PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jesco White (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Justin Craven (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). White comes to the cage accompanied by Smoke the Fire. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

White
vs
Craven

200 cm
36
197 lbs
16 - 20 - 0

187 cm
25
200 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Fury Nutrition Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 20 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jesco White!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Justin Craven!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
White fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Craven avoids it really well and circles away.
Craven cracks White with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
White takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Craven has taken the fight to the clinch.
White is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Craven gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
White tries a knee to the head but Craven blocks it.
White tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jesco White. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Craven is trying to pull guard but White turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Craven manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Craven looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Craven escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. White gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
White postures up.

Craven working for submissions but it's allowed White to get to half guard.
Craven tries to roll over but White keeps him under control.
Craven makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Craven.
Craven is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Craven tries to land a sweep but no joy.
White would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
White trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

White avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Craven looking for a guillotine here but White defends easily.
White really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Craven lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Craven controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Craven throws a big elbow that misses.
Craven is looking to work some ground and pound but White has wrist control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Craven controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Craven being controlled here momentarily.
White trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Craven advances position into side control!

Craven working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Craven throws an elbow but White slips to the side and avoids it well.

Craven is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but White is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Craven taking a breather here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
You can see the frustration on White's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Craven dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Craven's jab looks to have found its range, popping White under the eye.

Craven clinches.
Craven tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Craven has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Craven is trying to pull guard but White has him pressed against the cage.
White throws an elbow but it misses.
Craven jumps guard but White stands there with Craven around his waist. Craven gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Jesco White has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Justin Craven.
Craven fails to pull the fight into his guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Craven blocking some punches.
Craven tries to work over White's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

White drags the fight down to the ground.
Craven controls from within his opponent's guard.
Craven advances position into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craven working away.
White holds on tight, trying to prevent any damage.
White is not content to let Craven control the position.
White tries to improve position but can't.
Craven wants to control but White is keeping him busy.

Craven tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Craven has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
White tries to escape but Craven is in control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Craven taking a breather here.
White tries to control but Craven manages to take his back.
Craven tries to keep control of the position but White is staying busy.
Justin Craven has got the better of the ground game so far.
Craven keeps control of the position easily here as White tries to buck him off.
Craven's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Craven is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but White has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

White defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Craven's arms.

Craven has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, White has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Craven has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of White's body.
White is in bad spot here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
White just looking to survive in the bad position.

Craven looking for the choke but no joy.
Craven controls the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A lull in the action here.

Craven working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Craven showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

White moves in looking to clinch but Craven pushes him off.
White shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Craven but Craven pushes him off and we're back to square one.
White throws a head kick but Craven moves out of range.

Craven clinches.
Craven tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. White just stands there and leans against the cage.

Craven pulls White into guard.

Craven looking for a guillotine here but White defends easily.

Craven looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! White has picked Craven up and slammed him! Craven can't keep hold of the triangle and White manages to pass to side control!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Craven tries to buck White off but White is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craven regains half guard.

Craven looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Craven moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
White has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Craven is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Craven sitting and controlling from the half guard.
White knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Craven on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White is trying to maintain the position but Craven is very close to passing his half guard.
Craven keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Craven tries to pass the half guard into mount. White knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
White trying to hold on to Craven's head to control him but Craven postures up.
White tries to roll over but Craven keeps him under control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White is refusing to be controlled, as Craven sits in half guard.
White tries to roll over but Craven keeps him under control.
Craven wants to take a breather but White is having none of it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Jesco White is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Craven throws a good cross that connects.

Craven gets in close and instigates a clinch.
White is trying to push Craven away but Craven has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Craven gets control of White's arms and successfully pulls guard. Craven will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Craven looking for a sweep. Not yet Craven, not yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Craven is trying to control the position but White postures up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Craven is on top in guard.

Craven not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Jesco White has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
White throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
White is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
White will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Craven is working White over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Craven with a flurry of punches that miss.
White wants to get back to his feet but Craven is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Justin Craven is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
White working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Craven.

And that's the end of the fight!
Justin Craven comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Craven 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 27:30

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