PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Hayes (ranked 24902 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Thunder (ranked 4201 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Hayes
vs
Thunder

215 cm
24
279 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

195 cm
25
260 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rafael Hayes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Thunder !
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, George Francis and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thunder shoots in but Hayes avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Hayes throws a big counter combination but Thunder scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Hayes shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Thunder as he jumps to the side.
Thunder throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hayes stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Thunder throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hayes's waist but Hayes gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Thunder off to one side.

Thunder forces Hayes back against the cage and clinches.

Thunder jumps into guard, dragging Hayes to the mat.
Thunder not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hayes is looking to stand up but Thunder won't let him.
Thunder looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hayes lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hayes stands up and waves to Thunder to follow him.
John Thunder seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hayes tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Thunder defends well and Hayes ends up having to push Thunder into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Thunder throws out a counter right but Hayes avoids it with no problem.

Thunder drives through and clinches with Hayes against the cage.
Hayes has Thunder pushed against the cage.

Hayes jumps guard and drags Thunder to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hayes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Thunder trying to hold on to Hayes's head to control him but Hayes postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thunder wants to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hayes seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Hayes will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Thunder has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Hayes is working away from the top position though.

Thunder is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Hayes pulls his head out easily.

Thunder is defending against the submission attempts here by Hayes.
Thunder is looking to control Hayes's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Thunder avoid being mounted?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Hayes is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Hayes trying to control the action but Thunder is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A leg kick checked by Hayes.
Hayes misses with a straight left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Thunder closes the distance and pushes Hayes back into the cage.

Hayes breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Thunder .
An attempted straight right counter from Hayes misses the target.
Thunder misses with a few strikes there.
Hayes throws a quick counter kick to the body but Thunder avoids it.
Hayes tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Thunder defends well and Hayes ends up having to push Thunder into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Thunder is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael Hayes. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A shot to the body from Hayes misses
and Thunder counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Thunder shoots in for a takedown but Hayes shows good takedown defense.
Hayes seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Hayes shoots in but Thunder avoids the takedown attempt easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hayes looks for a takedown but Thunder sprawls well.
Thunder is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.

Thunder closes the distance and clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Thunder clinches up with Hayes and pushes him back against the cage.
Hayes lands a hook that snaps the head of Thunder backwards.
Thunder has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Hayes's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Hayes fails with the takedown.
Hayes shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Thunder counters with a stiff right hand.

It looks like Rafael Hayes has been cut.
Thunder is looking to clinch but Hayes is avoiding it.
Thunder shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hayes as he avoids it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thunder shoots in but no luck this time.
Hayes fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael Hayes. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thunder goes for a double leg but Hayes avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Hayes continues to drive forward.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hayes shoots in for a takedown but Thunder shows good takedown defense.
Thunder will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Thunder gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Hayes counters with a two punch combo.

Hayes closes the distance and clinches.
Thunder tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Hayes just stands there and leans against the cage.
Thunder wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Hayes breaks the clinch.
Thunder throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hayes stuffs the takedown.
Thunder is breathing heavily.
Hayes shoots for a takedown but Thunder saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Hayes shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hayes showed some decent athleticism there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hayes tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

Hayes is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Thunder has managed to free his arm - good work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thunder manages to get to full guard.
Hayes trying to stand up but can't free himself from Thunder 's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thunder bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hayes's guard.

Thunder is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Hayes is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Hayes has escaped and now he's on top!

Hayes trying to control but Thunder is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thunder is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Thunder looking for a guillotine here but Hayes defends easily.
Hayes postures up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Hayes dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rafael Hayes's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Thunder throws a lazy head kick
and Hayes counters with a two punch combo.

Thunder gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Hayes to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Thunder keeping moving, preventing Hayes from controlling successfully.
Hayes wants to stand but Thunder is controlling his posture from full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thunder is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunder is trying to hold Hayes in close to prevent damage but Hayes has managed to pass into half guard.
Thunder holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Hayes passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Thunder !
Thunder wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Thunder rolls, trying to escape but Hayes keeps control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hayes looking for the choke but no joy.
Rafael Hayes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hayes is trying to stick to Thunder 's back but Thunder is turning into Hayes. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Hayes's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Thunder .
Hayes tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Thunder showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Thunder throws an elbow that misses. Hayes uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Thunder 's guard. Nice move by Hayes!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hayes gets to his feet. Thunder looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

Hayes closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Thunder quickly recovers to half guard.

Thunder manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Hayes keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Hayes lands a knee to the head.

Hayes manages to break the clinch.
Thunder shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hayes seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Thunder closes this distance looking for a takedown but Hayes circles away.
Hayes is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Thunder takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
No luck for Hayes with that takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hayes showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Thunder .
Thunder shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hayes but Hayes pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Rafael Hayes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Thunder .

Hayes drives through with a takedown into Thunder 's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Thunder manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
Hayes throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thunder blocks it with crossed arms.
Hayes taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Thunder .
Hayes lands with a short head shot on the inside.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael Hayes showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hayes has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael Hayes!