PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Walker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Ranieri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Walker kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Another One Bites the Dust. Ranieri has chosen Eminem – Kings Never Die as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Walker
vs
Ranieri

185 cm
25
199 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

186 cm
30
190 lbs
14 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Dangerous knees
Powerful

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 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, John Walker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joe Ranieri!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Taro Takaoka and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ranieri takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Walker is looking to land body kicks.
Ranieri throws a fast counter high kick but Walker manages to duck under it in time.

Walker tries to keep at a distance but Ranieri has taken the fight into the clinch.
Ranieri looking to throw knees to the head but Walker is blocking nicely.
Ranieri misses with a knee strike.
A short body shot lands from Walker as the two fighters clinch.
A short left from Walker.
I was talking to Walker's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

Walker manages to break the clinch.
Ranieri has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Walker throws a body punch but Ranieri moves out of range.
Walker cracks Ranieri with a good jab.
Walker throws a low kick but it's checked well by Ranieri.
Ranieri flicks out a counter leg kick but Walker steps away.
Walker showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ranieri.
Ranieri misses with a hook
and Walker counters with a stiff right hand.
Walker misses with an uppercut. Ranieri saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ranieri throws the kick towards the body but Walker avoids it.
Ranieri throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ranieri ducks under a wild hook from Walker.
Ranieri tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Walker paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ranieri throws a sloppy head kick and Walker moves out of range easily.
Walker looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
John Walker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Walker throws a series of punches but Ranieri moves out of range.
Walker tries to land a leg kick but Ranieri saw it coming and moves away.
Ranieri is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Walker connects with a nice looking jab.
Ranieri swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Walker appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Ranieri on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Ranieri ducks under a wild hook from Walker.
Ranieri pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walker fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Ranieri on the side of the head.
Ranieri throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ranieri throws a lazy uppercut
and Walker counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Walker throws a jab when Ranieri was well out of range.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Walker lands a head kick. Ranieri smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Ranieri moves out of range as Walker throws a body kick.
Walker keeps the fight on the outside.
Ranieri tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Walker is able to avoid easily.
Walker pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Walker moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromRanieri.
Ranieri throws a sloppy head kick
and Walker connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Ranieri.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ranieri throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Walker misses with a straight right.
Walker blocks the body kick.
Walker tries to land a front kick but Ranieri steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Ranieri takes one to the chin there.
Ranieri wants to clinch.

Ranieri has managed to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ranieri with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Walker working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Walker misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ranieri jumps guard but Walker turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Ranieri with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Ranieri tries a knee to the head but Walker blocks it.
Walker leaning against his opponent.

Walker escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ranieri bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Walker cracks Ranieri with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
A low kick from Ranieri is predictable there
and Walker cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
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!
The fighters circle momentarily. Ranieri darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Ranieri checks a leg kick nicely.
Ranieri is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Walker motions for Ranieri to come forward. Walker throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Ranieri unleashes a big counter combination but Walker bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
A clash of legs there as Ranieri blocks the low kick.
Ranieri looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Walker scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Ranieri gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Walker counters with an outside leg kick.
Ranieri throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
A nice leg kick lands there from Walker.
Walker misses the jab.
Walker looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Walker misses with a body kick.
Walker pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Despite the aggression on Ranieri's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice leg kick lands there from Walker.
Ranieri darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Walker looks to throw the jab but Ranieri is out of range.
Ranieri throws a leg kick
and Walker counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walker throws a leg kick which misses Ranieri's front leg but catches the back leg as Ranieri tries to avoid it.
Walker throws a shot from downtown. Ranieri moves away and avoids it.
Walker misses with a low kick as Ranieri jumps back.
Walker staying out of range there.
Walker scores with a jab. Ranieri acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Walker throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ranieri appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
A head kick misses from Walker.
Ranieri goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Walker was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Walker bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Ranieri's head.
Walker connects with a looping right hand.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Walker.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walker fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Ranieri.
Walker connects with a crisp jab.
Ranieri tries a head kick but it misses.
Walker throwing a counter right hand but Ranieri manages to avoid it.
Walker misses with a low kick as Ranieri jumps back.
Walker throws a body shot but no joy.
Ranieri throws a big counter head kick but Walker avoids it with no problem.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ranieri throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Ranieri throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Walker looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Ranieri throws a body kick that misses.
Walker misses with a wild body shot.
Walker throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ranieri sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Walker is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ranieri can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walker blocks a head kick by Ranieri.
Walker keeps the fight on the outside.
Walker lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Walker takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Ranieri misses with a kick to the body
and Walker counters with a three punch combo that has Ranieri backing up. Ranieri nods at Walker to acknowledge the strikes.
Ranieri connects with a leg kick. Walker looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Walker with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Ranieri avoids a kick to the body.
Joe Ranieri is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ranieri uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Walker.
Ranieri throws a sloppy head kick and Walker moves out of range easily.
Walker with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Walker displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ranieri throws out the jab.
Ranieri misses with a wild combination.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ranieri ducks under a wild hook from Walker.
Walker lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Ranieri backs up against the cage.
Ranieri tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Walker paws at him with a jab and circles away.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Ranieri crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Walker - the referee stops the clock and Ranieri gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Walker. Ranieri manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Walker is looking to chop away at Ranieri's legs.
Walker moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromRanieri.
Walker ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Ranieri blocks a leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Walker dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Walker throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Despite the aggression on Ranieri's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Walker throws a nice outside leg kick.
Walker wants to slow Ranieri down by chopping away at his legs.
Ranieri misses with a body kick.
Walker scores with a leg kick.
Ranieri needs to keep his hands up - Walker had a free shot at his head there.
Ranieri drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Walker finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Walker scores with a sloppy right hand. Ranieri should have avoided that one.
Ranieri has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Walker.
Walker loads up on a big right hand but Ranieri slips the punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walker looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A low kick from Ranieri misses
and Walker counters with a nice low kick that buckles Ranieri's knee momentarily.
Ranieri takes a head kick and keeps coming.
A lazy left from Walker finds it's target.

Ranieri is rocked!
An inside leg kick from Ranieri misses.
Walker misses with an uppercut.
Ranieri throws a chopping leg kick but Walker manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
A nice inside leg kick there by Walker. That's going to slow Ranieri down.
Ranieri tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Walker manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ranieri doesn't manage to clinch there - Walker circles away.
Walker throws a counter high kick but Ranieri was just alert enough to avoid it.
Walker misses with a body kick.
Despite the aggression on Ranieri's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Walker takes a swing at Ranieri's ribcage but misses.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Ranieri! But no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ranieri pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Walker fires out a quick counter leg kick but Ranieri just manages to avoid it.
Ranieri fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Walker.
Walker throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Ranieri was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
A jab lands there for Walker.
A slow jab from Walker misses its intended target.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Walker scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Walker throws a looping overhand right but Ranieri ducks down to avoid it.
John Walker is winning the standup battle so far.
Walker's corner calls for a 1-2. Walker obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Ranieri tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Walker manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ranieri gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Ranieri is still on wobbly legs! Can Walker finish him?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Walker lands a big head kick that sends Ranieri to the canvas! Walker follows up with strikes from the mount that forces the ref to step in and stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:08 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). John Walker!
After winning the bout, John Walker thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.