PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ricky Rawse (ranked 3868 p4p, 418 weight class) and Franck Kodjia (ranked 5655 p4p, 483 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Rawse
vs
Kodjia

193 cm
22
269 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

195 cm
22
275 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ricky Rawse!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Franck Kodjia!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, William Peck and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kodjia darts in and clinches Rawse up against the cage.
Kodjia landing knees to the body.
Rawse misses with the head strike.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Kodjia.
Kodjia throws a knee to the head but misses.
A right hook to the body lands for Kodjia.
Rawse avoiding damage as Kodjia throws knees to the body.
Kodjia lands a hook to the side of the head.
A short uppercut from Kodjia.
Kodjia lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Kodjia.
Kodjia is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rawse is defending well for now.
Rawse looking to slow down the pace here.
Rawse's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A short left from Kodjia.
Kodjia tries a body shot but Rawse blocks it.
Kodjia lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rawse backwards.
Kodjia lands a left hand.
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
Kodjia lands a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kodjia lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Rawse or not.
Rawse is breathing heavily.
Kodjia lands a nice uppercut.
Kodjia tries to throw a body punch but Rawse avoids it by throwing Kodjia back against the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Kodjia.
Nice body punch from Kodjia.
Rawse definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Kodjia lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Kodjia softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

Rawse is rocked!
Rawse stalling in the clinch but Kodjia improves position.
Kodjia scores with a shot to the side of Rawse's head.
Oh Rawse is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Kodjia lands a body punch.
Rawse seems to have got his legs back now.
Kodjia throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Kodjia.
Knees to the body from Kodjia.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Good body shot from Kodjia.
Kodjia misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rawse.
Rawse misses with some punches.
Kodjia lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
A body shot lands from Kodjia.
Kodjia pushes off an throws an elbow but Rawse leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kodjia lands a nice uppercut.
Kodjia works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Kodjia cracks Rawse with a nice body shot.
Rawse on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Kodjia throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rawse blocks it with crossed arms.
Rawse avoids the elbow strike from Kodjia, against the cage.
Kodjia is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rawse is defending well for now.
A short right from Kodjia on the inside.
Kodjia stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Kodjia presses Rawse against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Rawse dodges an elbow strike from Kodjia.
Kodjia landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Kodjia is working Rawse over against the cage.
Kodjia misses with a knee strike.
Nice body punch from Kodjia.
Nice body punch from Kodjia.
A short right from Kodjia on the inside.
A short uppercut from Kodjia.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kodjia tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Kodjia misses with a hook to the ribs.
Rawse blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A nice left hand lands by Kodjia.
Kodjia scores with a shot to the side of Rawse's head.
Kodjia is leaning against Rawse and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Kodjia throws a knee to the head but misses.
Kodjia lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Kodjia lands with a right to the head.
Kodjia pushes Rawse back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kodjia tries to land knees in the clinch but Rawse avoids the damage to the body.
Kodjia looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Kodjia with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kodjia lands a nice shot to the body.
A right handed body shot lands from Kodjia.
Rawse avoiding damage as Kodjia throws knees to the body.
Kodjia tries to land knees in the clinch but Rawse avoids the damage to the body.
Kodjia lands an uppercut.
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!
Kodjia presses Rawse against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kodjia scores with a shoulder strike.
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
Kodjia works on Rawse's body with a couple of short punches.
Kodjia digs a right hand underneath Rawse's ribcage. Rawse let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Kodjia lands a body shot.
Kodjia lands a body punch in the clinch.
Kodjia scores with a shoulder strike.
Kodjia lands with a light punch inside.
Kodjia stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Kodjia presses Rawse against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Kodjia cracks Rawse with a nice body shot.

