PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Dick Pawlik (ranked 804 p4p, 605 weight class) and Lazuran Riku (ranked 97 p4p, 77 weight class). Lazuran Riku is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Pawlik
vs
Riku

172 cm
24
166
4 - 1 - 1

175 cm
40
163
38 - 12 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Conviction
Fenrir Fightgear - Anno 2013

Vegan Gains
Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

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 4 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Dick Pawlik!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 38 - 12 - 2, fighting out of New York, Lazuran Riku!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yukihiro Shimada and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Riku scores with a nice head shot.

Pawlik looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Riku!
Pawlik advances to full mount.

Pawlik working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Pawlik trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Pawlik is working for a guillotine from mount but Riku frees his head quite easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Pawlik jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Riku manages to avoid the submission attempt.

Pawlik tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Pawlik has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riku tries to buck Pawlik off but Pawlik is having none of it.

Pawlik thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Pawlik tries to advance position but instead Riku slips a leg back in to half guard.
Pawlik looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Pawlik is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Riku defends it well.
Riku gets full guard.
Pawlik slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Pawlik passes Riku's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Pawlik is trying to work for a kimura but Riku is defending well.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Riku trying to control from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riku is refusing to be controlled, as Pawlik sits in half guard.
Well, if Pawlik is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Pawlik wants to take a breather but Riku is having none of it.

Pawlik is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Riku doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Pawlik.
Riku trying to control but Pawlik postures up.
Pawlik tries to pass to full mount but Riku defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Riku is not content to let Pawlik control the position.
Riku is looking for a sweep. Pawlik is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Riku is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Pawlik is pressing down on Riku's thigh, looking to free his foot. Riku is holding on for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pawlik seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Riku does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Pawlik with a poor takedown
and Riku counters with a body kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dick Pawlik dominated that 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.

Riku fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Riku scores with a nice right hand.
A chopping leg kick lands by Riku.
Pawlik scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Pawlik looks to land a right hand but Riku moved out of range.
Riku lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Pawlik darts in looking for a takedown but Riku gets double underhooks and turns Pawlik into the cage.
Dick Pawlik seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A solid leg kick lands there for Riku.

Pawlik fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Riku to the ground. Pawlik is now in Riku's guard.
Dick Pawlik overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pawlik pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Riku is keeping the position for now.
Pawlik trying to control the position from guard on top but Riku is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Riku is on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pawlik is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Pawlik is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Riku is looking for a sweep. Pawlik is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Pawlik wants to lay and pray for a moment but Riku keeps working.

Pawlik is working for a kimura but Riku is defending it quite comfortably.

Pawlik is looking for a kimura but Riku is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Pawlik to get the leverage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riku is trying to stand back up but Pawlik is controlling him
Riku is not content to let Pawlik control the position.

Pawlik is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Riku defends it well.
Pawlik sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Pawlik is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Riku reverses the position - he's now on top in Pawlik's guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Pawlik is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riku looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Pawlik puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.

Pawlik is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Riku tries to roll over but Pawlik keeps him under control.
Pawlik keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Riku wants to control but Pawlik is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Pawlik passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Riku!
Riku wants to control but Pawlik is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pawlik trying to control but Riku is having none of it.
Riku is desperately trying to improve his position but Pawlik has a good base and remains in mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pawlik can't control as he wanted to and Riku manages to get the fight back to his half guard.
Pawlik moves into full mount! Riku won't be happy about that!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Dick Pawlik will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Riku fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Pawlik.
Pawlik dives in and grabs Riku's left leg, looking for a takedown. Riku pushes down on Pawlik's head and hops out.
Pawlik throws a lazy right hand but Riku sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Riku showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pawlik.
Pawlik throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Pawlik takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Pawlik looks for a takedown but Riku sprawls well.
Pawlik misses the body punch
and Riku counters with a stiff right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pawlik misses with the combination.
Pawlik scores with a jab. Riku acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Riku slips under a jab from Pawlik.
Pawlik looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riku misses with a hook.
Riku fails to land with a series of punches.

Pawlik shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Riku tries to push off, looking to stand up, but Pawlik manages to move to mount!
Pawlik looking to control but Riku is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Riku tries to hold on but Pawlik pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pawlik wants to control but Riku has made it back to half guard. Nice work.

Pawlik looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Riku pushes Pawlik off looking to stand but Pawlik dives back in and keeps control.
Riku is refusing to be controlled, as Pawlik sits in half guard.

Pawlik is looking for a kimura but Riku is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Pawlik to get the leverage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pawlik seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Pawlik seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Riku for as long as he can get away with.
Pawlik trying to advance position but Riku counters by regaining guard.
Riku keeping moving, preventing Pawlik from controlling successfully.
Riku seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Pawlik slips nicely into half guard.
Riku tries to get to full guard but Pawlik has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Riku gets back to full guard.

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

Dick Pawlik is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Riku won't allow Pawlik to sweep him here.
Lazuran Riku has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Lazuran Riku.
I think Pawlik 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:28
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:29
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Dick Pawlik!
Dick Pawlik seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.