PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Yahweh Falwell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Erico Drake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Falwell comes to the cage accompanied by Don't Stop Believing. Yahweh Falwell has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Falwell
vs
Drake

171 cm
28
150 lbs
1 - 21 - 0

182 cm
23
154 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40)
The Knot

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 21 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Yahweh Falwell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Erico Drake!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Frank Antenori and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Drake bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

Drake stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Drake has Falwell up against the cage in a clinch.
Falwell is trying to pull guard but Drake has him pressed against the cage.

Drake wants the takedown. Falwell is fighting it off but Drake persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Falwell's guard against the cage.
Drake in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Drake accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Drake gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Drake closes the distance and clinches.
A short left from Drake.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake misses with an elbow strike.
Drake lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Falwell prevents Drake from breaking the clinch.
A short body shot lands from Drake as the two fighters clinch.
Drake throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Falwell letting Drake take a breather here.
Drake softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Drake gets through Falwell's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Falwell tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Drake just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Falwell avoids a wild elbow strike from Drake.
Drake tries to break the clinch but Falwell is controlling the position.

Drake breaks from the clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Drake has hold of one of Falwell's legs. Falwell is fighting the takedown attempt but Drake gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Drake in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Drake loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Drake looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Falwell might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Drake landing with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Drake stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Drake darts in and clinches Falwell up against the cage.
Drake effectively controlling the action here.
Drake lands with a short shot to the head.

Drake gets control of Falwell's arms and successfully pulls guard. Drake will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Falwell drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Drake dives on top into guard.

Drake has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Drake gets to his feet. Falwell looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Drake darts in and clinches Falwell up against the cage.

Drake pulls Falwell into guard.
Drake is pulling down on Falwell's head. It's preventing any offense from Falwell, at least for the moment.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Drake bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Falwell's guard.

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!
Drake slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Falwell utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Falwell isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Drake stacks Falwell on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Drake!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Drake clinches.
Drake pushes Falwell back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Drake leaning against his opponent.
Drake is looking to break free of the clinch but Falwell has double underhooks.
Erico Drake seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A bit of stalling here from Drake.

Drake gets control of Falwell's arms and successfully pulls guard. Drake will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Drake has his feet on Falwell's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Falwell slips under a jab.
Falwell appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

Drake rushes Falwell and presses him up against the cage.
Drake has had enough of the clinch but Falwell keeps him there for the moment.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Drake just misses with a elbow thrown towards Falwell's brow.
Falwell fails to pull guard.
Drake is trying to push Falwell away but Falwell has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
A short right from Drake.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Falwell has Drake pressed against the cage, preventing Drake from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Falwell being controlled against the cage.
Drake throws an elbow but it misses.
Drake wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Falwell has him pressed against the cage.
Falwell tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Drake just stands there and leans against the cage.
Drake is trying to force a seperation but Falwell has the dominant position.
With the fighters up against the cage, Drake throws an elbow but misses.
Drake looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Drake's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Drake tries to clinch up.
Drake swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Drake throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
The fight stays on the outside here - Drake looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Drake looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Falwell!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Falwell managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Drake.
Drake has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Drake working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Falwell is trying to work for a sweep but Drake has mounted him!
Falwell avoids a series of strikes thrown by Drake.
Falwell avoids a series of strikes thrown by Drake.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Drake throwing strikes here but Falwell is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Falwell is wriggling around trying to escape.
Drake landing strikes, looking to finish!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Erico Drake showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Drake looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Falwell!
Falwell knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Drake on the ground.
Falwell looks to move to half guard but instead Drake has passed into mount! Damn!
Falwell is in a tricky position but he's been working on his transitions down at Main Event Gym , so we'll see if he gets out of it.
Falwell holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Drake tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Drake lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Falwell hang on?
Drake can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Falwell is looking to escape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Falwell wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Drake.
Falwell is looking to improve his position but Drake isn't that keen on the idea.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake thowing shots but they're missing.
Drake thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Drake is landing with some decent strikes but Falwell is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Falwell is trying to escape the mount.
Falwell avoids a series of strikes thrown by Drake.
Drake tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Drake tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Drake throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Falwell because Drake loaded up on that one.
Falwell tries to reverse the position but Drake maintains control.
Drake throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
BOOM! Drake connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Drake content just to control the position here.

Drake jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Falwell manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Erico Drake is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drake moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Drake creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Falwell sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Drake stands up.

Drake shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Falwell is trying to defend but Drake finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Drake controlling the action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Erico Drake comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Drake has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 24:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 24:30
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Erico Drake!
Erico Drake bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.
The defeated Yahweh Falwell had this to say: 'Hasa diga eebowai. I guess I didn't pray hard enough, or maybe prayed too much. I bet if I rolled more instead of praying, I might have learned to defend submissions. I guess it's God's will. But to quote George Carlin: "If it's God's will and he's going to do what he wants to anyway, why'.