely on Kota's jaw, knocking him onto his back! Laurence dives in looking to finish as Kota flails his arms in a desperate attempt to block Laurence's strikes! Laurence is raining down hammerfists and the ref stops it! Kota's desperate flailing just didn't constitute intelligent defence. Some people will probably question the ref's decision but Kota was definitely hurt and the ref saved him from taking unnecessary punishment. A fighter's safety is paramount in this sport.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:45 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Clayton Laurence!
Clayton Laurence was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.