PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Russell Westbrook (ranked 4761 p4p, 0 weight class) and Darragh Kelly (ranked 3179 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Westbrook
vs
Kelly

175 cm
38
170 lbs
9 - 3 - 1

168 cm
26
162 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 1, fighting out of London, Russell Westbrook!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Darragh Kelly!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Daniel Bishop and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Westbrook has Kelly up against the cage in a clinch.
Westbrook misses with an elbow strike.
Kelly tries to break the clinch but Westbrook is controlling the position.
Westbrook lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Kelly backwards.
Kelly tries to pull guard but Westbrook won't allow it.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Westbrook just misses with a elbow thrown towards Kelly's brow.
Kelly tries a body shot but Westbrook blocks it.
Kelly stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Westbrook throws an elbow that misses.
Kelly trying to land knees to the body.
Kelly misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kelly lands with a right to the head.
Westbrook misses with a hook from the clinch.

Kelly has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Westbrook uses from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Westbrook with a nice head shot there.
Westbrook trying to stand up but can't free himself from Kelly's guard.
Westbrook 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Westbrook avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Westbrook scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Kelly is looking for a triangle but Westbrook pushes his legs off easily.
Westbrook throws a big elbow that misses.
Westbrook stays in close to Kelly's body and controls the position.
Westbrook would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Kelly is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Westbrook is aware though and is defending well.
Westbrook is looking to stand up but Kelly won't let him.

Kelly looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Westbrook trying to stand up but can't free himself from Kelly's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Westbrook forces his way into half guard.
Kelly tries to get to full guard but Westbrook has control of the leg.

Kelly looking for submissions off his back.
Kelly gets full guard.

Kelly isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Westbrook stacks Kelly 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 Westbrook!
Kelly sneaks back into half guard.
Kelly is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Westbrook there.
Westbrook lands strikes from half guard.
Westbrook working the head and body with strikes.
Kelly tries to roll over but Westbrook keeps him under control.

Kelly looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Westbrook has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

Westbrook wants to finish this one by submission but Kelly is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Westbrook.
Kelly tries to reverse the position but Westbrook maintains control.
Westbrook raining down shots from the mount!
Westbrook dominating with strikes here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Westbrook moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Kelly has worked his arm free - good work by Kelly!
Kelly stops Westbrook from passing to mount.
Westbrook working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Kelly regains half guard.

Kelly looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Kelly actively working from the bottom here.
Westbrook wants to stand up but Kelly is controlling the position.
Kelly trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Russell Westbrook dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

The fight stays on the outside here - Westbrook looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Kelly buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
A swing and a miss from Kelly.
Darragh Kelly seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kelly connects with a solid leg kick.

Westbrook gets a clinch.
Kelly doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Westbrook as Kelly tries to tie him up.
Kelly fails to pull guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Westbrook lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kelly unloads a knee to the mid-section. Westbrook lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Westbrook is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kelly can do to turn this around?
Kelly fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Westbrook has a couple of punches blocked by Kelly.

Kelly pulls guard effortlessly.
Westbrook wants to get up but he can't break Kelly's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kelly looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Westbrook passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Westbrook gets to mount! Kelly was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Westbrook scores with a couple of good head shots there.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Westbrook cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Kelly working to try and regain half guard.
Kelly is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Kelly is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Kelly is in all sorts of trouble here.
Westbrook pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Kelly tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Russell Westbrook overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kelly tries to hold on but Westbrook postures up.
Westbrook is landing with some decent strikes but Kelly is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kelly can't escape the position.
Westbrook wants to control the pace but Kelly is squirming around nicely.
Kelly in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Westbrook can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Kelly is looking to escape.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Westbrook cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Kelly swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Kelly is wriggling around trying to escape.
Westbrook raining down shots from the mount!
Westbrook wants to control the pace but Kelly is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Westbrook working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Kelly is squirming around, avoiding Westbrook's attempts to control the action.
BOOM! Westbrook connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Westbrook cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Kelly tries to hold on but Westbrook postures up.
Westbrook controlling the position easily from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kelly is looking to improve his position but Westbrook isn't that keen on the idea.
Westbrook trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Kelly takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Kelly is wriggling around trying to escape.
Kelly throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Westbrook can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Kelly is looking to escape.
Kelly is trying desperately to improve position.
Kelly bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Russell Westbrook dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Westbrook closes the distance and clinches.
Kelly tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Kelly pulls guard.

Westbrook got a little sloppy there for a moment and Kelly has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Westbrook has managed to get both his arms back between Kelly's legs - danger averted.
Westbrook would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Kelly working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Westbrook has passed into half guard!
Westbrook scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kelly is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Westbrook jumps into side control!
Westbrook moves into full mount!
Westbrook breaks from Kelly's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Westbrook tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kelly is in a horrible position here. Westbrook smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Westbrook controlling the pace for now.
Westbrook lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Kelly hang on?
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Westbrook cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Westbrook controlling the position easily from mount.
Kelly is looking to get to half guard.
Kelly keeps trying to improve his position.
Westbrook with good strikes from the mount here!
Kelly wants to control but Westbrook is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Westbrook controlling from mount.
Westbrook trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Westbrook raining down shots from the mount!
Kelly is looking to improve his position but Westbrook isn't that keen on the idea.
Kelly tries to hold on but Westbrook postures up.
Westbrook with shots to the head and body - Kelly looks very uncomfortable down there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kelly gets back to half guard.
Westbrook perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Kelly is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Westbrook lands strikes from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Westbrook wants to get back to his feet.

Kelly looking for submissions off his back.
Westbrook is thwarting Kelly's attempts to control the position.
Westbrook wants to control but Kelly is keeping him busy.
Kelly throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Kelly trying to control but Westbrook postures up.
Westbrook sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Darragh Kelly has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.

Kelly is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Westbrook pulls his head out easily.
Westbrook wants to stand up but Kelly manages to regain full guard.
Westbrook wants to stand but Kelly has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Kelly is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Westbrook wanted to stand there but Kelly had control of the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Russell Westbrook is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Westbrook clinches up against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Russell Westbrook showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Westbrook, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Russell Westbrook!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Russell Westbrook waved his t-shirt featuring King of Fists's logo in front of the cameras.