PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Grover Kirby (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricky Rawlinson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kirby
vs
Rawlinson

184 cm
18
278 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

188 cm
19
230 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Grover Kirby!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Ricky Rawlinson!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, William Gold and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rawlinson throws a quick inside leg kick.

Rawlinson shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Kirby manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

Kirby is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Rawlinson presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Kirby has Rawlinson pressed against the cage, preventing Rawlinson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Rawlinson successfully pulls guard.
Rawlinson throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Kirby throwing strikes from guard but Rawlinson blocks nicely.
Kirby landing with the ground and pound.
Kirby stopping the sweep attempt from Rawlinson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirby in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Rawlinson is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Kirby presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Kirby slowing the pace effectively.
Kirby could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Rawlinson.

It looks like Grover Kirby has been cut.

Rawlinson turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Rawlinson manages to end up in side control.
Kirby wants to get back to his feet but Rawlinson drags him back down.
Kirby is looking to regain half guard here but Rawlinson keeps moving and retains side control.
Rawlinson working the ground and pound.
A lull in the action here as Rawlinson stalls from top position.

Rawlinson decides to stand back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Rawlinson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kirby appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Rawlinson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

Rawlinson gets to his feet - Kirby follows without any prompting.
Rawlinson tries to clinch but Kirby is having none of it.

Rawlinson drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Kirby trying to control the position.
Kirby is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Rawlinson is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Kirby looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rawlinson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kirby is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kirby tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rawlinson trying to control the position from guard on top but Kirby is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rawlinson connects with a couple of short punches.
Rawlinson trying to control but Kirby is working from the bottom.
Kirby wants to get back to his feet but Rawlinson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

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.
Rawlinson makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Rawlinson scoring with punches to the head and body.
Kirby keeping moving, preventing Rawlinson from controlling successfully.
Kirby lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Rawlinson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kirby keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rawlinson's head.
Kirby has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kirby accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rawlinson wants to sweep but no luck.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Rawlinson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Grover Kirby's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Rawlinson shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Rawlinson is looking to take a break and control but Kirby is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Kirby is trying to stand up here but Rawlinson is controlling him well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rawlinson is trying to control the action in half guard but Kirby is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rawlinson might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Kirby haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Rawlinson is thwarting Kirby's attempts to control the position.
Rawlinson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rawlinson has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kirby wants to control but Rawlinson is keeping busy and won't allow it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Rawlinson closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Rawlinson has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Kirby uses from the top position.
Kirby loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rawlinson controlling Kirby's posture.
Kirby in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Rawlinson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rawlinson is breathing heavily.
Kirby is in close to Rawlinson's body, working some short punches and elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rawlinson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kirby preventing the sweep.
Kirby would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Rawlinson working a defensive guard here.
Kirby with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Kirby wants to get up but he can't break Rawlinson's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Rawlinson has his foot on Kirby's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Kirby works his way back into a safe position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rawlinson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Kirby with a nice head shot there.
Rawlinson has momentary wrist control but Kirby slips an elbow through the middle.
Kirby is in close to Rawlinson's body, working some short punches and elbows.

Rawlinson is working an open guard so Kirby takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
A head kick by Rawlinson misses

and Kirby moves into the clinch.
Kirby misses with a short punch on the inside.
A frustrated look appears on Kirby's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Kirby just leaning against Rawlinson, taking a breather.
Kirby lands an elbow just above Rawlinson 's eye.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on Rawlinson's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Rawlinson drags the fight down to the ground.
Kirby in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kirby working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Rawlinson is trying to keep Kirby in close.
Kirby is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Kirby decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Rawlinson, up you get!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kirby scores with a hook to the body. Rawlinson takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Kirby throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Kirby gets caught napping as Rawlinson dives in and scores a takedown. Kirby manages to retain guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Grover Kirby dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Grover Kirby's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Rawlinson tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

Rawlinson gets the takedown into side control.
Kirby takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

Rawlinson is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Kirby knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kirby is looking for a sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rawlinson wants to control but Kirby is keeping him busy.
Kirby is looking to reverse the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rawlinson taking a break here but Kirby is having none of it and regains half guard.
Rawlinson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Rawlinson is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Kirby looks like he's trying to stand up.
Kirby tries to get to full guard but Rawlinson has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Rawlinson stops Kirby from getting back to his feet.
Rawlinson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kirby's head.
Kirby is staying active underneath Rawlinson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Kirby manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Kirby is trying to keep Rawlinson in close.
Kirby wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Rawlinson manages to pass to side control.
Rawlinson stalling away here and it's allowed Kirby to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kirby lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Kirby postures up and lands a big shot to Rawlinson's brow.
Rawlinson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Kirby looks like he's trying to stand up.
Kirby manages to get to full guard.
Rawlinson trying to control but Kirby is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kirby is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Kirby wants to stand but Rawlinson is controlling the position.
Kirby can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Rawlinson controls the pace.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rawlinson wants to stand but Kirby is controlling his posture from full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ricky Rawlinson.
I think Rawlinson has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Gold scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Grover Kirby!