PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bill Newton (ranked 143 p4p, 205 weight class) and Shane Raffington (ranked 23 p4p, 29 weight class). Raffington is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Logan Lucky. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Newton
vs
Raffington

184 cm
38
202
38 - 26 - 4

182 cm
28
195
13 - 8 - 1

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

SynCity Fightwear

HELLBENT

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 38 - 26 - 4, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bill Newton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Shane Raffington!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Phil Schofield and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Raffington connects with a looping right hand.
Newton slips a straight right by Raffington.
Raffington swings for the body but Newton moves out of range.
Newton fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Raffington on the side of the head.
A jab from Raffington misses.
Newton drops down looking for a counter takedown but Raffington sprawls and moves away.

Newton forces Raffington back against the cage and clinches.
Raffington lands with a left to the head.
Raffington throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Raffington fails to land.
Newton doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Raffington cracks Newton with a nice body shot.
Newton 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.
Raffington lands with a short shot to the head.
Newton lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Raffington backwards.
A hook to the body from Raffington.
Raffington looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A short right from Newton on the inside.

Raffington's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Newton throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Raffington was covering up waiting for the punch and Newton finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Raffington has Newton pulled in close to control his posture.
Raffington looking to hit a scissor sweep but Newton is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Newton trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Newton has gone for a leg lock! Raffington slips out almost immediately though and dives into Newton's guard.

Newton working for a triangle but Raffington defends it easily.
Raffington is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Newton is looking for a triangle but Raffington pushes his legs off easily.

Newton working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Raffington doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Raffington manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Newton working for a triangle but Raffington defends it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Raffington got a little sloppy there for a moment and Newton has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Raffington has managed to get both his arms back between Newton's legs - danger averted.
Raffington is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Newton is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Raffington defends well.

Newton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Raffington is aware though and is defending well.
Raffington won't allow Newton to sweep him here.

Newton working for a triangle but Raffington defends it easily.
Raffington preventing the sweep.

Newton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Raffington must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raffington sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Raffington's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

Newton is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Raffington wants to pass the guard but Newton is keeping the position.
Newton can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Raffington controls the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Newton is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Raffington defends well.
Newton 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Raffington engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Newton escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Raffington gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Newton is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Newton throws his legs up looking for a submission but Raffington uses it to pass to side control.
Raffington controlling the position from side mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Shane Raffington will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Newton lands a nice looking body shot.
Newton throws out a powerful jab.
Nice cross by Raffington.
A leg kick checked by Newton.
Newton bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Raffington's head backwards.
Raffington scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Newton looks to throw the jab but Raffington is out of range.
A nice leg kick from Raffington, right into the meat of the thigh.
Raffington dips to his left and cracks Newton with an uppercut!
An inside leg kick lands from Raffington.
A jab from Newton does it's job there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Newton scores with the left hand. Raffington knows he should have avoided that one.
Raffington looks to land a right hand but Newton moved out of range.
Newton changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Newton fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Raffington now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Newton takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Newton just misses with a punch to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Raffington. Newton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Raffington keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Newton lands with a good body shot.
Newton misses the shot to the body.
Raffington takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Newton takes a swing at Raffington's ribcage but misses.
No joy there for Raffington, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Newton lands with a nice body punch.
Newton shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Raffington as he jumps to the side.
Newton swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Raffington counters with a nice uppercut.
Newton with a nice cross.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Newton lands with a good body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lazy left from Raffington finds it's target.
Newton scores with a jab to the body.
Raffington lands with a kick to the ribs.
Newton lands a nice shot that snaps Raffington's head back.
Raffington tests Newton's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Newton slips under a jab from Raffington.
Raffington is looking to land body kicks.
Shane Raffington seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Newton scores with a jab.
A cross from Raffington lands.
Raffington with a nice calf kick.
Raffington walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Raffington misses with a low kick.
Newton shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Raffington but Raffington pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Newton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Raffington takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Newton misses the shot to the body.
Newton swings widly with a right hand
and Raffington counters with a slapping leg kick.
Raffington scores with a jab.
Newton misses with a takedown attempt
and Raffington counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Newton uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Raffington.
Raffington uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Newton.
Shane Raffington is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Raffington misses with a body kick.

Raffington cracks Newton with a big right hand that sends him to the floor! Newton looks wobbly but he's sprung back up to his feet straight away… can Raffington finish him?

Newton is rocked!
Newton is looking to wear down Raffington with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Raffington fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Newton manages to avoid it.
Oh Newton is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Newton misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Raffington counters with a huge left! Newton is in big trouble! He's backing up but Raffington isn't giving him chance to recover. Under a barage of punches the ref has to step in to save Newton from any more damage. A dominating finish by Raffington!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:42 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Shane Raffington!
Shane Raffington decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.