PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Yonglong Li (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Abdul The Refugee (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Abdul The Refugee has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Li
vs
The Refugee

183 cm
26
176 lbs
13 - 4 - 1

190 cm
24
180 lbs
7 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Yonglong Li!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Abdul The Refugee!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The Refugee with a poor takedown
and Li counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

It looks like Abdul The Refugee has been cut.
A jab from Li misses.
Li on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by The Refugee. The Refugee obviously looking to wear him down.

The Refugee closes the distance and clinches.
We've been informed that The Refugee has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Li gets through The Refugee's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

The Refugee gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The Refugee seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Li does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The Refugee thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Li's head.
Li has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
The Refugee trying to pass the guard but Li defending well.
Li blocking the ground and pound attempt from The Refugee.
Li tries to get to full guard but The Refugee has control of the leg.
Li is working hard here to advance position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The Refugee missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The Refugee missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The Refugee is keen to just control but Li is a slippery customer.
Li blocking the ground and pound attempt from The Refugee.
The Refugee trying to mount his opponent but Li defends it.

The Refugee is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
The Refugee lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li has hold of The Refugee's hands but The Refugee slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The Refugee missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Li wants to improve his position but The Refugee is controlling well.
The Refugee throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Li to regain full guard.
The Refugee is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The Refugee stands up over Li, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
The Refugee scoring with some ground and pound.
Li keeping moving, preventing The Refugee from controlling successfully.
Li looking for a sweep. Not yet Li, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The Refugee in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The Refugee is stalling in the full guard.
The Refugee has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
It looks like The Refugee might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The Refugee throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Li controlling the position.
The Refugee with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Li working a defensive guard here.
Li avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

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.

The Refugee postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Li is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of The Refugee, into his guard.

The Refugee working a defensive guard here.
The Refugee wants to sweep here but Li controlling him for the moment.

Li avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Li sitting in guard here, content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abdul The Refugee dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Abdul The Refugee's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Li misses with an uppercut.
A head kick by The Refugee misses
and Li counters with a nice body shot.
The Refugee takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Li scores with the left hand. The Refugee knows he should have avoided that one.
Li lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Li throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
The Refugee dives in and grabs Li's left leg, looking for a takedown. Li pushes down on The Refugee's head and hops out.
Jab by Li.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Li scores with a nice head shot.
Li throws out a loose jab but The Refugee uses good head movement to avoid it.
A chopping leg kick lands by The Refugee.

The Refugee gets the takedown into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li is trying to get back to half guard.
The Refugee working away.
The Refugee throws a strike aimed at the side of Li's head but Li avoids it well.
Li tries to bench press The Refugee off him but The Refugee keeps the position.
The Refugee in side control, throwing shots but Li defends.
The Refugee throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
The Refugee has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Li is squirming around, avoiding The Refugee's attempts to control the action.
The Refugee tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by The Refugee.
The Refugee content just to control the position here.

The Refugee jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Li is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Li and The Refugee has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

The Refugee looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

The Refugee tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from The Refugee are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
The Refugee looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Li is avoiding damage well.
Li tries to control the position but he's not in luck - The Refugee easily slips into full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Li working to try and regain half guard.
The Refugee landing strikes from the mount.
The Refugee throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li avoids a series of strikes thrown by The Refugee.
The Refugee connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, The Refugee cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
The Refugee has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The Refugee avoids the attempt from Li to control.
The Refugee lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Li hang on?
The Refugee throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The Refugee working Li over with strikes here.
The Refugee with good strikes from the mount here!

Li is rocked!
The Refugee working the ground and pound effectively.
Oh Li is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

The Refugee is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Li has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Li!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abdul The Refugee showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Abdul The Refugee's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

A slow jab from Li misses its intended target.
Li seems to have got his legs back now.

The Refugee darts in and clinches Li up against the cage.
The Refugee goes for a takedown attempt but Li pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Li tests The Refugee's chin there with a solid looking shot.
No luck with that takedown attempt from The Refugee.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Li throws a shot from downtown. The Refugee moves away and avoids it.
The Refugee dives in and grabs Li's left leg, looking for a takedown. Li pushes down on The Refugee's head and hops out.
Yonglong Li has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Abdul The Refugee.

The Refugee shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Li gets back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The Refugee in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The Refugee trying to control but Li is working from the bottom.
The Refugee tries to free his leg and advance position but Li is retaining full guard.
Li seems keen to control The Refugee's posture.
The Refugee trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The Refugee scoring with punches to the head and body.
Yonglong Li has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
The Refugee wants to control from the top but Li keeps moving.
Li 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.
The Refugee trying to control the position from guard on top but Li is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as The Refugee accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Li utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Li has The Refugee pulled in close to control his posture.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Li blocks a head kick by The Refugee.
The Refugee shoots in but no luck this time.
Yonglong Li is winning the standup battle so far.
The Refugee changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Li tries to avoid it but The Refugee manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Li to the ground. Li escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donk. Li catches The Refugee right on the button with a cross.
The Refugee shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Li as he avoids it easily.
Li throws a lazy right hand but The Refugee sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Abdul The Refugee seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Li keeps the fight on the outside.
The Refugee shoots in looking for a takedown. Li tries to sprawl out of it but The Refugee keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Li manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Li fires out a quick counter leg kick but The Refugee just manages to avoid it.
The Refugee moves away from the strike by Li.
The Refugee has a takedown stuffed.
Li swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The Refugee defending well as Li loads up on a big left hand.
Li misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
The Refugee wants to slow Li down by chopping away at his legs.
The Refugee tries to score a power double leg takedown but Li sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten The Refugee somewhat.
Li is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by The Refugee.
The Refugee changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Li tries to avoid it but The Refugee manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Li to the ground. Li escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Abdul The Refugee is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The Refugee misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yonglong Li showed his dominance in that final round.
I think The Refugee 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abdul The Refugee!
Abdul The Refugee took his opportunity to call for a title shot in his post fight interview.