Kodjia drops Rawse onto one knee with a big uppercut from the clinch! Rawse is propped up by the cage and works his way back to his feet!
Kodjia lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kodjia tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Kodjia lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Kodjia lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Rawse or not.
A right hook to the body lands for Kodjia.
Kodjia is leaning against Rawse and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franck Kodjia dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Kodjia instigates a clinch.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Kodjia in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Kodjia cracks Rawse with a nice body shot.
A right handed body shot lands from Kodjia.
Kodjia throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Kodjia lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Rawse backwards.
Rawse avoiding damage as Kodjia throws knees to the body.
Kodjia lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rawse backwards.
Kodjia lands a right hand.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Kodjia.
Nice body punch from Kodjia.
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
Kodjia using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rawse has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kodjia presses Rawse against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
A right handed body shot lands from Kodjia.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A right hook to the body lands for Kodjia.
Kodjia gets through Rawse's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kodjia pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Nice body punch from Kodjia - that landed with a thud.
Kodjia scores with a shoulder strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kodjia connects with a big uppercut there that sends Rawse tumbling to the ground! Kodjia follows him down into his guard.
Kodjia content to stall in guard here.
Kodjia has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kodjia is looking to work some ground and pound but Rawse has wrist control.

Kodjia gets to his feet - Rawse follows without any prompting.

Kodjia drives through and clinches with Rawse against the cage.
Kodjia working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Kodjia tries to land knees in the clinch but Rawse avoids the damage to the body.
Kodjia lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Rawse.
Kodjia throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Rawses head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kodjia is working Rawse over against the cage.
Kodjia working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Kodjia lands a body shot in the clinch.
Rawse blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kodjia works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Franck Kodjia seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A right hook to the body lands for Kodjia.
A right hand to the body from Kodjia.
Kodjia lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Rawse or not.
Kodjia with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kodjia works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Kodjia lands a nice shot to the body.
Kodjia lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Rawse.
Kodjia gets through Rawse's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kodjia lands with a right to the head.
Nice body punch from Kodjia.
Kodjia tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rawse avoids it.
Rawse blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Kodjia digs a right hand underneath Rawse's ribcage. Rawse let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Kodjia lands a body punch in the clinch.
Kodjia lands a nice shot to the body.
Kodjia utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
A short body shot lands from Kodjia as the two fighters clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kodjia lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kodjia can't find room to land a body shot as Rawse controls the action.
Kodjia lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Kodjia landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Kodjia missing with knees to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Kodjia.
Still in the clinch, Kodjia scores with a nice short uppercut.
A right handed body shot lands from Kodjia.
Kodjia tries to land knees in the clinch but Rawse avoids the damage to the body.
Rawse avoids the elbow strike from Kodjia, against the cage.
Kodjia cracks Rawse with a nice body shot.
Kodjia misses with an elbow over the top.
Kodjia unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Kodjia stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A right hook to the body lands for Kodjia.
Kodjia misses with an elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
A right hook to the body lands for Kodjia.
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
A hook to the body from Kodjia.
Kodjia putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Rawse in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
A short body shot lands from Kodjia as the two fighters clinch.
Kodjia softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Kodjia stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Kodjia scores with a nice hook to the head.
Kodjia lands on the inside with an uppercut.
A body shot lands from Kodjia.
A shot in the inside from Kodjia.
Kodjia lands with a right to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kodjia is working Rawse over against the cage.
Kodjia is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rawse is defending well for now.
Kodjia throws an elbow that misses.
Rawse on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Franck Kodjia showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Rawse lands a head shot.

Rawse tries to keep at a distance but Kodjia has taken the fight into the clinch.
Kodjia misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kodjia blocks an uppercut.
Kodjia softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Rawse avoiding damage as Kodjia throws knees to the body.
Kodjia working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Kodjia tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kodjia pushes Rawse back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Kodjia lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Rawse is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kodjia blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Kodjia lands a shoulder strike.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rawse is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Rawse managing to block the knees to the body from Kodjia.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kodjia gets through Rawse's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Kodjia lands a body punch.
A shot in the inside from Kodjia.
Kodjia creates a bit of space for himself and rocks Rawse with a big uppercut! Rawse tries to clinch up but Kodjia pushes him back against the cage and lands another monster strike that crumples Rawse to the mat! Rawse covers up and Kodjia unloads with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:24 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Franck Kodjia!